The 61st edition of the Kerala Kalolsavam – the state youth festival and a grand annual event – ended with all the usual fanfare on Saturday, January 7, as Kozhikode emerged the top winner, and Kannur and Palakkad came second. But the fest, which lasted five days, also had to scuffle through a few major controversies. One revolved around the question of serving vegetarian food year after year, the other on a welcome song that allegedly showed the Muslim community in poor light.
After the hullabaloo over the lack of non-vegetarian food, chef Pazhayidam Mohanan Namboothiri, who had been preparing food for the children of the festival for many years, announced on Sunday that he was going to stop catering for the event. He told the media that the “unnecessary controversy” had hurt him a lot. He said it was the government which had decided to serve vegetarian dishes to the students and there was no need to make it communal.
“The government could have easily made a decision to serve non-vegetarian dishes. But instead, some people decided to taint my image. Some tried to bring in caste and religion. If there is any complaint regarding the food served, we can understand. But it was disappointing that the discussion was diverted to some other unnecessary topics,” Pazhayidam said.
He was referring to the criticism that broke out on social media about hiring a dominant caste chef to cater for the fest, which, some said, reinforced Brahminical elitism. However, some others reacted to this comment with the argument that having a Brahmin prepare the food was a result of social renaissance in Kerala.
Minister for General Education V Sivankutty responded to the allegations by assuring everyone that the government will try to serve both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food for the kalolsavam from the next year.
Meanwhile, another row had broken out over an enactment during the fest’s welcome song on the first day. The visual presentation of the song contained a scene in which officials of the Indian Army arrested a person wearing a kafiya (Islamic attire). The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leaders spoke out against the organisers of the welcome song, further alleging that the Left government was in support of the act.
A combination of dance forms and tableau that portrays secularism, unity, and culture were the themes of the welcome song, which was presented during the inaugural function of the school kalolsavam on January 3.
Youth League state general secretary PK Firoz told the media that the depiction intensified the stereotyping of Muslims as terrorists. “The government has honoured the person who arranged this. The education minister should apologise. Action should be taken against this,” he said.
IUML Member of Legislative Assembly KPA Majeed also alleged that the incident was not unintentional. “That was a direct portrayal of Islamophobia,” he said.
Minister for Tourism PA Muhammed Riyas, who attended the closing ceremony on Sunday, said that the matter will be seriously investigated. “Some people try to portray members of a particular religious community as terrorists. They use movies and other means for that. This cannot be encouraged. The Education Minister has promised that it will be seriously investigated. The interests of those who are behind it should be enquired. The Sangh Parivar connection of the person behind this should also be investigated,” Riyas said.