Sunday, October 17, 2010

Lifestyle in Tellicherry, Kerala

Tellicherry is said to thrive on money order economy. Atleast one person in a family works abroad or outside Kerala. So, the money flows into the state from relatives outside the state. This socio-economic situation has led to the mushrooming of nurse care or maid services in Kerala.



There is a maid or home service provider in almost every street in Kerala. The offices range from one room corporate cells to a small house. One maid service provider made it very clear that the nurse has to be treated as a member of the family they work in.  You need to give respect and get respect from these maids. One maid i met in a centre was bombastic and made it very clear that the moment she encounters any form of oppression she will walk out of the house. She had worked in about 15 homes in the past 6 years. Some maids make it clear that they do not want to work in houses that entertain frequent visitors.

The maids are well dressed, have a family of their own, and well settled relatives. They work just to keep themselves engaged and get pocket money. Or that is how they portrayed their work. Many lower middle class and poor families in Kerala inhabit and co-habit the rich homes for several years. They cook, clean, and become a part of the family where they occupy a small room!

Tellicherry is famous for bakery items. Delicacies are made out of Nenthrampazham (Kerala bananas or cooking bananas), sea food, coconut shreds, minced mutton, coconut oil, and more. Unnakkai, arrikarika are few names of delicacies. Shops that sell fresh mutton and chicken meat also sell beef.



Tellicherry is also known for the cricket stadium it houses. Indian cricket is said to have grown out of this stadium!


Autos in Tellicherry are quite different from the ones you see in Chennai - huge, fully decorated, with loud music. Autowallas accept even Rs.6 as a fare - no extra charges or standard rates. That's a real blessing for people of Tellicherry.




The bricks used for building construction are also huge and hollow.


Apart from gooseberry in salt, pineapple, papaya, and even carrot is pickled and sold. The sweet Pineapple pieces were yummylicious after being soaked in salt water with gandhari green chillies.


Milma in Kerala is the equivalent of Aavin milk parlour of Chennai. So, Tellicherry is a town with many firsts and twists!

9 comments:

  1. Wow! Finally, another indiblogger who loves Thalassery.

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  2. You got another person here who is now in love with Tellicherry! I can't resist seeing the pic of the food stall :P

    Btw, hope you enjoy reading my post - When love calls

    Take care!

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  3. hai anitha good post. I think the maids there are trying to put their foot down. I believe it is part of their survival strategy.

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  4. Yep Prasanna. They put a lot of rules before they work. And neighbors tell about the personality traits of the owners also.

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