Onam

 

Happy Onam to all you Mallus of the world ! Every year Onam falls in the month of Chingam which is the first month of the solar calendar, according to the Malayalam calendar. And it is a complete 10 days celebration that consists of several rituals starting from floral rangoli, boat races, a grand feast and the traditional attire that makes the festival a day of happiness and merrymaking for everyone around.

 

We celebrated our first Onam here in Australia. Thanks to an already vibrant Keralite community, it was relatively easy to procure all the ingredients for our little grand Ona-sadya (feast) right here in Melbourne. I recall it was comparitively difficult just to get everything in Bangalore.

The state of Kerala, however, had a much more muted celebration. Following in the aftermath of the uncprecendeted rains and floods till last week, the state is still in the middle of a massive rebuilding and rehabilitation programme.  The political slugfest concerning the ‘promised’ foreign funds continue, and petty politics has already tarnished the image of the state and the country as a whole. In short, Kerala is so desperate for funds that it is seeking it directly from other countries, having ruled out the option of tapping its own resources. One of the ways the state government is looking to raise funds is by increasing tax on alcohol. As always, the state is also relying on its reliable army of non-resident Indians to send home remittances and donations for the cause. The irony of the ‘most’ developed state of India is having to figuratively beg for money is not lost.

 

 

But on the other side , the state is now celebrating stories of heroism, bravery and resilience. There was a massive social movement among the masses to not only survive the floods, but to successfully overcome it. The new super heroes without capes are the fishermen, and IAS officers, who went beyond their line of duty to do the right thing. It should be notes, there were no mentions of heroic politicians , just common men doing whatever they could.

And that is the only way to rebuild a nationn.

 

 

PS: Read how M K Gandhi ralied the nation in 1924 to help after the Malabar floods of that year.