This year’s Onam and Janmashtami in Kerala unfolded much as they always do — with pookkalams, sadya, cultural festivities and Shobha Yatras.
Yet, the festivals made news for a reason different from recent years.
During Onam, social media was abuzz with reels showing rows of young Muslim women in headscarves dancing to peppy songs and percussion in perfect synchrony.
Writ large on their faces was a sense of enthusiasm and abandon. They really did not seem to care about diktats issued by some Islamic clerics.
Janmashtami, too, offered a different kind of image. There was bonhomie. A quiet, gentle urge to be part of a celebration that brought joy to children dressed as Krishna and his divine coterie — and to parents watching them take part in something festive.
There were also moments of warmth: women clad in purdah waiting to welcome Shobha Yatras, children dressed as Krishna, and rows of men and women walking alongside floats and moving performances.
“Both these were heartwarming for me. It reminded me of the good old days when I used to dress up as Krishna and participate in the Gokulashtami rally. It was an emotional moment for me,” says mountaineer and government official Sheikh Hasan, who has just returned from an expedition.
“But this is not something completely new. But there is a lot of hate being spread online, so when this showed up, it appeared unique. That’s all.”
Women’s rights activist Shajitha Ajees, however, views the Onam celebrations differently.
For her, the merriment reflected a changing mindset among a new generation of Muslim girls, who increasingly want to exercise their rights beyond the shackles of religion and conventional upbringing.
Kochi-based IT entrepreneur Jeena Ansar agrees. “Behind the girls who were part of those celebrations are mothers who, as youngsters, may have had a tough time battling conventions and rigid beliefs,” she points out.
“They do not want the difficulties they faced to be passed on to their children, and would have ensured that the girls had exposure to education and the freedom of choice and thought. I surely see it as a marker of changing times.”
Jeena’s own child, she adds, believes that religion may be part of one’s identity, but should not become the yardstick that curbs one’s life and choices.
“We need to urge children to think beyond religion, and probably that was reflected in both these occasions,” says Jeena.
For Mumtaz Taha, who drew national attention as Thrissur corporation’s first Muslim woman councillor, the two instances are primarily about culture.
“Embracing the culture of the land does not in any way undermine one’s faith,” she asserts. “My daughter dressed up as Bharat Mata, which is part of the cultural identity of my country. I take pride in it. This land is full of different colours of faith, where I can also find my own beautiful space. Why, then, should I not celebrate along with others?”
Notably, it was in the period between the Onam reels and the Janmashtami celebrations that Samastha leader Kanthapuram Aboobacker Musliyar’s controversial remarks against ‘display’ of Muslim women in public places surfaced.
Elsewhere in India, too, videos of Malayali Muslim women dancing while wearing hijabs invited controversial reactions from conservatives and clerics.
“Probably there is some insecurity among religious leaders now, after watching how the younger generation is moving beyond religion and asking questions that were otherwise discouraged, especially when asked by girls,” says Shajitha.
She recalls how she was “married off” before she turned 17 — to a man 18 years elder to her — as his second wife.
“It was a tough battle for me to leave the marriage. Now, in my 30s, I look back at the paths I had to pass through as rigid and horrendous,” she says.
“Thankfully, girls today are encouraged to study and question why they cannot do everything that women in other communities can. This ‘breaking free’ was what we saw during this festive season. I am glad to see women spearhead this revolution.”
She, however, points out that the journey is far from complete. One of the girls who danced as part of a festive team, she highlights, reportedly had her fiance call off their engagement because she was “not modest enough” as per his religious standards.
“Good for her. She shouldn’t choose people who will chain her free spirit. She should choose those who will urge her to live happily,” says Shajitha.
The changing mindset may have been one of the striking aspects of the festivities, but what stood out even more, according to Jeena, was a possible return of cultural camaraderie in Kerala.
“I still remember how our neighbours used to call us for sadya on Onam day and how we used to treat them on our festivals,” she says.
There had been a lull in such exchanges in recent years, she feels, but there now appears to be a return of some of that warmth.
Mohammad Shamil, a history researcher and college student, believes the decline in such warmth — and the increasing rigidity surrounding women’s rights compared with the 1970s to ’90s — may partly be linked to the return of Gulf migrants and the cultural influences they brought with them. “Even the purdah and the hijab became so common in Kerala’s Islamic culture only after the Gulf Boom,” he says.
Earlier, Muslim women wore a dress that was unique to Kerala. This was even borrowed by Kottayam Thampuran as the attire for Kathakali’s female characters.
That Gulf influence, he says, is now increasingly giving way to a global one that enters the lives of young people through their phones, exposing them to ideas of growth, freedom and independent thought.
“From that perspective, we can see this as a beautiful development that highlights both cultural warmth and respect for the personal rights of women,” Shamil adds.
Shahana Ashraf, a science undergraduate, says the number of families “that think differently” is on the rise. “Earlier, when we wanted to do something, there would be many opinions against it. Now, we are heard better and are even encouraged, provided our intentions are right,” she says.
In such circumstances, mountaineer Sheikh feels, the pronouncements of religious clerics should be taken just for what they are.
“That is why they are known as religious clerics. They think only from the perspective of religious texts. We, however, need to think holistically. Travel and exposure help a person see life in a different light,” he adds.
“I have had women travellers, even from Muslim countries, join me on expeditions. They find time to pray, but their focus goes beyond the tenets of a text. It is the height of the mountain, the trough of the valley, or the path ahead of them.”
He adds that life needs to grow — externally and internally. “So, choose what is good for your growth and do what you must for that, whatever others may say. Let us celebrate all festivals in whatever way we can,” he says.
Agrees councillor Mumtaz. “Coexistence should not be merely an ideal, but a beautiful way of life. That’s the whole idea of Bharat — unity in diversity,” she smiles. “Just because my daughter decked up as Bharat Mata, we have, in no way, become lesser Muslims. Rather, such gestures help communities amalgamate unitedly as true Indians.”