Monday, November 3

Sreeni arrived at 11:00. We had decided to spend most of the day shopping in Trivandrum. We made the usual tour. We began at Fabindia and then moved onto Style Plus. This was in the process of being renovated as well as now being split in two. The men’s section is in a separate building two doors down from the original shop. The original shop is being reorganised so that everything is packed in piles or nowhere where you might expect it.

The Modern Book Centre, on the other hand, was exactly the same as always, and I spent some time there browsing through their incomprehensibly organised shelves. Now I have walked up to the main road to join Irma at Sanker’s coffee and tea shop. They are busy roasting and grinding and Irma is busy buying the end results. I am now standing outside in the pouring rain watching the buses pass.

We will finish with a quick trip to Big Bazaar to buy things like savoury instant porridge to take home. On the way back we will stop at the beer shop and Sreeni will point out that there is an upstairs where we can get served much more quickly. He is right.