Embracing Traditions Beyond Boundaries
“It’s actually called pookkalam in Kerala*,” I tell my colleagues, who are eager to get started with the rangoli. They all look up together simultaneously, and at that instant, I know the question they are about to ask.
One that I have been asked several times since my school days.
“Are you a Malayali*?”
Every year, when school reopened after summer break, we would discuss how we had spent the holidays. My tales always centered around Kerala. It was my maternal grandparents’ place, and our family spent every vacation there.
I got asked the same question almost every time.
And the answer, I am not a Malayali.
My grandparents had migrated to Kerala early in their life and eventually settled there. My mother and her siblings had grown up in Kerala. They spoke Tamil and Malayalam fluently and grew accustomed to both ways of life. They adopted certain traditions and customs from Kerala, leading to a delightful mix of cultures.
Onam was one of them.
The tradition continued even after my mother married and came to Tamil Nadu. As we visited Kerala every year, we also grew fond of the state.
