A few days ago while I was driving through the city, I gave a foreigner a lift. The first thing he said was “You are a lucky guy. What a beautiful city you live in!” I was a bit surprised to hear that. That’s because somehow most of the people around me, have some sort of complaint about the city. Some even go to the extent of describing it as a cage :). But me? I kind of agree with the tourist. Maybe he was exaggerating a wee bit, but yes Trivandrum has served me well for 21 long years.

What I like about Trivandrum is its quiet, under-crowded (relative to other Indian cities) nature. And despite all the noisy and sometimes violent political protests, the city does give me some sense of safety too. And what’s more it is my hometown and almost all of my buddies live here. That’s probably the biggest reason why I just can’t hate Trivandrum.

Yes Trivandrum does have its fair share of problems too. The biggest accusation is the lack of hang-outs with very few “trendy” places in the city. But if you are resourceful enough there are several places that the capital of god’s own country can offer. Another problem attached to Trivandrum is it’s slow pace. Probably it’s due to all the government offices here, but somehow I consider that as a plus point. :) The city also dies too soon at night. 9’o clock seems to be too late in Trivandrum. But that too is not a big problem for me, my friends would know why ;)

I will be bidding adieu to Trivandrum in four or five month’s time. I do not know when I will return, but I do know that I’ll want to return to the quiet and peace of this beautiful city sometime later.

All being said, if you ask me whether I want to leave Trivandrum, I would quickly say yes. Not because I don’t like Trivandrum… but because I like change. 21 years is too long to be stuck in a city… even if it is Trivandrum :)