Life’s Lessons – My Scribble

Kerala Floods 2018 – Impact of Family & Friends

After having posted about my experiences and observations made during the recent floods in Kerala, I would like recollect how family and friends supported us and would thank them for their concerns, efforts and love.

My lil one: She was cooperative, which made me feel calm and relaxed, which in turn helped me to make decisions, which was less risky for all of us. Even today, when I recall her playing with her cousin at one moment and helping with packing the other moment, I cannot stop smiling and feeling proud!!

Mom n dad: Though my mom was worried and working out her own fears, both mom n dad took the energy to cope with the situation and support. Dad took care of providing options for safe stay, including the one where we finally stayed and organizing groceries. Mom was key in taking care of all needs of my lil angel; feeding her, applying mosquito protection, most importantly keeping her engaged, etc.,.

Sijo & Jincy: As always, they are there, especially during the time of need. He stopped cleaning his house and along with three other cousins (Sanjo, Kiran & Arun), he drove us to Trivandrum airport. Jincy took good care of kids and rewarded them for being good with chocolates.

Sanjo: Went extra mile(s) to drive us through flooded roads to our final station, we choose (Roy chettan’s place).

Kiran: As water started clogging the roads where we were staying on 15th Aug, he drove with my little one and parents in his SUV to his house. He also supported in my struggle to get flight tickets rescheduled.

Mariamma: She was of great support in taking care of little one, which gave me the opportunity to focus on recovery and also spend some “me time” with my boy cousins. She also got contacts to check flight reschedule options and alternatives.

Arun: He was key in organizing logistics, securing belongings and organizing travel. He is a real sakhavu!!

Simi: Her house was the safe station for most of my cousins for 3 days. She along with Davis and daughters, supported us in getting back to normal life.

Joy chettan & family: The whole family were generous and hosted us for four nights. Spent the “darkest” times with candles, prayers and interesting discussion about religion, politics, travel and start-ups. Also Thomas chettan & family made our stay there pleasant. Will not forget going through the “jungle” to repair the water pump….was little scary.

Devassykutty chachan & family: As the water did not enter my uncle’s (mom’s elder brother) house, he hosted his siblings and their kids post floods. Every generation was represented in good numbers and we all had fun (sometimes in respective groups). A day before my return, he cooked local savory (chakkadda) for me.

Jose chachan & family: They have been a great support always and was no different during the crisis. They hosted us and secured our belongings in their house before we all had to leave the house (was our 2nd station) due to flooding. Appreciate their courage and positive attitude during crisis!!

Roy chettan & Beena chechy: They helped organizing flight from Trivandrum to Mumbai without any ifs or buts.

Veera and Ashok Gupta (In-laws): They were regularly following-up our situation, supportive of decisions and were sharing options for support. In addition, they ensured that there was no inconvenience during my short stay in Mumbai and mom-in-law took the pain of visiting AirIndia and Swiss offices in Delhi for the ticket.

Velliappachan (Bro Jose Daniel): Though he was in middle of sorting his own health issues, he was following-up on our well being, was supportive of our decisions and was source of motivation.

Sis & bro-in-law: They were inquiring about our well being and providing moral support, especially to my parents. They also explored various ways to get information and support.

Bro & sis-in-law: Regularly inquired about our well-being and supported parents morally.

Wife: She was worried, especially about the little one. She was in touch as much as possible and also explored various ways to get information. Her efforts with travel agency in Germany, helped in convincing Swiss for a reschedule. She made sure that we did not have any inconvenience, after our return.

Avi & Ajay: They hosted us in Mumbai during transit. Were able to take rest and have some good food.

Appreciate the courage shown and love shared by kids Aparna, Merry, Cathy, Kichu and Ryan.

Concerns and wishes from Franklin, Raphy, Doni, Ushansh, Anuj, Nadeem, Asha, Divya, Niraj, Vikram and Estefania, was very supportive to say the least.

