Sajith Sasidharan has belled the cat in the article “Quo vadis, God's own country?” (Open Page, Jan. 2). He has raised a few inconvenient issues, which most Keralites would prefer to sweep under the carpet. I fully agree that rampant materialism and scant concern for one's fellow beings are the hallmarks of the Malayalee mindset today.
The average Keralite, left to himself, would be happy to continue living in his own State, preferably his own town, village. But hundreds of Keralites chasing white collar jobs have landed in other parts of the world, mostly Gulf countries. The productivity of an average Malayalee working outside Kerala is said to be twice that of his counterpart in his home State. Go-slows, strikes, hartals and bandhs at the drop of a hat have affected productivity. Cartels formed by head load workers fleece people by extracting money for work never done ( Nokku Kooli ). Jewellery business has reached dizzying heights and is still climbing. Kerala is a marketing manager's dream destination in consumer products.
B. Jacob,
Chennai
