Tuesday, May 26, 2009

How we Mallus like Gold


Recession? What is that? Well, we from the Mallu Land does not know what it means.
General elections in Kerala? Well, oh we think they just got over. Who cares who won and who came at the Centre.
What we care most is Gold. Yes 'peoples' from this Gawd's own country like only that: Gold.
You know what Asianet, our own Gelf channel, is famous for? No, not for the Star Singer programme.
Then? The ads that come in between -- that of different jewellery shops spread across Kerala, India, the Gelf, the UK, the US...
The real fight was not fought in the ballot box; it was (and is) between two major jewellery shops -- primarily on the telly.
Shop Chain No 1 said: "You do not need salesmen in jewellery shops; they cheat you. You should only go for the "certified", pre-priced gold jewellery in our shops."
Countered Shop Chain No 2: "Bullshit, only our salesmen can give you the right piece for the right price; the "certified" shops cheat you."
Both roped in popular cine stars to endorse their respective claims...
And the internecine battle continues.
(Last month when I was licking my wounds in Kerala, I came across a small news report buried inside the largest newspaper in Malayalam which carried several ads of the above-mentioned jewellers: "A girl committed suicide in Kottayam district because their parents could not afford to buy her a 100-gram gold chain for her wedding.")