Mar 10, 2004 03:27 PM
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(Updated Mar 10, 2004 03:27 PM)
I thought long and hard before writing this one. I hate to run down my home state, for I am truly proud of so many things about it. The whole literacy thing ? which I experience first hand, when my cleaning lady pauses to read the headlines from our newspaper. The high awareness of health and hygiene that is inherent in the Malayali. The fact that the state is still relatively clean and green.
But these pleasant thoughts give way to expletives every evening, during the half hour power-cut, as I battle mosquitos, juggle babies, cushions, candles, hand fans, matches, torches and my sanity all at one go.
The Kerala State Electricity Board has stepped in once more to give us a rude awakening from our complacent visions of a millennium-ready nation. The power situation in the state is dire. Relying as it does on hydro-electricity, a bad monsoon is enough to wash away Kerala?s hopes of power sufficiency. Last year, they imposed a massive tariff hike on us. This is hard on us, now that electricity bills are no longer those ?things which parents pay?.
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Half Hour Hell
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The KSEB?s farsighted and intelligent way of dealing with the power crises is to subject us to a half hour power cut every day. A typical ?we?ll fix it once it?s broke? approach to problem solving. No efforts to look for a long-term solution. To invest a little research and money into alternatives. To use more power-efficient systems. No sir! And so from 6.30 to 10.00 pm, in half hour slots that change every week, sections of the state are plunged into darkness.
The worst slot undoubtedly is the 9.30 to 10.00 pm one. God forbid if you were nodding off to sleep or watching a prime-time movie on HBO or Star Movies. Women are kept in the dark about the moves of their favourite soap stars for an entire week, till the time slot changes the next Monday. On some days, if the concerned officers have had a bad day, we find power being slashed earlier or later than scheduled!
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Mosquito woe
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Cochin is home to about 2 million humans and 20 million mosquitoes. It is possible to tackle them while there is power, but the minute the cut occurs, these princes of darkness attack. Hand held fans whisk frantically, to no avail.
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Some light
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KSEB is occasionally merciful to us. They benevolently allow us to enjoy power-cut free days on Sundays, national holidays and religious festivals. What more could we ungrateful mortals want? Christmas, Id and Onam are looked forward to with equal fervour. Full marks to KSEB for promoting communal harmony.
This week, the power-cuts have been called off, because the SSLC Boards are underway. But the foxy guys at KSEB have managed to cut their required quota by switching off the power during the day, under the pretext of conducting repairs. It?s strange how they wait for the sultriest of days before doing so, do they consult weather forecasts?
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The brighter side of darkness
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Is there a brighter side? There was an article in The Hindu?s Metroplus the other day, which spoke to Cochinites to find our how they while away their time during the power cut. The answers were interesting. Some used the time to pray. Others saw it as a special time to bond as a family, with distractions like the TV out of the way. One kid suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder said that her busy parents now devoted the half hour exclusively to her.
As for me, I have discovered over these half hours that I remember most of the lyrics of the songs from The Sound of Music, sung to entertain my kids. But that great revelation aside, I hate the power cut. I cannot be philosophical about it. I don?t think anybody should be. In this day and age, it is appalling that such things should be allowed. The power situation must improve.
After all no one can see INDIA SHINING in the dark.
