THE SUN HAS SET... BUT, BY THE SHADOW OF THE STARS, THEY WILL FIND THEIR WAY
I f you do not know where Mangalapuram is, let me help you: it’s Mangalore, now called Mangaluru… Magala Uru , which, in Kannada means ‘Daughter’s place’. Anyway, friends from Kerala, always, called it - and they continue to call it - as ‘Mangalapuram’. We are immediate neighbours… a lot of spill-over! Mangalore is so full of Keralites… They run so many businesses - from hotels to recruitment agencies… They work in every sphere – in hospitals as doctors, nurses and technicians… in offices as mangers and clerks… in schools and colleges as students and teachers. St. Aloysius College, where I studied, had hundreds of Malayalee students and scores of teachers, both in school and college. They belonged to all communities – Hindu, Muslim and Christian. But, the amazing thing about them was: they spoke only one language – Malayalam. The language bound them so much, that their religious affiliation dissolved when it came to observing festivals like Onam, Eid and Christmas. It...