Mallu Junction

As you drive from Bombay to Pune, you pass the expressway entry point at Kalamboli and head towards Panvel on the old NH-4 highway. After passing through the town’s outskirts, you approach the Palaspe junction and on your left, there is largish Udipi restaurant called Cosmo. If you happen to stop by and are observant enough, you will notice that almost all waiters are Mallu. Step out for a paan and the paanwallah is a Mallu too. If coincidentally your car needs oil at the nearby gas station (petrol pump), the attendants right from the station manager to the boy who offers to wipe your windshield is a Pheno-Menon. It is almost like a microcosm of Kerela and you feel you are right in a shanty Dubai suburb (sans the garbage and muck around, of course). Rumor has it that the restaurant was supposed to be named Moon but the Mallus’ instruction — Yem Yo Yet Yanother Yo with a Yen — didn’t go quite well with the local billboard guy. OK, that was an old joke but it sounds good if narrated in first person.

History has it that the first Mallu arrived at this bustling junction more than 10 years back and slowly lured his brothers and second-cousins to partake in the bountiful harvest of highway business. Now the business area comprising of few restaurants, gas stations (alrite; petrol pumps), and other ancillary services are teeming with more than 300 mallus in neatly arranged hierarchical and social order. If you manage to communicate successfully to at least one of them, you will get the same answer to why they have come here in large numbers — “Zimbly to earn more money”.

However, they haven’t let themselves be assimilated into the social fabric of the nearby town. They mostly keep to themselves, coming into town occasionally to stock up on their provisions and return to their dens. Strangely no women ever are to be seen and most of the money they make goes back to their villages in rural Kerela. The men are content living in crowded quarters and leading an impoverished life although they earn in lakhs. The locality also doesn’t show any sign of prosperity apart from the incessant sprouting of eclectic forms of commercial activity. Its been at least two years since I have been there so I am not aware of any recent changes, let me know if you drive by.

I wonder what makes this relatively remote area seem so lucrative for an immigrant from hundreds of miles away. I can understand Bombay being the typical destination for an immigrant. I suppose one of them ventured to the suburbs and carved a niche and eventually alerted the rest to move base. It is really an amazing sociological study of community growth. In spite of India’s acclaimed diversity, this homogeneity of a Mallu community on the sidelines of a Maharashtra national highway is not new to our urbanscape.

Tweet This“Mallu Junction” [Short URL: http://www.ipatrix.com/?p=279] was published Wednesday, August 11th, 2004 at 11:05 pm by Patrix, filed under Society Culture, and tagged as , , , , , . Both comments and linkbacks are closed.

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  • Aaar

    And i thought it was petrol bunks, not pumps:-) For the proof of ‘lakhs’ earned, one can visit central kerala to see BIG houses – singapore, greek and god knows what styles!

  • http://absolutelee.rediffblogs.com Leela

    Might be headed that way this weekend. Will keep an eye out for this sociological marvel…

    Cool post, must say your long-term memory is pretty sharp.

  • http://twilightfairy.rediffblogs.com Twilight Fairy

    so are u from bombay or pune? or a 3rd place entirely?

  • http://pseudofreud.blogspot.com pseudofreud

    Haha ‘Zimbly’ nicely spelt to get the right effect!! Was always trying to figure out how it would be spelt :)

  • alpha

    interesting observation. i wonder how Mallus manage to work so hard away from their family, be it in gelf or mars just to send most of the money back home so that they cud build palaces in their home town.

  • http://patrix.typepad.com Patrix

    Aar – I guess the money does go back to Kerela but does it really help to much out there? and its pumps in Maharashtra and bunks in South India
    Leela – Oh yeah? please lemme know if things seem different than how I have described it
    Fairy – Originally from Bombay but live in Panvel…50 miles from B’bay towards Pune.
    Pseudofreud – had lot of Mallus in my “koledge” to get it right :)
    Alpha – I guess we are Mallus too in that way; just that the distance is greater and we don’t send money home…yet. :)

  • alpha

    i dont think i will ever send money back home just for the reason they dont need it & wont take it.
    what i’m saying abt mallus is not sending money to parents at home..more like wife and kids.

  • http://www.animaha.com/blog anya

    Well .. they make up for the lack of an entrepreneurial streak in the marathi man .. don’t they?
    Says anya: Where there is a void .. it will be filled up.

  • m

    they sound like sindhis……….only we keep the wives and kids around ……….. and spend……….

