There is no escaping the heat, it is everywhere. Even if you avoid direct sunlight and physical activity, you will sweat. It wears you out; it gets under your skin, and makes any trip outside a hellish endeavour. The only remedy is finding shelter under the cooling blanket of an AC. Every year the humidity in the air builds up in the months prior to the rainy season resulting in unbearable heat for any foreigner like me. Although the people from Kerala seem less affected by it, they too are bothered by the climate, they tell me. The only thing we can do is to wait for the rains of the monsoon usually unleashed in June to wash the heat away.
Although these are climatically not the most enjoyable months in Kerala, I would prefer it anytime over the alternative in Europe where around this time of the year it is usually cold, wet and most of all dark (though with the obvious exception of mosquitoes). Still, the weather is not the reason I live in Kerala, nor is it the scenic backwaters, the beautiful beaches or the tasty food. I am here because I work in Kerala. Two years ago I arrived in Kochi, expatriated by the company I worked for. Never been in Kerala (or in India for that matter), my first impression of it was the same as that of many foreigners: chaotic and noisy, especially in the cities. I didn’t know anybody at that time so it is safe to say that in those first weeks I felt a bit overwhelmed, even lost in that endless stream of people, vehicles, shops etc.
But soon I discovered that the chaos was merely the outer layer of Kerala. Like anywhere else, one has to interact with the people in order to fully understand the true nature of its culture. This was most easy since Keralites are very curious and eager to engage with anyone they meet, especially if you are a foreigner (how different from Western Europe). People enjoy conversations and even with the many cultural differences, they accept you and focus on the similarities rather than the differences. At the same time, they are very proud of their culture which values honesty, hard work and close personal ties.
These characteristics of openness and ethics, even more than the Technoparks and the very good educational system make Kerala an excellent environment to do business. True, there is room for improvement such as tackling the frequent power cuts and traffic jams that cripple your operations. Unfortunately these still drain unnecessary amounts of your time, money and energy and need urgent fixing. But the most important thing is that although things may not always go smoothly, in the end, everything always works out fine. Power will be back, traffic will move again and the hot season will be followed by some refreshing rain and a cool winter.
Kerala is not only a good place to work but also to live and make lasting friendships. And this may be the true USP of the state. Because although the number of foreigners living and working here is much smaller than say Bangalore or Mumbai, those who are here usually stay longer than planned or come back after some time (initially I planned to stay only for a period of one year). The exact reason, without doubt, will be different for each person but then, surely, to a large extent it has something sure to do with feeling welcome in a land where they were not born. And a few beaches and green backwaters are not hurting either…
This blog was contributed by Jasper Van Herwaarden.
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