A journalist visits Cuba to understand Kerala’s bond with the country over communism and Castro

The sun is hot as hell, but the wind isn’t. Which makes the weather sort of okay.

That is the first thing you notice when you sit back in what they call a fotingo or “classic car” in Havana in the month of June. These vintage cars, relics of Cuba’s precommunist past, survive because of their ingenuity, so claim their proud owners without exception, as though it is the default statement to make. They are themselves very often the chauffeurs, too. This “ingenuity” they are proud of is similar to what is termed as jugaad in India – the philosophy of being creative and making do with less. Chauffeur Alex, a strong black Cuban dressed like a cowboy, who takes me around Habana Vieja (Old Havana), Vedado and Miramar, the three main localities of the Cuban capital, tells me that most drivers (who are also invariably owners of these vehicles) are pretty good mechanics and know how to fix their cars if there is a problem. They don’t have much choice in the face of uncertain supplies of parts for these mostly American cars due to hostile ties with the neighbouring superpower. “I am a mechanical wizard, having driven this car...

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