ONAM FESTIVAL - IN GOD'S OWN COUNTRY.

Onam is actually Thiruvonam. In the month of Avani on the Thiruvonam Day it is celebrated by people of Kerala Origin irrespective of religion, caste or creed. In any part of the world you find Malayalees (those who speak Malayalam) in good number. Highly industrious, hardworking, heavily politically biased. Observe their wonderful Culture. Amazing. Their Festivals: Enlivening and Enthralling. Onam is surely one of the most enlivening festival of Kerala. Verily the whole Kerala is lit with a magical enthusiastic fervour. Rangoli in front of houses, temples. Flowers decorated everywhere in houses, temples, even Corporate Houses. Much More than everything the food they prepare Once you enjoy the food you then know the purpose of your life. I am not a malayalee. I am a Tamilian. but I have hundreds of malayalee friends whose friendship I cherish. I had moved with a lot of people and to name only a few will not be justified . But still I had a friend with the name S.S.Nair. He is Sadhasivan Nair who worked with me in the fag end years of the last century. What a dedicated person he was ! There was one Surgeon with whom I had very close friendship in 1970s 1980s. He moved to USA from Thanjavur, a tiny town of Tamil Nadu. I did not hear from him. He must be somewhere in USA, now. Much more than a doctor, a surgeon, he was role model for the entire profession. He believed in the routine oath that is used to be taken by all the pass outs at the end of their professional education in medical colleges. A dedicated soul, never thought about what he would get if he treated his patient . That the patient was cured was enough for him. To us he was God incarnate. He used to tell me: I give medicines. But it is God who gives you health back. It was 100 per cent true. He used to say: To give medicine is Doctor's duty. But to become once again healthy, is indeed God's Grace. His name is K.Karunakaran F.R.C.S. I am searching for that old friend of mine. through people search sites in vain. The third person coming to my mind is my colleague in my industry itself. She is now occupying a very pivotal post in one of our Public Sectors in India. I still am not able to find a word to describe how kind, graceful, magnanimous she was when she was Principal of our College. Her love for the people, her compassion for the suffering, her kindness for those who were in need of help were simply beyond description by an ordinary mortal like me. Working with her as a colleague was an eye opener as to how men and women born should be living a life of love and gratitude to God for all the things bestowed on us by Him. Never a day passed without her praying to God. Not only she prayed at the beginning of every event (as we Hindus do) but she prayed at the end of the events thanking God. She is a Christian (if i remember she is a catholic ) and I am a Hindu Orthodox person. But that would not stand in the way of my understanding of her devotion to God. On her being transferred, I said: It may or may not be that our revered leader may one day become the Chairman of our Organisation. I do not know. But I am sure that one day, our colleague will prove herself to be another MOTHER TERESA from India. I remember all the three of my good friends on this great occasion of ONAM. I am sure that this message will reach them surely. I wish them all well and Pray to God to bestow on them all they richly deserve. It is also my desire to extend my hearty greetings to all my Kerala Friends (my colleagues and students) through this blog. I wish those who would like to have an insight into the culture and traditions of Kerala to visit www.nidhin.com