A post mortem on Onam

The star studded program was half underway when the mayor arose to speak. 'Onam signifies the continous struggle between good and evil. It's the hope and longing for a society embedded in equality'. The festive crowd were in no mood for a long speech. They booed her down. In short, the.significance of the festival is it no longer conveys any significance.

In past couple of decades the per capita spending of Kerala shot up to highest in the country. This despite the fact that the state doesn't contribute much to production. Some if the big names in retail have come down to reap profits out of blatant consumerism.

As people realised they could afford living alone, the joint family system started disintegrating. More and more units of consumer came up. Once upon a time credits were akin to shame and dishonor. Today people cannot do without credit. Private lenders did reap huge rewards out of this.

Thiruonam wasn't spared out of the plunge. The festival has become the best arena to do brisk business. Months prior to the festival big names get ready with huge cut outs and attractive discounts.
People starts streaming in. The trickle grows into huge crowd.

There was an instance when a clothing mall 'Jayalekshmi' had to close down the shutter every 30 minutes to clear out people at the cash register. Reliance trends were filled with some of the worst outfits but still there were no dearth to the crowd. The boys there clearly needed some good rest. I was told that they weren't able to close down at night.

The traditional banquet was an opportunity for the family to gather and cook. But its clearly out of fashion today. The big hotels advertises for 'Sadhya' and charges hefty fees. Still booking has to be made months in advance clearly knowing the food is going to be the worst.

Every simple aspect of Onam has given away to costly stuff. The real beneficiaries being the merchants.  The Onam, once a noble and holy festival, is today a market vulgarity.