Once again, a false and communal narrative has been launched by a media house in an apparent bid to show Kerala in a poor light. Social media users expose the lie.
Radha and Krishna watching fireworks in the night sky by Sitaram. A painting at the National Art Gallery, New Delhi. (Wikimedia Commons)
Being a Malayali in Delhi years ago, Deepavali brought me a sense of nostalgic peace, the memories of home, where no one tossed lit firecrackers at passersby with impunity.
The memories that gushed in were sweet, laced with the realisation of a lost childhood, where families got together to celebrate the Festival of Lights. The camaraderie, cutting across class, religion, and gender, was the highlight of festivals in Kerala.
In residential colonies, like Netaji Nagar at Law College Junction (previously known as Valancode Mukku) where I grew up in Thiruvananthapuram, the preparations used to begin in advance as residents pooled money to buy firecrackers in bulk.
We, the children, burst pottas with rocks, while some brandished toy guns that went bang bang for no particular reason, heralding the festival. We were just children and friends more than Hindus, Muslims, or Christians.
Religious barriers were then alien to us. It never bothered us as we competed with one another plucking flowers to lay floral carpets during Onam, or enthusiastically sang Silent Nights as we took out Christmas carols, going door to door collecting money mostly for a new football or cricket bat, and shared a sumptuous non-vegetarian spread on Eid.
On Deepavali as the sun disappeared beyond the western horizon, firecrackers in a huge thermocol box were brought out, as the children of Netaji Nagar made merry on the road, and on the playground of the Chacha Nehru Nursery School, a daycare centre in the colony.
It was fun as older children, annanmaar (big brothers) of the colony, handled the big bangs as we, the juniors, exhibited our chivalrous side with less-intensity crackers and flowerpots, even as girls watched with wide eyes, palms placed tight over their ears that shut each time a cracker went off. The girls — who normally settled for sparklers — often put us, boys, to shame when they dared to handle loud firecrackers as if they were just child’s play.
Time parted us, as we grew up and life took us to different parts of the world. I left for Delhi after college, a place so alien, where Deepavali became a fearsome nuisance as lit firecrackers were thrown at me, and the windowpanes of my residence at Mayur Vihar-Phase II shuddered with the continuous bursting of crackers that went late into the night and early morning.
In Kerala, meanwhile, the camaraderie has not been lost with time. Keralites celebrate all festivals as it is their own. It forms part of the Kerala story.
For me in Delhi, Diwali — as Deepavali is known in North India — was a matter of trepidation, ear-shattering and polluting. It often singed as well.
Years later — November 2023 to be precise — a news report challenged my experience of Deepavali, saying Kerala does not celebrate the Festival of Lights. Like many others Keralites, I, too, scoffed at the ignorance that fabricated the report, before realising the political underlining intended to the othering of Kerala, integral to India.
The Kerala that the report mentioned, is unknown to me, like all other Keralites.
In recent years, religious boundaries have become more prominent in India. The othering of communities — and even states — has become the norm in the age of post-truth. Deliberate attempts are made to drive a wedge between communities, and fake narratives presented as true stories unfurled even on the tinsel screen — for instance, The Kerala Story, endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
Vamana avatar of Lord Vishnu stomps on Bali’s head, and sends him to Patala.
(Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
I know they are not for the consumption of Malayalis, but targeted at our credulous North Indian brothers and sisters, who mug up the fake narratives and regurgitate them at every opportunity.
The latest narrative — or discovery — by a well-known media house is that “Keral” does not celebrate “Diwali” since the state has fewer Hindus compared to other religions! The ruling dispensation did not clarify the statement, despite each member of it taking the oath of office, pledging to uphold and protect the integrity of the nation.
Following a social media uproar, the media house withdrew the video, but did not offer a corrigendum. The report, filed with scant regard for the basics of journalism, incensed Keralites, who took to social media to vent their anger at the false narrative.
Kerala is a multicultural state with diverse religions. According to the 2011 decadal census by the government of India, Hindus comprise 54.73 percent of Kerala’s total population, while Muslims and Christians form 26.56 percent and 18.38 percent, respectively.
The media house said Hindus are fewer in Kerala and hence Deepavali is not celebrated in the state!
Compared to North India, Deepavali celebrations in Kerala are subdued. The Hindu festivals of Onam and Vishu see more celebration than Deepavali. So do Christmas and Eid, when the entire population joins the celebrations.
