Sunday, January 5

Standing in KS Road, not too far from the Kovalam Junction end, we watch a Pink Police car drive up and stop a few yards from us. The three police women get out.

I expect them to ask, “What are you doing? Where are you going?”, or something along those lines. Instead one of them produces a camera and they ask if they can pose for selfies with us. They chat to us for ten minutes or so before they get back in their car and drive off.

Four Pink Police cars operate in Trivandrum, but only they have Kovalam as part of their beat. The Pink Police exist to protect women, and part of their job simply involves driving around to create a visible presence.

They declare themselves pleased that I want to photograph their car. I suppose that, in an odd way, they see me assisting them to raise their visibility.