Does Thrissur truly deserve the title, ‘Cultural Capital of Kerala’?
Truly yesterday afternoon I was so busy with my household work when my phone rang. It was Bashira (name is not real), my daughter’s best friend’s mother. We two are good friends since our girls study in the same division of same school. Let me tell you, my daughter studies in a Muslim Management School of Cultural Capital of Kerala, Thrissur.
“Has anything quoted in the diary about Onam celebrations?” Bashira asked me. “Yes, Onam celebration is on Tuesday. They can wear colour dress for the function” I replied.
She kept silent for a moment, and asked eagerly, “Does anything written in the diary about the side dishes to be brought on Tuesday?”
“Nothing. But she told me that her teacher asked her to bring thoran, pickles and sambar. Actually I am bit confused. So, I have decided to call her in the evening. What about you?”
“My daughter has mentioned nothing. She just told me that they can wear colour dress on Tuesday, nothing else. Ok, I shall call class teacher in the evening and ask her what special dish I should send for Onam celebrations.” Thus the conversation ended.
A brief description of Onam celebrations
Before I proceed further, let me give you a snapshot of the significance of Onam and how Onam celebrations are conducted in schools and colleges. As everyone believes that Onam is the state festival of Kerala, everyone forget their castes, creed and financial inequalities and celebrate this cultural festival together in a grand way. Boat races, feasts and cultural programs are promoted during this time. It’s usually assumed that wherever there are Keralites, there is Onam celebration. Onam gives new messages of cultural integrity and religious harmony to everyone. Though the folk stories are related to Mahabali, Vamana and Hindu Mythology, it’s widely regarded as the state festival of Kerala.
In schools, kids may be asked to bring flowers to prepare Atham (Pookkalam) inside classrooms and whole students participate in it to decorate their Atham so special. In addition to it, Onasadya (Onam feast) will also be arranged in each classroom where students bring side dishes from home. As expenses may go high if such arrangements are done at school, teachers normally ask students to prepare a particular side dish or sweet at home and bring it on that day. Thus all dishes will be uniformly divided among kids so that all kids get an opportunity to bring a dish from home and participate in the festival. In colleges, many Onam sports like Vadamvali, Kalam adi or Sundarikku pottukuthu will also be arranged. Traditional folk items like Kummatti Kali and Kaduva Kali may also be performed. All students and teachers will participate in this celebration irrespective of castes or religions, as it is believed to be.
Ok, let me continue with my narration
In the evening I called my daughter’s class teacher to know its details.
“Madam, I just want to know what my daughter should bring as a part of Onam celebrations. She named two or three dishes and I got confused. That’s why I called you” I enquired.
Teacher replied, “Actually we have asked only Hindu kids of the class to bring dishes for Onam celebration”.
I don’t know what’s at present going through your (reader’s) mind at present. I was terribly shocked. School means a holy place where all students are treated equal. There should be uniformity in children in everything. Celebrations may belong to a particular caste or group. But when it’s conducted in classroom all students should be given equal opportunity to participate in the celebration. Not only that, when such a celebration is conducted in schools within classrooms, it’s the responsibility of school authorities to give equal opportunity to all its students – It’s my personal belief. I hope readers will also agree with me.
“How can it be right Madam? Why only Hindus given opportunity to bring dishes from home? Onam is a celebration where each student of the class should be given an opportunity”, my mouth was wide open when I asked her this question. I couldn’t keep silent hearing such a response from an educated school teacher whom we believe to teach lessons of religious harmony to kids.
“If we ask Muslim students, they won’t bring dishes from home. So we are searching Hindus one by one from the classroom and asking those kids only to bring items of Onam feast.”
Actually I was speechless. Nothing was left for me to tell. Just I imagined what Bashira will think when she hears the same thing. In that short 5 minute talk, I never felt that she is reluctant to send a dish to school for her daughter’s Onam celebration, may be a pickle or something else. But this highly educated school teacher categorized innocent kids on the basis of religion and caste within the classroom and wants to celebrate Onam in a way for which our beloved king Mahabali will cry a lot.
Is Onam a Hindu festival?
It is true Onam is related to Maha Vishnu and Mahabali. But it’s widely accepted by all Keralites irrespective of religious beliefs. As far as I know, all homes celebrate it in their own distinct ways. Hindus make it a fully vegetarian day while the rest make it grand with non-vegetarian items. It depends on personal interests. While I was studying in a Christian College of Tamil Nadu, we celebrated in a grand way and all students of the professional courses participated in it, bringing dishes from home, preparing pookkalam and participating in ‘Vadam vali’ and similar games. No one stood outside saying this celebration don’t belong to us. A celebration is only complete when all participate in it and when such cultural programs are conducted in school it gives a message of unity and integrity among little buds.
I personally feel that all such religious celebrations can be conducted in school, Id, Diwali or Christmas. Teachers should stay in front to unite students and make them participate. They can tell stories associated with those religious celebrations and can even remind them that all religions teach us the same thing and that we should respect all their beliefs equally. If such celebrations are conducted in school premises, then all kids should be treated in the same way. There should not be any discrimination. Otherwise it’s better not to conduct such cultural programs in schools and plant wrong seeds in innocent young minds.
Celebrations of a particular community only within a group??
I am not sure, what thoughts are going on in your mind. As far as I believe, teachers should have informed all parents that Onam celebration are to be conducted in school classes and if you are interested you can send a side dish or two for that celebrations. Let parents decide, if they need to send or not. But I personally believe that if parents are educated enough, they won’t discriminate between Hindus and Muslims and they will surely make their kids too to participate in the celebrations. Otherwise what’s the meaning of this cultural celebration that unifies all Keralites under one umbrella??
