And for a Friday of the Onam holidays week in Trivandrum, some thoughts….. some musings…..
Onam is not only the biggest festival and fun times in Kerala, but Mallus all over India and the four corners of the world celebrate the festivities and togetherness irrespective of caste religion or economic differences. Almost every Malayali, sometimes referred as Mallus or Thengas (coconuts) amongst North Indian close friends, will host a full vegetarian Sadhya on a banana leaf. The order and varieties of dishes ofcourse may vary depending which part of Kerala one originates from. North Keralites consider their dishes superior whereas the Travancore Mallus consider themselves and their dishes unmatched, particularly now, with the fame of the riches of Padmanabhaswamy temple known worldwide. Irrespective of which place every Mallu also enjoys his “booze”. It is rumoured more than Rs. 7,000 mn worth of alcohol was consumed already this Onam!!!
On a more serious business note, I was privileged to be invited by my friend Shiva of Pisces Investments, to meet the honourable senator Dato Kesavadas A. Nair from the Malaysian Parliament, now on a trip to his ancestral homeland. Understand his grandfather had migrated from Trivandrum to Malaysia. The Senator presented the opportunities in his home state in particular and Malaysia in general for setting up manufacturing and investments in the fields of electronics, communications and IT, as also collaborations in food technologies, paper, wood, rubber products etc. With India becoming the fifth largest economy, there is a distinct recognition and genuine interests from most ASEAN countries to cooperate and partner with Indians, both operating within India and those with international passports but with their “hearts” in their home-land.
This Onam is as good a time as any for all of us to not only enjoy the harvest festivities, but also contribute in our own ways to nation building, the Indian way, the innovative way, the SEEGOS way.