Because of all this support and love, it was easy to come out of the situation quick and strong. Thank you all!!

Our vacation and monsoon of 2018 in Kerala

It was 3AM on Jul 31^st and my 2 yr 10 months old daughter was lost, as I woke her up. The moment I said that we are flying to India, she was all charged-up and was standing outside waiting for me. Off-course I was excited too, to fly to God´s Own Country, Kerala (India) and my roots.

It was my first time flying alone with a child, though I was confident my little one would cooperate, I was still little concerned; thinking what if she wants to meet mama or go home or just be cranky. However, she behaved so maturely, helping during airport checks, exploring new things at the airports and in the plane. She is definitely one of the best kids to travel with. #bestchild2travelwith

Week 1: After reaching Kerala at early hours, we went to my cousins´ place and caught-up on our lost sleep. Following which my little one was busy playing with her cousins and grand parents. Most part of the first week of our trip, went in visiting relatives, enjoying the food and spending time with my parents and cousins. Our regular guest during the monsoon, RAIN was off-course very much present.

Week 2: Midway through the trip, we were trying to make most of it by doing some shopping, attending celebrations, as well as a sadly demise of a relative (James chetta RIP). Again, RAIN accompanied us everywhere and disturbed our plans a few times.

Week 3: As we were packing our bags and getting ready to return, RAIN had other BIG plans; it rained heavily and continuously for 3-4 days, filling the reservoirs, which already was at its maximum levels. I was wondering, how much water, clouds can store. Final curtains on our return were drawn on Aug 14th night, when water was let out from major dams, flooding the areas downstream, including Kochi airport and surrounding areas. We have been on a move to safer locations from 15th August, moved three stations before settling at a much secure location on 16th August afternoon.

Observation, Experience & Opinion:

– Most of the population living near the Kochi airport were not expecting water near or in their homes, and when water came, it came fast and most people had less time to react #Keralaflood

– What I noticed was a show of unity and selflessness. Only thing that mattered was safety of fellow humans and nothing else. Some forces tried and failed to disturb the harmony of the state during this crisis. #ProudToBeMalayali

– Three days without electricity, water from tap and internet, reminded me of my summer holidays in Kerala as a kid. I am proud that that my daughter accepted the situation (better than I did as a kid), co-operated, enjoyed our candle light dinners and we stayed happy…..happiness is indeed state of mind!!

– Thankfully, we had enough food and fresh water bottles to survive 3-4 days

– Next few days, sound of rain worried me, as I could not gauge the impact and control it

– Air India: Based on TV news, I have been in touch with AI hotline for status and alternatives for flight scheduled from Kochi to Mumbai on 15th Aug. I received an Email at 12:22hrs regarding the flight cancellation. Following my visit to airport office, I contacted hotline again at 15:15hrs, to be informed that AI rescheduled my flight from Trivandrum @ 19:00hrs, failing to reach, will be a NO SHOW (I did not receive any communication from AI regarding the change with flight details). Means, I need to reach Trivandrum from Kochi in 2 hours, which is impossible via road/rail under normal conditions. Some common-sense, communication, fair treatment was too much to expect from Air India, forget the support/consideration during crisis situation #ShameAirIndia

– Thanks to Swiss for rescheduling our flights and getting us back to Germany

– The cause and impact of flood is a point of discussion, sooner we can conclude and realize, better it will be to define steps to handle similar situations in the future. According to me, three factors contributed to what Kerala faced; heavy rains, poor dam management (should have let small amounts of water out much earlier, especially when we had the forecast of heavy rains) and insensitivity of us towards nature (deforestation, sand mining, capturing river sides and reducing the size of rivers) #Savenature

– Response of the Kerala state government has to be praised; the way they lead and coordinated rescue efforts, how they ensured that the relief camps had the necessary things, how technology and social media was used in rescue operations and for communication, how the complete government machinery was used to minimize inconvenience to common man by setting up offices to issue documents/certificates, govt. employees working in relief camps, police guarding the flooded areas. All this with sense of urgency, which was visible on the ground.