Last year when Christmas celebrations were conducted in her classroom, my daughter reminded me about their Christmas cake and Christmas tree. When she asked a star to decorate their Christmas tree, I bought a star of 100 rupees or so and gave it to her. She was also happy seeing the Christmas star in her hand. If I said, Christmas celebration is for Christians only and we should not celebrate it, what lesson would have my kid learnt from me. Instead I asked her, what else you need for your Christmas celebration in your class, as I firmly believe that such religious celebrations are a sort of fun and enjoyment for kids, to free their minds from the heavy burdens of syllabus. Also, I am cultured enough to see these celebrations as a part of her personal development or not any compulsion from Christians or someone else. In the case of this year’s Onam celebrations too, in my opinion all educated parents will think the same way as I do. They too send their kids to school to learn lessons of religious harmony and cultural integrity along with learning lessons. Even if a few parents say ‘No’, it’s the duty of school authorities to make them understand the real meaning of such celebrations and if possible convince them.
Now I assume, what will be going on in those kids’ minds when teachers categorize kids into two or three groups and giving instructions to only group of kids only! What might those discriminated young kids feel like? I am 100% sure they will definitely think that as we belong to two different communities, we can’t participate in the same festival together. Thus an invisible wall is already constructed between two groups at a younger age of 5. Yes, I am telling the ‘story’ of first standard pupils – the age when kids’ minds act like a wax or magnet to absorb everything they find around. Age of 5, the age when a kid needs to learn alphabets and small words, he might be decoding the puzzles created by his own teacher categorizing kids into two or three groups based on religion! Shame on it! Kerala – the land famous for cultural integrity and 100% literacy??? It’s a real shame of the state, that too, in the cultural capital of the state.
I am not sure, is it the same procedure in other Muslim Management schools too. If it’s so, I should say they are destroying the real aim of education. Education doesn’t mean earning big marks or make kids appropriate to earn big. The real aim of education lies in culturally educating the student so that he forgets all walls that exist in the society and treat everyone with equality. Though schools culturally educate the kids we can't deny the fact that when kids begin to communicate with society, certain invisible chains are formed. Yet, in my opinion schools should never the first one to bind kids in those communal chains. How many great leaders have taken birth in this society who fought giving such messages of unity and equality! When schools are the doorways to carry those messages forward, how can they show back doors to kids so that they travel towards those old ages of 19th century or 18th century? Now I remember what Swami Vivekananda addressed Kerala when he reached here, “Mental Asylum”. Are we going back to the same old century?
My kid frequently asks these questions
Personally I am against dividing kids into two groups based on religion and giving one batch Arabic education and the second batch, Life skill and Moral Science. Instead they could have included a subject in their syllabus that adds true messages from all religions including Sikhism and Jainism. During class time, when kids are divided based on religion and given separate subjects/classes, the division of pupils based on religion gets implanted in their minds at a younger age. They begin to assume that there is some kind of difference between Hindus and Muslims, that’s why they are given special subjects.
“Mother…… Christians say Amen. What should we Hindus say?” last week when my five and half year old daughter asked this question, I was buried in thoughts for a while. “Mother, Sneha is Hindu, Sharon in Christian, My dearest friend is Muslim” – Now I am fed up hearing such kind of talks from our kid. “Vavoo…. I have told you several times I don’t like you address your friends this way. It’s wrong. There is no difference between Hindus or Muslims. All are your friends.” – I have always tried to erase the religious feelings from her mind. “No mother, no. Mohammad is Muslim, I know it”, she starts arguing with me with curious expressions on her face. It’s not the case of one day or two; now such arguments have become a part of our life. Let me ask you, who is responsible for such a situation? Is it me, my 5 year old child or the school from which she learns such ‘religious’ lessons?
Is Thrissur the Cultural capital of Kerala?
“Is Thrissur Cultural capital of Kerala? Does it truly deserve the title?” Two and a half year back, when my brother-in-law asked me this question, we were in search of a new home, just 10 kms away from Thrissur town. It was for the first time brother-in-law came to this town I think so. My husband’s job got shifted from Kodungallur to main town and we were in search of a new home, our fourth home since marriage. Brother-in-law’s family now resides in Ernakulam and they too assisted us when we reached Thrissur to find our new dwelling place.
“Are you Hindu or Christian?” – The same question was repeated by each and every broker and house owner whom we met with. As they didn’t notice ‘Parda’ on my head, they pre-assumed that we are not Muslims. Thank God! Slowly we could understand the attitude of people in that area. Christians, Muslims or Hindus – they will give home to only to people belonging to their religious group. Even if they give home for rent to another religious group, their life turns miserable. We travelled one full day in search of a home in vain; and met with the same question from brokers as well as house owners. That’s when my brother-in-law asked me the question, “Is Thrissur Cultural capital of Kerala? I can’t believe”.
Somehow we got a home, surprisingly from a Christian family. But for the first time in my life, I began to get repeated questions from people around, “To which caste do you belong to?” Personally I am against asking caste of people. For some reasons we had to change our home. There too, I had to face the similar ‘caste’ query. I wonder how people are not shy to openly enquire about caste of neighbours. Many times, I even felt to respond, “What’s there in caste”; but never dared!!! For personal reasons, I had a third shift in the past two years and when we searched home, brokers only want to know if we are Hindus or not. I have shifted to a new home last month only and we got this home only because …readers can fill it.
What should I interpret? Only I could understand is that it’s the real face of the cultural capital of Kerala. I have resided in many districts of Kerala, yet I have never faced similar situations before. For people who look from outside, Kerala is a beautiful, small and secure state. The land filled with rivers, festivals, elephants and literate people. But is it true? Definitely needed a second thought!
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