Forewarned is Forearmed - For Visitors to God's Own Country

I happened to read about an ad film released by the Kerala Tourism Department recently. I haven't had the good fortune to watch it, but it reportedly bowled over its celebrity viewers in London.Well and good; kudos to producer, director , et al.

 At the same time it gave me a twinge of anxiety.We love our State in our own way, no matter what it's state, but will visitors who are not given a holistic view be disillusioned once  they experience it in reality?Ofcourse, people know that most advertisements need to be taken with a pinch of salt, but how often have we experienced that feeling of having been let down or duped when the product falls short of even our pinch-of-salt -expectations?

Add caption

Verdant, lush Kerala, with its picturesque backwaters, swaying palms,colourful festivals, ayurveda and alluring promises of physical and spiritual rejuvenation, lends itself to splendid advertisements.But adverts can't include that pinch of salt. I mean for instance, how can we present scenic photographs of  beautiful beaches without editing the  litter strewn around?How can we show off our not too well maintained roads, congested traffic  and maniacal drivers? How can adverts forewarn our visitors about the hartals that stop life for a day from time to time? This latter scenario is something I'd really like to share with prospective visitors to our State.Forewarned is forearmed. When we're prepared for something, we'll be able to handle it better and our vacation will not be totally ruined.

From time to time I have read sympathetically about how visitors have been stranded at the railway stations  because of a sudden dawn to dusk hartal that's been called. Our famous (or infamous) hartal culture is something all travellers to Kerala should be aware of.Kerala does not need the idiomatic hat to drop to call a hartal.Quite often we have two hartals for the same grievance; the first one will be called by the State, since in this respect , we're always in the forefront.Then there will be an All-India hartal for the same issue, and we observe that too with greater sincerity than the rest of India.
If I call my sister in Bangalore to check on the progress of the hartal there, she laughs it off. " O, we don't have any hartal here. The kids have gone to school."
My brother in Chennai also brushes it off. " Hartal? What hartal? I'm at work. Ofcourse all vehicles are plying."
But Kerala enjoys a pollution free day, spent quietly at home.working women gratefully grab the opportunity to catch up on household chores.Others are just happy to have a day off.and if you're not working , it doesn't make much of a difference anyway.And the hartal is declared to be a great success, while the  problem or issue that was there continues to be there.

But what is  the plight of the  unsuspecting tourists who alight at railway stations or airports? Their visions of leisurely cruises and oil massages swiftly dissipate. Irritation and frustration begin to hold sway.
What is the remedy? Should all plans to visit Kerala be aborted? NO way.Nothing is perfect. The good always comes with the bad.Prepare mentally and physically for such eventualities.The Guides and Scouts motto "Be Prepared' was never more apt.

The good news is that a hartal is usually declared for only 12 hours.. 6am to 6pm.So just be sure to load yourself wth adequate food and water for a day's picnic at the station. Being in the possession of a lot of reading material, games , a laptop and net connect , a blackberry (depending on your budget) would be a good idea too. Time will pass in no time!

Now don't be disappointed if when you land there's no hartal.
Happy vacationing.. ..whenever.