Kerala school fest: Chef Pazhayidom quits after row over veg, non-veg menu
The just-concluded 61st edition of the Kerala state school youth festival made more headlines than usual but for all the wrong reasons.
The festival is arguably one of the biggest competitive art festivals in the world. Touted as Asia’s biggest of its kind, it showcases the skills of schoolchildren from all 14 districts. This edition had around 11,000 participants in 239 events.
Also read: Non-veg food to be added to school art festival’s menu next year
The row over food broke out because of a debate on social media on serving a vegetarian-only menu during the festival.
A post started it all
It was sparked by a Facebook post by Malayalam news anchor-turned-college professor Arunkumar, who questioned the decision to serve only vegetarian dishes.
He said, “Caste in our society is hugely influenced by the concepts about purity and impurity. At times it poses as wholesome vegetarian food as well. The strict vegetarianism in the youth festival is a reflection of caste ideals, given that the majority of children are non-vegetarians. Let’s put an end to this. Children who want to eat meat should be given Kozhikode cuisine, not vegetarian food.”
A social media storm erupted, followed by media reports, forcing the govt to make a comment.
Education Minister V Sivankutty said that the government would consider serving non-vegetarian food as well in the upcoming years.
“I wanted to feed my children dome biriyani this year, but there were practical difficulties. We are for diversity in food and will consider serving non-vegetarian food for those who like to have it, in the upcoming festivals,” he said, drawing praise and ire from many quarters.
Casteism in food?
The ‘caste component’ of the debate was so compelling that the government’s choice (through a tender though) of Pazhayidom Mohanan Namboothiri, a Brahmin, to prepare and serve the food was blamed by a section of the netizens.
This was later picked up by some Opposition leaders too. Former MLA V T Balram (Congress) did not miss the opportunity to slam the government, accusing it of double standards.
“This is actually undermining the renaissance (Kerala had). It should be seen as a failure of the objective of the renaissance movement to overcome casteism. Such anti-renaissance behaviours, which prevail even at official events, must be identified and corrected,” Balram wrote on Facebook. “Let our youth festivals evolve into occasions where non-Brahmins also prepare non-vegetarian food.”
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After getting dragged into the controversy, which he thinks he had no part to play, Pazhayidom, as he is popularly called, said that he would not come back to cook for mega government events like the school youth festivals anymore.
Namboothiri defends himself
“I have fed more than 2.25 crore students over the past 16 years of school youth festivals, youth athletic meets and science fests. I was happy to be able to feed those hungry participants after their performances. But this accusation, which I believe was directed personally at me, has deeply hurt me. If the allegation was about the quality of the food or our service, I can understand it,” Pazhayidom told the media.
Pazhayidom’s legacy
For more than a decade, Pazhayidom has been in charge of the youth festival mess. He is a well-known and admired chef who has never given anyone a cause for complaintS and has served non-vegetarian food for events like state school athletic meets.
The Chakkarapantal Mess, where food was served to participants, accompanying parents and teachers, officials and others, could accommodate 20,000 people. A total of 1,200 teachers working in three shifts served the food prepared by 70 chefs under the supervision of Pazhayidom.
“The youth festival mess had been vegetarian only from its inception. The controversy in its entirety was totally uncalled for,” said Minister Sivankutty later.
‘Serve all food’
“Everybody in the state knows that this government is in favour of food of people’s choice. Accusing us of Brahminic bias was the height of absurdity. We have to examine the pros and cons before deciding on the menu for the upcoming festivals. The government will constitute a committee for this,” he said.
“When a government plans such an event, it ought to make sure that everyone has access to normal food. Vegetarians should get their preferred food and those who prefer regular food should get theirs,” said Anuraj Girija K A, a political observer.
“At the youth festival, there was no access to normal food. The government should ensure that everyone is fed properly with the food of their choice, no matter who cooks it. I think if Pazhayidom could serve normal food as well, he should participate in the tender process next time also,” added Girija.
The school youth festival is not immune to controversies. In the past, disputes have mainly centred on judges, dropped points, discrimination and lack of facilities. This year, it was about the food and kitchen.