The changing skyline of Kochi!

I was born and brought up in Kochi and have lived most of my life in this wonderful city. There is no place in the world that I would trade for Kochi in spite of its many disadvantages- pollution, crowd, congestion, the works. I have always looked at the city very closely and have been ecstasic about anything new that has come up in the city- the first indoor stadium, the big football stadium, Le Meridian, the International airport, its first mall and the like. Over the past 20 years, the city has changed a lot. New shops, new outlets, new avenues of entertainment, new restaurants- everything that one would associate with a city that is growing. The skyline of Kochi, the marine drive, to be precise, boasted of only Ashoka flats in the mid- 1980's. The first (and the best) apartment to have come up in Kochi, the promoters of Ashoka flats had a tough time selling it since at that point of time, Kochiites could not imagine living within the four walls of an apartment. The last 20- odd years has brought a great deal of change in the city and in the attitude of its inhabitants. Apartments have sprung up in every part of the city even extending to its suburbs. Its getting increasingly difficult to draw the borders of the city since it is in an ever expanding mode. Kakkanad has become the cynosure of all eyes with the Infopark on rapid path to progress and the much hailed Smart City on its way to becoming a reality. Kalamasserry is close behind with cyber park and other private IT parks coming up. Vallarpadam is also under close scrutiny with the work on the International Container Handling Terminal in fast progress. With all this and more, Kochi is definitely on its way to become the next Mumbai. It is not without reason that I am writing about this topic today. Last week, I had a chance to cross the Goshree bridges for attending a function. It had been ages since I had crossed the High Court Junction and I was literally dumb founded to see the kind of construction happening at the Marine Drive extension. Purvankara, Prestige, DLF, Abad- all reputed builders who are engaging in giving shapes to what can be called the dreams of the new generation Kochiites. Luxury apartments, big malls, multiplexes- you name it and you have everything right there. Beyond the second Goshree bridge, I could see stretches of land that had just been reclaimed from the backwaters. Yes, the vast stretch that is going to house the International Container Handling Terminal that is expected to come up soon. Add to that, the constructions happening at the various suburbs like Kakkanad (Smart City), Kalamasserry (Cyber Park), Edappally (Lulu Hyper Market, the Mall "O"), Maradu (the new mall by Abad group), Vyttilla (Gold Souk), Kundannoor (Crowne Plaza) and Palarivattom (Holiday Inn). With all these projects completing in the next couple of years, the skyline of Kochi is definitely going to undergo a major change! With many more Kochiites who have believed strongly in the prospects of the city, I am also looking forward to all these and more becoming reality soon!!!