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A walk down memory lane

Nostalgia, some grouse, is all about making the present look bad. Nostalgia is also accused of adding spice and colour to a memory making it untrue to what actually happened in the past. However, for many people who walked past the illuminated public buildings and avenue trees this Onam, nostalgia chipped in to make the illumination brighter and the stroll, a walk down memory lane.

For, many people who took their family to see the Onam illumination first saw such an illumination when they were teenagers — in the early 1980s.

Back then, small bulbs used to be hung on the overhead electric wires on both sides of the road from East Fort to Vellayambalam.

It was sheer novelty to see buildings on either side of the road decked up with multicoloured lights, lights that blink in patterns, the State emblem that flashes on and off, the national flag that ‘waves’ in the ‘wind’…

All roads led to Thiruvananthapuram on the days of the illumination. Over the years the extent of the illumination got reduced. True the number of bulbs ‘up there’ became less and less. Also, for a population that had at its command other ‘sophisticated’ forms of entertainment walking down the roads, gazing at trees and buildings became less appealing.

Still, the spirit of Onam endures. Even now thousands of people flock to see the lights ‘up there.’ The jewels in this crown were the thoughts of ‘back then…’ which added a kaleidoscope of colour to the illumination this Onam.

G. Mahadevan

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