Onam is Around

Bee,

23 August 2010

Kerala is in the mirth of celebrating Onam. Though the dimensions of Onam have undergone many a change, the spirit continues to hold. When I say spirit, it could mean the 'other' spirit as well. During the celebrations Kerala hit a record alcohol consumption of over rupees 150 crores, so I heard in one of the news channels parents are glued to. Chalakkudy district was on the top of the list the first day, followed by Karunagappally (in Kollam district) the second day. Cant complain; the Mallus really do it 'grand.'

The traditional feast 'sadya' has as many curries as 15 or more, followed by the dessert 'payasam' which has loads of ghee, jaggery, cow's milk, coconut milk sugar which are ingredients to the base made of vermicilli, grams or rice/flour based biscuit like stuff called 'ada.' Well, the entire configuration that is plonked on to the plantain leaf ( traditionally, sadya is eaten on plantain leaves, though these days we get 'ready-made,' 'easy-to-use,' non-bio degradable ones in the super markets) takes several hours of cooking, often by several people who take turns to get it to the right stage. A good 500 calories in one payasam. And most often we have more than one. Well, this explains the high rate of diabetes and cholesterol in the country that God himself made with much precision. And, please note, we are just getting gym savvy so much so that in certain places you can only use the treadmill for just ten minutes or under, due to 'heavy traffic.' The time you get off the machine and use another, you can admire it being used by some one else.

Well, I digressed. With all its transformation and changing-with-the-time phenomenon, the truth is Onam still is a very important day in the Malayalam calendar - irrespective of the religious belief. It brings families together, memories together... This is one time of the year where conscious efforts are made to re-produce, present and bring out the art forms that are being forgotten or sidelined in the massive mushrooming of cable television and the growing frenzy for reality shows.

The city of Trivandrum is lit with almost all colours thinkable ( well, we have power cuts later on - from March onwards to be precise when all school and college exams begin and children sweat out) and each evening the city is an ocean of people - yes, an ocean, may be, over a hundred thousand people on the roads... amazing.

Indeed a good feeling to walk around the city and breathe in all the positive energy in the air...

Mamamtha and Seema - A flavour of Rajasthan

Mamatha and Seema, both 16 years have added a Rajasthani flavour on the main street, Palayam in Trivandrum. They are here to sell bangles of such striking colours! Women and children throng to them to buy as much as they can!

They are wanderer-traders who roam around different States during festival seasons. The entire family moves, make a small profit and get back to Rajasthan, where they are from.

Mamatha is in Trivandrum for the first time, and Seema the second. Seema who lost her elder brother and her father is the main bread winner in her family. Both girls brave the heat, ogling by many a man on the road, repeated warnings from Police to vacate site and of course the language! The struggle for existence is fought on two meals a day - the chappatis and sabji they make at the small boarding they have hired and staying empty-stomached the entire day, when the entire city is in the mirth of celebrating its national festival. They make 500 rupees a day, a good amount of which is spent on the boarding and food.

Though both girls love to learn and go to school, they have never got the opportunity. "In Rajasthan, girls are not taught..." says Seema with a tinge of sadness. " We will get married and raise children... and life will go on with what ever it has to offer us."

Mamatha and Seema are just the faces of rural Indian penury and the not-so-changed attitude towards girl children. As she said, life will go on for them, whether India shines, wines or whines....