On the Road with Comrade, UFO and the Holy Family

Comparing the public transport, I must say that especially rural areas definitely have a better connectivity in Kerala than in Germany. It is a quite easy and well organized means of transport to get around various places in Kerala. Of course, the comfort of the travel is debatable: To get a seat you have to be either lucky or traveling at the right time (the noon heat, when no one else is interested to spend time on a bus for example); whether you have to share a small bench with a woman, who is equally round as you, is still a question – in most cases your knees will anyway suffer if your height is more than 1,5 m since the benches are arranged so close to each other in order to save space. If you don’t catch a seat, your height will again decide about your travel comfort, the taller you are the more you will sway around the poles, you are desperately hanging on to, at every turn or pothole.

Anyway, before entering the bus you need to know some basic hints: In Kerala you find the Kerala State Road and Transport Corporation (KSRTC) busses and the busses operated by various private parties. The KSRTC busses are easily recognizable because of their bright red color. Private busses are much more individual and creative in their design. Apart from various color variations, the most striking aspect of them are their names: Very popular are St. Mary, St. George, St. Jude and other saints, or -in one go- the (entire) Holy Family, Fatimah, or Lakshmi as reflections of faith. Lulu’s and A. Brothers’ seem rather reminiscence of ownership. But then you have the truly creative ones: Comrade (any political affinities?), Passenger (thought those were inside?), UFO (any relation to the driving style?), Galaxy (safely to the next town would be enough for me!) – to name just a selected few.

A last one, essential to survive in Kerala busses: Bus travel is a gender sensitive issue. Before entering the bus, one should find out the seating arrangements – are the women (who still get usually less space allotted in busses) seated in the front or back of the bus? Mostly, for KSRTC busses the women’s seats will be in the back, while for private busses they will be in the front. But exceptions from the rule are always possible. Negligence can make the journey either way uncomfortable – women might have to bear the stares and what not all trying to survive in the men’s section, while men have to fear the almost violent action taken by women to secure their space.