Playing the Malayali ‘card’ and loving it

What happens when there is one Malayali in a room full of people? Not much. He would more or less be invisible.

What happens when there are two?

That, God forbid, would be a chaotic reunion between two complete strangers with a sudden agenda – to celebrate everything that is simply Malayali! And yes, ignore everyone else.

Rosemary Jacob and Sona Harris -- two single, independent, 30-something women based in Bangalore -- have hit the sweet spot to celebrate this clan’s extreme preoccupation with their own pop culture. It is a card game called Malayali Aano (Are you a Malayali?), born out of lockdown but bent on defeating the isolation by getting all Malayalis to play it -- be it in the remotest parts of Kerala or the uppity NRK (non-resident Keralite) homes across the world.