The other side of New year revelry
Published January 3, 2012 | 
New Year celebrations in Kerala often boil down into ostentatious show of pomp and money power. New Year revelry is all about fast music, wild dance, DJs and drinks for many. However behind the glitter and the glamour of the New year revelry there were some dark moments that would leave us all ashamed.
The merry making males went overboard after downing a few hard drinks when they tried to molest the North Indian bar girls in the New Year parties in a three star hotel in Cochin. The staff and managers of several hotels had a difficult time shielding the girls from the straying hands of the spirited revelers.
In the city of Cochin alone, 878 cases were registered of which 568 were for drunk driving, wrong parking etc while 200 cases were booked for public boozing and a few related to clashes among party revelers. The city malls were jam packed with young revelers who shouted and sang all night that kept the families off.
The tourist hub of Fort Kochi also bore the brunt of the great carnival. Heaps of plastic containers of take away food parcels , decorative stuff, and loads of empty liquor bottles that remain mute testimonies of the drinking habits of Malayalees were all strewn around carelessly. It is paradoxical that as we become more educated we turn insensitive to everything around us including the less fortunate souls. It is high time that we pick up the art of celebrating special events without causing nuisance to others and littering public places !
Any time is party time
Published January 1, 2009 | As always, Kerala decked herself up in its finery to usher in a new year of hope and happiness. Hotels and tourism sector had come up with innovative New year programmes to pep up the milieu. There were variety entrainment programmes with a rich smattering of both contemporary and classic art forms, music, drama and pageants. The main alleyways were illuminated and hotels offered midnight bash, live music programmes and dinner feasts to draw the crowd.
In the past, festivals in Kerala were occasions to share the simple joys of life and share the virtues and cultural thoughts among the family members and to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate mortals. Nonetheless, with the onslaught of commercialisation, festivals have become more of ostentatious expressions of money and muscle power. and people make good use of it to hog the lime light and to grab a few eye balls in the society.
Men and women take time off to enjoy a make over in the leading spas and saloons of the city before heading to the super malls to cart away goodies to be distributed among friends during the bash. Eating out in a 5 star hotel followed by an outing in one of the popular holiday spots would almost always sign off the day in style. There would be also musical nights, fashion shows and pet shows to spice up the festive spirit. Food festivals are also popular ingredients of the festival calender of Kerala where men and women wait for hours together to carry home ‘payasams’ and other sweet dishes. It goes without saying that the new generation does not have the expertise to cook local delicacies and often depend on hotel to cater to their special needs during festival seasons.
However, the bottomline remains that even while indulging in fun and frolic, we should not forget simplicity and empathy for the less previleged people of the society.