Soccer is the national obsession of  countries like Brazil. The whole nation comes to a grinding halt when leading teams like Corinthians and Santos   fight it out at the Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janeiro. This is not limited to the super teams. Life in small towns in Brazil come to a stop when their local heroes lock horns for a league match. Countries like Italy, Britain, Germany, Spain and France are no exceptions. Football is a religion in all these countries.

What this has to do with Kerala? There are some places in the state like Malappuram and Kozhikode where football is respected and loved with religious fervor.   Other than that, it is the frequent bundhs and hartals which has become Kerala's obsession. The year 2004 saw a record number of 124 bundhs and hartals in Kerala. The forced closure of shops and business establishments and wildcat strikes are the 'major industries' in this part of the land known all over as God's Own Country. 

Normal life is thrown out of gear on the hartal and bundh days. Buses, cars , autos and two-wheelers keep off the roads which put travelers into untold difficulties.

While the common man is put to many difficulties, the political party leaders laugh all the way to restaurants and press clubs to declare about the success of the day's bundh. They never forget to salute the man on the street for his cooperation to make the bundh a 'grand success'.

One can understand the logic of bundhs and hartals in places like Jammu & Kashmir and the North East where the terrorists call the shots. But Kerala is an entirely different entity. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the home minister, told the Kerala Assembly the other day that the frequent statewide shutdowns are drawing hundreds of tourists to the state! "Many tourists come to Kerala to experience the bundhs and hartals," Balakrishnan told the House when the Congress-led Opposition drew the government's attention to the difficulties faced by tourists because of the general shut down which have become very frequent.

The 'shutdown business' is the only  sector in the state which does not require any investments. Any registered organizations can call for statewide bundh on one pretext or other. For example, the state of Kerala saw bundhs by various political parties against the fuel price hike. Since BJP and CPI(M) do not see eye to eye on any issues, both the parties held separate bundhs which saw the state coming to a halt for two days.

The ordinary people are learning to 'enjoy' these shut downs. "It is because we do not have any choice," says Dr Mridula Nair, head, department of psychology, Mahatma Gandhi College, Thiruvananthapuram. Dr Nair, who has traveled vastly, is of the opinion that the phenomenon of bundhs   and  hartals are unheard of in other countries. "If you want to protest, do it. But is should not be at the expense of others," said Dr Nair.

A trip down the  Kasargod-Thiruvananthapuram highway provide a 'panoramic view' of Kerala.

The lethargic attitude of the common man towards the bundhs is only because of his helplessness. With more than a dozen TV channels to pick from, he prefers the cozy atmosphere of his drawing room with a pint of liquor. Seeing the commercial potential of the shut down, the TV channels have started beaming 'bundh-day special programmes' which feature cinemas and other entertainment shows. This has given the hartals an aura of some festivals.

One of the interesting developments is the demand from certain quarters about the choice of days for bundhs and hartals. "Let them call   bundhs either on Fridays or Mondays," said Anita Prakash, a woman entrepreneur of Perumbavoor.  "That will help us to get an extended weekend. This will be of help to people who commute to their hometowns during the weekends because they can have an additional holiday." Anita said.

Anita's remark is born out of frustration and helplessness. The leaders who give the call for strikes are yet to understand the resentment behind these comments. When this writer contacted a trade union leader by name Elamarom Kareem for his comment, the reaction was rather strange. "It is difficult to have bundhs on Fridays since the Muslims have to offer namaz. We can definitely think of calling for bundhs on Mondays," said Kareem.   And behold! He has become the state's industry minister!

Road accidents, suicides, sex scandals, strikes and agitations.. Kerala tops the list in all these categories. Even the student unions call for statewide agitations and shut downs. The agitations have taken Kerala to a point of no-return. In an interview with this reporter way back in 1997, late Sardar Raunaq Singh, founder of Apollo Tyres, commented that had he opened the plant in any state other than Kerala, he would have been the tyre king of the country.

What has happened is that the Malayalee diaspora which has amassed millions are hesitant to invest in their own state. "It is the frequent strikes and shut downs which prevent me from taking a risk in Kerala," said  Hari, an entrepreneur in Britain. Forget about the Non-Resident Keralites. Other countries prefer to have non-Malayalees as their employees. "One Malayalee is ok. Two Malayalees means trade-union. And three will ensure the closure of the business," said Biju, yet another entrepreneur from Palakkad who is doing roaring textile business in Shanghai, China.

The day in not far off when tourism experts rename Kerala as Devil's Own Paradise. But there is enough hope. With tour operators promoting slum tourism in places like Mumbai, there is enough potential in the launching of 'shut down tourism'.