Nikhil: Yes, after this post, many people pointed out to me that he speaks Malayalam. My post was based on the book I am reading now, “Bookless in Baghdad”. Guess its been a while since he wrote it, and has learnt Malayalam in the time after. Good for him, I say!

Gauri, I do think you are taking it to an extreme. And from Tharoor’s perspectice, it can’t be worth joining politics in Kerala if you are genuinely not interesting in making a difference. anyways, each to their own opinions, guess that’s why we have elections..:)

Scorpiogenius: I am not sure the only reason TVM remained old is lack of lobbying power. I do think there is a difference in the attitudes of people. Even now, people consider a government job much better than a job in a private company, let alone entrepreneurship. Legacy and attitudes of the common man are also to blame. I agree though, Tharoor is definitely a risk worth taking.

Pradeep, glad you can relate to the post – at least I am not that far off from reality in my observations as an outsider..:)

You’ve caught some of the pionts in the vision Dr. Tharoor has outlined for Trivandrum. Forget the sceptics, this is the first time a candidate appeared serious about Trivandrum.

You mentioned Tvm as being an old city. Know why? because of decades of sending good for nothing donkeys to New Delhi who never opened their sweet mouths for the city. Any investment planned for the city ends up in other parts of Kerala. Tvm always lacked the lobbying power, surprising for a capital city, and hence the state of affairs as you see it now.

But with Tharoor, we sincerely hope the story to end. He has the lobbying power, grey cells and seemingly has the willpower to translate the dreams to reality. We may be proved wrong in 5 yrs time, but with the choices of candidates we have Dr. Tharoor is by far the best.

So why not Tharoor this time? Its worth taking the risk. Perhaps he might become the reason for you to invest in Kerala!

Being a proud Indian and Malyalee ??? Pls dont be fooled by psudo talk. This is a man who berates Indian culture and wants us to ape Americans in everything…Ofcourse he walks his talk…lived in America / Europe almost all his life….worked for americans in a job at UN for last 30 years….dumped his Indian wife for an American……

and now he says he is joing Indian politics to clean us Indians up and teach us the American way of doing things….he says he will do service to the poor and needly of Kerala by explaing their problems in English in Parliment…yes !!! maybe his british accent will help !!

Guys !!! read between the lines – he had said in 2001 he needed the UN job to maintain his Manhattan aptmt…now aging and close to retirement, he needs a cushy political job to keep his Coke company PR and free travel and housing perks so that he can holiday with his American wife and run his business in Dubai…..

Great !!! Rule to remember -all you need is to be a smart looking glib talker to fool even smart people. Also it helps if you have strong family american/eruopean connections (like wife / daughter / Girl Frd etc) as do our dear PM ; PM (behind the scene) & not PM by choise.

We all know how the east india company conqured india. You have to give it to them – they were smarter, better looking, educated abroad and knew what we Indians needed. I wonder if we would have been better off still being a colony of England ???? maybe we are moving again towards it..life is a circle….JAI HO !!

-Nikhil

Shashi Tharoor speaks good Malayalam.
I have seen a Jeevan TV interview and a press conference.These videos seem to have been taken off Youtube.(some copyright issues)

His love for Kerala is evident from his writings in the Hindu’s Sunday Magazine.Trust me, most of his columns there had a mention of Kerala or Malayalees.

I sincerely hope his plans become reality.
-Nikhil

It does take a long time to go from idea to execution. I had been toying with mine for a long time before I decided to take the plunge. Thanks for the wishes.

PS. you will have to hold on to your curiosity just a bit longer. The biz is in stealth mode right now..

I didn’t know that Tharoor couldn’t speak Malayalam – that’s gonna cost him precious. Though 100% literate, Kerala will not be very kind to someone who calls himself a Malayalee and does not speak the language – at least that’s my gut feeling. A good chuck of the population wouldn’t understand his Oxford english – I hope he’s using a translator for his speeches. But yes, I am keen for him to win too. Mookkila rajyathe murimookkan raajavu syndrome maybe.