Based on what I have experienced and seen, below are a few tips, which might be helpful in similar situations.

Never underestimate the impact, prepare yourself, family and important belongings for the worst.
When relocating, DO NOT OVER PACK; carry few clothes, water, snacks, medicines and secure important documents and mobile phones in water safe polythene/Ziploc.
Empty refrigerator if possible or switch off with doors open.
Let pet animals and mammals free, as they can run to safety.
Do not panic, try to get as much information as possible and avoid flooded roads/areas.
Travel in groups.
Do not recommend all family members take high risk. In such situations, split into groups.
Listen and respect the rescue team and volunteers.
Avoid selfies and do not take stupid risks. #NoDisaterTourism

The inconvenience experienced by me and people around me is negligible, compared to people who have lost their loved ones or life’s savings. Kerala thank fellow humans around the world, Malayalees, rescue teams who worked selflessly, family and friends for all the support, prayers and love. Please do not stop, let us provide more support and love as Kerala recovers!

It was a catastrophe and we all have lessons to be learnt!!

Key takeaways from Japan

Treat everyone and everything with respect.
Hospitality of Japanese people is great, if you know them, it is even better.
They get to details in all aspects of life: Patience, logical reasoning and not playing superior is key for success in professional dealings.
Hierarchy must be valued and respected.
My experience is that honesty is very much appreciated and they will not take advantage of it.
Discipline: I was surprised to see people stand in a line to get into trains, never seen that in Europe or India (ahh..i know what you must be thinking).
Punctuality: Is similar to Germany, all are expected to be on time. Plus minus 5 minutes is acceptable. If not, be ready to inform and apologize several times. Must say, Tokyo metro is the most punctual metro I have experienced till date.
Presentation and service matters: Not only in business but also in private spheres.
- I was impressed how a chef made few sushi for take away in a minute and spent three minutes packing it, so that sushi stays intact even if the packet is tossed around and it looked like a gift. No wonder most of the things are expensive.
- The food imitation looks so real. (See the pic below)

Life is expensive.
Space is scarce, at least in Tokyo.
Earth quakes are part of life there. Do not panic.
- Most of the companies and malls have emergency bunkers to save lives.
- There are mobile apps to warn people about potential quakes.
They work hard and long: Most of them spend lot of time traveling to work and back home. No surprise that a few of them try get a nap in the trains.
Felt handicapped at some places as my skills in 6 languages did not help. Translators or some Japanese will be helpful.
Japan is a place for some amazing food…at least for a foodie like me
- Few of my favorites: Miso Rahmen (noodle soup), Japanese curry (different to Indian curry), Shirako (fish sperm bags) and Okonomiyaki (few call it Japanese pizza, unfair though).
- Tough one: Nattō (fermented beans) but would encourage all foodies to try for the experience.

I am grateful to all my colleagues and friends for making my visits memorable.

Value of social interaction

During the weekend, as I was standing at a bakery with my family, I met an old gentleman whom I acquainted in the Church. He insisted and bought my wife and me a coffee and we shared our laugencroissant (type of croissant in Germany). Apart from feeding and playing with my little daughter, we spoke about several topics, including foreigners in Germany, his family, Indian food and his love for English language. No wonder he was proactively conversing in decent English (Most of the Germans can speak good English, however they are hesitant and prefer German to converse).

Before departing, he mentioned that current generation is busy with their own lives and have little time for anything around them and gave an example of his acquaintance who did not have time for a short talk, just before I joined him.

Fundamentally, we all agree that everyone needs social interactions in life to grow; unfortunately most of our interactions are subject to our personal goals and priorities. However I believe spending few minutes for others goals and priorities will do lot more to the society and add value to ourselves!

End of the day, I was happy that I could spend 15 minutes of my time with an aged man who was open and looking for social interaction.