There are multiple reasons why Deepavali is a subdued affair. In North India, Deepavali is associated with the Ramayana, celebrating Rama’s victory over Ravana. In Kerala, Lord Krishna — not Rama — is the favourite god. In Kerala, Deepavali denotes the defeat of Narakasura by Lord Krishna.
The multicultural character of Kerala — with its mix of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians — gives the state a unique culture, far removed from that of North India.
The state has seldom adopted North Indian festivals as it is, though a change has been visible of late. The presence of North Indian communities and Hindi movies have influenced the change, and for Keralites, especially in colleges, celebrating Holi is not rare now.
Another reason for the subdued Deepavali celebration in Kerala is the agricultural pattern. In the North, Deepavali marks the end of a harvest season, as many Delhiites, now reeling under the after-effects of stubble burning, would agree.
The ancient silk route. The line in red is land route, while the one in blue is the sea route. (Wikimedia Commons)
The tropical climate and the retreating monsoon influence Kerala’s agriculture season. The state’s cash crops, coconut, spices, etc., have a different season than that of wheat grown in the North.
Additionally, Deepavali in North India also marks the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the winter. In Kerala, the corresponding season marks the beginning of the Northeast Monsoon.
Also, Onam is the state’s harvest festival, during which Keralites celebrate the annual visit of Mahabali, an asura king, stomped down to the nether world by Vamana, one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu.
After the Onam celebration (August-September), the farmers plant new crops and they seldom have the wherewithal to celebrate Deepavali on a grand scale.
Incidentally, Home Minister Amit Shah in 2016 suggested observing Onam as Vamana Jayanthi, a suggestion that Malayali’s discarded with a dialogue, po mone Dinesha (get lost, son Dinesha), from a popular Malayalam movie, even as troll factories went on an overdrive, churning out memes poking fun at the BJP leader.
Kerala has a peculiar geography with the Western Ghats guarding its eastern border. The range of majestic mountains has traditionally prevented other cultures from infiltrating the state from the East. The Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch, Jews, and Chinese cultures took the western sea route to Kerala in the past.
The Western Ghats, to a great extent, also guarded the state’s Dravidian culture.
Additionally, Kerala has a stronger secular fabric than the rest of the country, which prevents it from viewing the scale of celebrations as a yardstick for the supremacy of any particular religion.
However, areas neighbouring Tamil Nadu, like Thiruvananthapuram, celebrate Deepavali — a public holiday across the state — with much more gusto than northern Kerala, where Vishu is celebrated with grandeur.
The news report that said “Keral” — as the state’s name was mispronounced — does not celebrate Deepavali since it has fewer Hindus forced many social media users to question the professional integrity of the media house.
“15 hours have passed & there is still no apology from the India Today group. In an attempt to defame a state, they aired a show on how Kerala has fewer Hindus and we don’t celebrate Diwali. And Aaj Tak‘s claim that Diwali or Deepavali is not celebrated in Kerala is a LIE,” the handle Advaid (@Advaidism) on X noted.
Another user, Goks (@gokul272), wanted Aaj Tak to apologise for a different reason. “They should apologize first for calling #Kerala as Keral for billionth time,” he tweeted.
Anoop Kudayathoor (@AKudayathoor) was more forthcoming. “I did not celebrate diwali in my entire life. I celebrated only Vishu, onam, eid and christmas. In my home also we did not celebrate diwali. It is considered only as a holiday not a festival.”
Sujith Nambudiri (@sujithnambudiri) questioned Aaj Tak‘s right in telling which festival to celebrate. “Who mandates what festivals I celebrate? Is it not my choice,” he asked.
There were a few other tweets that subscribed to the apparent othering of Kerala.
Swayam sevak is desh ka (@koonal05), who tweeted, “But Onam is not a Hindu festival is truth for these tukde gangs,” was one of them.
“The way most you mallus who are non Hindus are in real life, it’s obvious. World knows reality. You can twist and turn use some commie Hindus. Because you move everywhere and show your true color. Kerala is an antinational community whatever sophisticated language you use,” tweeted Intolerants, Bharat (@nowordsmore).
Raj (@b_kind_2_) replied to Intolerants, Bharat: “Being a bigot and spewing venom on every one around and rubbing your nose into everyones business doesn’t make you a Hindu too ….. It makes u a religious extermist.”
“So dont sell your horrendous Hindutva as Hinduism,” he added.
(Views are personal. Tweets have been republished without editing).
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