“Dosa, Appam, Puttu...kazhikkan enthu venam, saaar?” asks Shelu in fluent Malayalam, like any other Malayali waiter worth his salt would do as he takes down your order, at a Kottayam restaurant. So what’s new?
Nothing, other than that Shelu is not a Malayali. When Shelu speaks in Malayalam, it’s difficult to tell him apart, that he’s an Assamese and a native of Karimganj, located on the northern fringe of the country adjoining Bangladesh. Jehrul Islam, fondly called as Shelu, now speaks the local language as freely as his mother tongue, though, he reached here only a couple of years ago. He is not an odd man out; rather part of a larger group of North Indian youngsters, who have started learning Malayalam, either to get better remuneration or to switch over to comparatively easier jobs.
Job seekers from North and Northeastern part of India, predominantly from Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhatthisgarh and Assam, who were hitherto commonly known as ‘migrant labourers’ and held jobs in construction or infrastructure development sector, are trying to rebrand themselves.