September 27, 2023
Generosity is the spice of life!
Generosity is the spice of life!
By Kavita, GivingTuesday India Hub
The month of August 2018 is one I will never forget – my home state Kerala was hit by severe floods. It was a devastating time as people lost their homes, their lives’ savings, and in some cases, their loved ones. In a span of fewer than seven days, hundreds of relief camps were set up, and people from all backgrounds were brought together under the same roof.
Very soon, it was the eve of Kerala’s biggest harvest festival – Onam! There is a saying in Malayalam that translates to “One must have the Onam lunch even by selling one’s property if need be.” Even though people were in a camp and in a crisis, the community members didn’t want those accessing relief to miss out on a
celebratory meal. Just like the 26 scrumptious dishes of the Onam Sadhya, generosity was plentiful, as communities came together to share a meal they will never forget. The relief camps soon turned into a massive Onam celebration. The underlying egalitarian spirit of Onam came alive through not just the meal that was shared, but also the fact that people from all religions, castes, and communities came together through the entire process of creating that feast. The sour taste of loss was replaced, at least for that day, with the sweet taste of payasam and community, slowly erasing memories of the leaky roof they were sitting under.