Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Changing face of the city

MAKING WAY FOR NEW ONES: Old buildings that lined the MG Road in the city have been pulled down to widen the road. Photo: S. Gopakumar

Anyone visiting Thiruvananthapuram after a gap of some 30 years might feel like Rip Van Winkle emerging from sleep. He will experience difficulty recognising the place walking along MG Road.

Gone are most of the old landmarks along the stretch and some have changed beyond recognition. You recognise St Joseph's Cathedral, Palayam Mosque, VJT Hall, Sanskrit College, University College and the Secretariat building. Little else of what you remember of the area remains.

The road has become wider. All the tiled-roof buildings on either side are gone; among them the Kerala style Indian Coffee House, where you used to sit chatting with friends, sipping hot coffee. Multi-storeyed hotels, office buildings and shopping complexes have taken their place.

The old man's snuff shop at the GPO Junction, which the city's snuff-lovers had been frequenting for decades, is among the landmarks that have disappeared in the latest round of demolition for road widening.

Close by, directly opposite the GPO, the demolition has exposed the back wall of an establishment one had visited just once decades ago in childhood. This wall, left unpainted all these years apparently because it was out of view from the front, still carries the title `Simla Ice Cream' in faded blue paint. This establishment had closed shop several years ago and new businesses had come in the building.

And the person who had taken his child to that ice cream shop during a visit to the city long ago from his hometown far away is now a fond memory.

P. Venugopal

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