September 17, 2025, Wednesday
I had just finished window-shopping at Trivandrum Lulu Mall and eaten a quick lunch, but I was still hungry. Next on my list was a bridge over the Akkulam Lake in Trivandrum. This spot was on the way to my old IT company, so I had spent considerable time ogling at it while passing by on buses.
I asked the security staff at the mall’s parking lot for directions to Akkulam Lake. “I don’t know,” she shook her head apologetically. “I’m not from around here,” she added.
Google Map & a Pink Scarf
So, as usual, I turned to my biggest partner-in-crime. I Google-mapped it. The Akkulam lake and the bridge over it were just a 1.3-kilometer walk from the Lulu Mall. A mostly flat road. All I had to do was turn left and walk straight until I reached the destination. There was one problem, though. It was 1 pm, blazing hot, and I had forgotten my umbrella at home. Some lessons, we are bound to learn the hard way.
Nonetheless, I’m too proud to shy away from a good challenge. So I pulled my pink cotton scarf over my head, reached the main road through the mall’s pedestrian exit, and walked towards the Akkulam bridge. Luckily, the sun was in one of its low moods, and the wind was having a ball. So I didn’t feel that tired by the time I reached the bridge. I gulped down some water on the way.
A Ragpicker & My Conditioned Fears
Just as I reached the spot and started clicking photos, a ragpicker also climbed the bridge. His hair was dishevelled, and so were his clothes. On the way, he rummaged through the nearby woods, picked up plastic bottles, and stuffed them into the sack in his hand. I feared that he was mentally ill or drunk.
Pretending to act cool, I walked to the other end of the bridge, snapping pics on the way. Maybe I was overthinking, and I unnerved him as much as he unnerved me. Perhaps, he and I were both just doing our jobs, trying our best, not to bother each other.
But as a woman, I was taught to be wary of almost everything in this world, especially strangers. Thanks to the highly sheltered and naive life I lived for the last 32 years, my first reaction to almost everything is fear.
So, I crossed to the other side of the bridge and continued clicking pics. He stayed atop the bridge for some time, staring at the lake. Then, much to my relief, he walked away. Little things like this shouldn’t scare me so much. After all, I’m an adult. But unfortunately, it does.
Water Hyacinths & Skyscrapers
The green lake, partially covered with the curly greens of water hyacinths, looked gorgeous under the clear blue sky. I could see rows of coconut trees and many skyscrapers at a distance on the shore. I could read the signboard of SFS Waterscapes, an apartment complex offshore. On one of the shores, two lovers sat under a tree, chit-chatting. I looked away to give them privacy.
Two Bikers & Judgemental Stares
As I stood in the middle of the bridge, clicking pictures of the water hyacinth, one young guy, dressed in formals like an IT professional with an ID tag and all, came up the bridge, pushing his bike. Did the bike need repair, or did it run out of fuel? I never found out. Another guy, either a friend or colleague of the first guy, walked behind him, wearing a helmet, to tackle the afternoon sun.
Both of them passed by, giving me judgmental stares, maybe wondering what the hell I was doing on a bridge at noon, or simply pissed that I was witnessing their misfortune. Of course, how would they know that my brother and I have pushed many a bike and even a minivan under repair through busy streets, so it was no novelty for me.
My hostel mates had informed me about the Akkulam Tourist Village, with boating facilities, a children’s park, a swimming pool, and an air force museum. But I was more keen to revisit a place from my past – Veli Tourist Village. I just couldn’t recollect the route, though.
Wrong Routes & Helpful Strangers
I crossed the bridge again, determined to find the nearest bus stop and catch a bus to Veli. My mind was playing games with me. I remembered the Veli railway station, close to my old IT company, from where I used to catch my train home most evenings. So the Veli tourist village must be close to the Veli railway station, right?
This warped thought made me walk all the way from Akkulam Bridge to Kuzhivila, near my old company, only to learn from a father-daughter duo at the bus stop that I have to catch a bus to Chackai, in the opposite direction, then another bus to the side route to Veli to visit the tourist village.
I wasn’t angry with myself; after all, to err is human. But I was so dead tired that a vacant seat on my bus to Chackai filled me with joy. A middle-aged Chetan in the bus, who got down at Chackai with me, helped me cross the road in the direction of Veli, even though he had to go in a totally different direction.
I stood at the bus stop, waiting for a Veli bus, reading the signboards. Mall of Travancore was just 800 metres away, and Veli was 5 kilometers away. I felt a tight pain in my chest and a breaking headache. I really should have eaten more. I have noticed that most of my problems vanish or stop bothering me as soon as I eat.
Moving Goalposts
I saw the sixty-year-old Milind Soman, smiling at me from a billboard across the street. Out of the many hats he has donned in his life, as an actor, model, and film producer, he is also a hardcore fitness enthusiast, and he was going to run the UST Trivandram marathon on 12th October, 2025.
I’ve been wanting to run a 5K for ages. The highest I’ve ever done was a 3K. Looking at my digital watch, I realized I had walked close to 15k steps. Ever since the Trivandrum trip started, I have been averaging 10-15k steps per day. I realised 2025 could easily become my most athletic and fittest year yet. Inshallah! A marathon still seemed herculean, but a 5K totally doable at this point. Nonetheless, I mentally saluted the smiling man in the ad.
To be continued…
Author’s Notes
~ All content on this blog is the intellectual property of the author. © 2026 Lirio Marchito. All rights reserved.
~ This blog is part of a series exploring my travels through Trivandrum, the capital city of my home state, Kerala, in India. You can read more posts from this series here. Trivandrum | Kerala| India
Lirio's Wanderings 