Food, caste wars over Kerala school fest, govt changes menu: Non-veg from next year - The Indian Express

AFTER food politics swamped the 61st edition of a Kerala youth festival, with allegations made of “Brahminical dominance”, the state government Thursday announced that from next year, non-vegetarian would be on the menu.

Reckoned as the biggest such event in Kerala’s cultural calendar, the ongoing Kerala School Arts Festival, which is happening after a gap of two years due to Covid, has 10,000-odd participants from across districts competing in 239 categories, both on-stage and off.

The argument over “Brahminical dominance” emerged on the sidelines, with focus on caterer Pazhayidom Mohanan Namboothiri, who has been winning the contract to make the festival food for the last 16 years. Critics said that the caterer’s caste (Brahmin) had ensured only strict vegetarian fare was served.

What further spiced up the debate was that this year’s host city, Kozhikode, is known for its non-vegetarian dishes. Education Minister and senior CPI(M) leader V Sivankutty added his bit when he indicated his preference for Kozhikodan biryani, saying: “My idea was to give biryani to the children.”

Subscriber Only Stories

On Thursday, making the announcement that non-veg food would be available at the festival from next year, Sivankutty said: “This is a festival of diversity and the Education Department will initiate steps to promote that. Over the years, only vegetarian dishes have been served at the festival. This is going to change and from next year, there will be non-vegetarian food at the table,” he said, adding that the government always encouraged “healthy discussions”. “But debates with political agenda have ulterior motives.”

The backlash against the vegetarian fare coincides with the BJP’s rising star in Kerala, and the fear among many that the party is promoting a kind of politics that has no space in the state with its large minority population.

Among those who raised the issue were several known personalities of the state. Writer Sudhesh Raghavan, in a Facebook post, said the catering of Pazhayidom was seen as “outstanding because he is seen as a Brahmin”. “The media also celebrates him because he is a Brahmin. The pertinent question is whether he had overcome Brahminism in cooking as well as in his life. If he has come out of that, he can cook delicious non-vegetarian food,’’ said Raghavan.

Advertisement

Asokan Charuvil, general secretary of the pro-Left Progressive Kala Sahitya Sangam, noted: “A Brahmin cooking food is a contribution of the renaissance which happened in Kerala.” This, in turn, drew its own share of critics, who asked whether Charuvil wanted to convey that “food prepared by a Brahmin is the most sacred”, and should it be celebrated as part of renaissance.

Finding himself in an unexpected spotlight, Namboothiri said he had no problems with non-vegetarian food, that the menu was fixed by the Education Department and that he had been getting the contract for 16 years as “the government has confidence in me”. “If the Education Department wants non-veg food, I will give it. I don’t cook non-veg food, but I have a separate team as well as separate utensils for that. My team had provided non-veg food for the state school sports’ meet as per the menu set by the organisers,’’ he said.

On Wednesday, Namboothiri and his 70-member team prepared a noon meal for 22,000 people, including the contesting students. The food was served by 1,200-odd teachers and other volunteers.

Adblock test (Why?)