Life in Cochin

Part of the reason why I love staying in Cochin is the presence of a very wide group of friends. Cochin lets me invest time and energy in friendships (I guess I wouldn't be able to do it as well in any other metro).

I am passionate about exploring the city. Don't ask me the name of the roads- I get confused as to which is which. I kind of specialize in the culture and people.

Early mornings provide the best opportunity to get to know the city.

I cycle every morning to the remote corners of the city to meet people and to experience for myself the little things in life. Like listening to a mother and child chattering away while they wait for the school bus. Though a Christian I am fascinated by the temples in Cochin. There is the Ponnethu temple near our house. The environment there is clean and unpolluted, not much unlike the rest of Cochin. And the people who visit it at, say, six in the morning have a special aura about them. I go to get a good look at them. There is always an understanding smile for me as I stumble about clumsily, trying to figure out a way to blend into the crowd. 

Then I cycle to the housing colonies. It gives me an opportunity to study people. Sure, families here are quite steady and the members are committed to each other. But we won't think so when we listen to the early morning noises coming from every window. Noisy, noisy Cochin. More noisy than during the later hours of the morning. Some of them, though are quite silent. They go about doing their morning duties, finding time to talk to strangers like me. It is from them that I learn the hot news of the day. 

Newspaper reading is a must to us Cochinites, though these newspaper freaks are matched by the less news-savvy young people, like my college friends and I.

I study in a prestigious women's college in Cochin. College is no fun without the Y-chromosome. Nonetheless, we manage to squeeze out our own bit of fun too. The Esplanade in Cochin is a good place for hanging out. The bowling alley is the most fun. Oh yeah, we also have Domino's Pizza, Hotbreads, and Baskin Robbins to nourish our stomachs and satisfy our huge appetites. Learning to dress is an unofficial part of our curriculum. Learn it well and you are in. Otherwise, you are out. 

Living in Cochin, you can have the best of both worlds. The slow paced world that I love very much and the world of the new age - the World Wide Web. The IT sector has made its impact in this metro too. Now I can sit in this small corner of the world and look into the lives of people from all over the world. I ride on the net and stop to talk to the whole earth. To visit their places of worship and listen to the noises they make. They give me a whole new perspective, a new way of looking at everything. They influence the way I am. 

Cochin, as I see it now, is a small model of the whole world. I see the whole world as I look into this corner. It's a model that I love.