Before I start I would like to clarify that I am a Mallu born to two pure Mallu parents who in turn had pure Mallu parents. No mix and match here. I am as much a Malayali as any of you with the only difference that I was bought up in New Delhi. Every year I would look forward to, two months of vacation in Kerala with my cousins and aunts and grandparents. It used to be beautiful with all the trips to Kovalam, Kanyakumari, and Ponmudi. This is how I always looked at Kerala. Then school got over, life moved to England and from there to Chennai. Chennai, The imaginary cosmopolitan of South India, Capital of Tamil Nadu. As soon as I stepped into Chennai I felt an animosity towards it. Awful climate, xenophobic and unhelpful people, expensive, agreed with the general Malayali opinion that ‘Pandi” (slang used for Tamilians by Malayalis) people were rude and unclean. Couldn’t wait to get out of there. The opportunity arrived in the form of my marriage. My future husband who happens to be a Tamilian happened to be working in Kochi, Kerala. There was no end to my happiness. Just imagine going my back to my home land, the place I’ve always loved and longed to be.
I arrived in Cochin with lots of expectations and what I ended up with was bitter disappointment and disgust. The people here were vulgar, unhelpful, lazy, uncouth and unruly. Ever since I arrived here, each day has been a mini battle. Battle with shopkeepers, battle with bus conductors, and battle with colleagues because I just didn’t fit in this place. It had changed or maybe it had always been like this and my immature eyes could never see it before. This is a failed state. Period. No Info Park, No Smart City is going to help it. What can you expect out of a state which is held at ransom by Unions? And politicians are more worried about what to call the state as opposed to running the state. Kerala or Keralam will not make an iota of difference to the state. People here are not willing to work hard but want to get paid for free. In a corporate office they want to speak in Malayam and alienate non malayalis. Cant even buy a mid range mobile phone here without being constantly lied to or cheated.
Is this what my homeland has become? After over 26 years of being a proud Keralite, today I have to bow my head in shame and say I am from Kerala.
I'd rather be a loud, obnoxious “Pandi” than a scheming, rude, two faced Mallu.
Very true. I am a malayalee raised in Chennai and went to work in Kerala However had to quit in 4 months because of constant verbal harassment by my colleagues.
ReplyDeleteLeaving Kerala never to return there again was one of the best decisions of my life.