And the address is: “Havisha”, 13/724, Koivila Pavumba, Thevalakara, Thevalakara Post Office, Kollam 690524, Kerala.
A lady from the Panchayat Office called us up a few days back and said: “We have allotted you your house number; what do you want to name your home?” (Yes, in Kerala we name every home! )She suggested our ancestral house name- Poozhikunnath (it forms part of my official- passport – name and therefore she knew it. And yes, in Kerala your house name is an integral part of your name!)
I asked for a few days to think up a name. She said it would be nice if “you can call back in ten minutes and tell me a name”.
So in ten minutes, we named her: Havisha! (Edit: named the home; not the lady!)
Havisha means “an offering”. It also means ‘a sanctuary’, ‘a safe harbour’. And is also a name for Goddess Lakshmi.
Contrary to the general view (including ours) our interactions till now with the government machinery has been fabulous. The Panchayat has been super professional in its approach to everything: (construction permits, post-completion compliance inspections etc) speedy responses; impressive systems and procedures; and zero corruption. So too are the Kerala Electricity Board and the Kerala Water Authority. Maybe it is because we are in a rural setting. Maybe it is our honeymoon period and things will soon turn sour. But we are savouring it while it lasts. The Electricity connection took just a week; water (under Jal Jeevan, the Central Government’s water scheme) a day! We have got our cooking gas connection. And broadband.
Havisha is shy. She is pictured here hiding behind the fence of the village temple (a very popular temple). Don’t get fooled by the fencing. We are spanked on the lane leading to the lake, with near zero frontage. Literally ‘on the road’
Seeking your blessings and wishes. And remember this is your home too. Come. Come to Havisha. The offering. The sanctuary. The safe harbour.
PS: we have still got a few leaks to plug in our tiled roofing. And there will be some more things to fix….
Wanna come n fix it for us?
