It’s that time of the year again when Mahabali (Maveli) makes his annual trip to his beloved Kerala, where his subjects wait to welcome him with open arms, fun, feasts and festivities. With still a week to go for the festival proper, Mahabali the benevolent has already been popping up in Technopark, having a jolly good time as techies celebrate Onam.
“It’s a busy time for us Mahabalis,” says techie Vysakh Radhakrishnan, one of Technopark’s resident Mahabalis, fresh from donning the garb at cultural club Natana’s inter-company rally contest, where fellow Mahabalis were out in full force, proudly marching with their teams for the top spot.
Vysakh will probably dress up as the King again for his company’s upcoming Onam celebrations. “What can I say? I seem to fit the bill for the mythological Mahabali with my portliness and especially when I twirl my faux moustache,” he says, with a laugh.
His colleague Albert Thomas, meanwhile, has been starring as King Mahabali more times than he can count and actually walked away with the MNC’s best Mahabali award five times! “Actually, a colleague Hari put me up to it several years ago, possibly because I have a bit of a paunch and since then I have been my team’s designated Mahabali. At first I was nervous but now it’s good fun and I get to meet people and walk around, nodding my head at my ‘subjects,’” says Albert.
Sandeep Kumar Appukuttan, an assistant manager at another MNC, is another one who regularly dresses up as Mahabali during the Onam season. “I rather enjoy it. During my school and college days, I was active in theatre and so I have no qualms about dressing up, performing and generally making a fool out of myself. It was only when I got a job in this company, where there are a lot of cultural activities, that I’ve really had the opportunity to play Mahabali to the hilt,” says Sandeep, a four-time ‘veteran’ of the act. Like most Mahabalis, he rents the costume and dons the greasepaint, with colleagues lending a hand.
Arun Sasi, a corporate communications professional, meanwhile, has donned the costume thrice. He makes such a convincing Mahabali (or not) that he was stopped by the police the first time he stepped out in costume! “I was driving to Technopark, dressed in Mahabali gear, sans the crown, when the police asked me to pull over. They let me go after having a good laugh. So embarrassing...!” he chortles.
That said, all of Technopark’s Mahabalis claim that there’s more to being the King than simply dressing up in glittering clothes, handlebar moustache and crown. “It’s all about your bearing. You need to appear dignified. Mahabali is a King and a King never bows to anyone, which you have to keep in mind when interacting with people,” says Albert.
“Exactly. Mahabali was supposed to be a good king and one should never portray him as a funny character,” seconds Sandeep.
Mahabalis in Technopark also have to be quick-witted and clever.
“As Mahabali you are usually the face of the team you represent. So, during contests judges will ask questions; sometimes easy ones like how active is Mahabali on Facebook, how do you chat with your subjects and sometimes tough takes like ‘what do you think of Kerala today’ or something related to current events. The key to being a good Mahabali is to reply in a witty and friendly manner,” says Arun.