  • http://patrix.typepad.com Patrix

    Alpha – Whoa! I dinn mean it that way. Mallus certainly are a classic study for understanding people’s behavior to spend time away from family for earning money. Something about Kerela’s economy is not good for the societal happiness..something that money cannot buy.
    Anya – I dinn want to tread on that path but I do notice the lack of entrepreneurial spirit among Marathis..they seem content on pulling each other down…but thatz a long story.
    M – I frankly haven’t had many Sindhi people around to pass a judgment but unfortunately papad apart, I have heard lot of negative vibes.

  • m

    well – i guess you can judge by me……one sindhi- what vibes am i giving……negative??????? although amongst my own they think i am totally western and anti my own community….( not true)……..although i have yet to see another sindhi blogger……

  • sankalp

    It is really funny how the most inane observations (no offence intended) manage to get people commenting on them, while really deep observations ;) about comparitive economics leave everyone speechless. So does that mean the average person who comments prefers David Dhawan movies to reading Ayn Rand? ;) jus wondering

  • m

    a side comment to sankalp- i think people want to relax, not really spend their time thinking too much- life demands a lot of that any way- i know thats why we enjoy mindless chatter more.

  • alpha

    yeah sankalp like m points out, if we want to get all hung up on comparative economics and politics, we’d be in some forum screeching our lungs out.. not here. We have enough of those blogs too where some people take ample time and effort to think and comment. Its just that Patrix’s readers cant keep up with his versatility (Patsie, you owe me one for this) Sometimes inane observations make the best stories. Plus what’s wrong with David Dhawan?

  • http://patrix.typepad.com Patrix

    Sankalp – No offense taken. I have now stopped thinking about what would get people commenting because it, frankly fits no predictive model…I just might get more comments on my fave bathroom song than on some macroeconomic issue. But as M and Alpha point out, there don’t come here to discuss that..they rather kick off their shoes, relax, and read something that puts them at ease than make them think. Should we then not write about “serious” stuff and instead concentrate on “inane” writing. Frankly, I have no concrete answer to that. Personally, I like writing on all sorts of stuff..some even stupid (I admit) but like any blogger, I love comments on whatever I write. So does my blog writing slowly shift towards attracting more comments rather than reflect my real thoughts? U tell me.

    Damn! This has blown up into a full post by itself.

    M – I guess I do fulfill the need to shy away from all serious stuff out there but why is thinking too much a pain? It can be fun too, right?

    Alpha – I guess that compliment just called me a Jack of all trades but thanks anyways :) I agree that inane observations make good personal stories but sometimes can border on mindless chatter (not on your blog though but I am not taking names)..and David Dhawan is passe, it is the age of Girlfriend, right?

  • sankalp

    wow, just to clarify things

    m and alpha- nothing wrong with Dhavid Dhawan (though of couse I couldnt survive beyond the first 10 min of his latest film), as nothing is wrong with inane posts too, of course as u point out, I get enuf of serious contemplations from everywhere else. was just making an observation.

    patrix – As u say, U like writing on all sorts of stuff, so I guess even the inane stuff is not a case of playing for the audience. So heres to that little bit of Roark in u ;)

  • http://patrix.typepad.com Patrix

    Sankalp – guess Alpha and M managed to bash you into submission almost instantly :)

    I am not sure if writing on all sorts of stuff is really a good thing…leaves me and my readers a confused lot with no sense of direction. Focus, afterall is a much desired thing.

  • alpha

    Age of girlfriend? Are we alluding to something here? Smiley? But then, that would fall under mindless chatter, no? And that would make my friend Sankalp feel that your readers are not intelligent enough *runs off to the library to borrow Ayn Rand* er- whats the book called- Cheesehead?

  • sankalp

    “my friend Sankalp” honoured;)

    “feel that your readers are not intelligent enough” – remember I stay away from commenting on all posts on macro,micro or nano economics.

    I Promise- no more comments from me on this post.

  • http://patrix.typepad.com Patrix

    Alpha – I knew I was gonna hear back on that one..regretted it as soon as I said it but nothing ever gets past you :) and I thought my posts were supposed to be mindless chatter, not the comments.

    Sankalp – ur “sankalp” turned out to be pretty weak..itni jaldi haar maan li..Alpha was just getting warmed up.

    I guess I have to dumb down my posts significantly in order to attract comments *ouch*

  • http://absolutelee.rediffblogs.com Leela

    20 comments!! I thought the Mallus had descended on this post!

    But seriously, Patrix, you should write about whatever you feel like. Don’t entirely go by number of comments. Sometimes people enjoy a post but don’t know what to say. I found your last piece informative and the one on photography very interesting, but was stuck for a comment. So go ahead and write about EVERYTHING! (Besides, you can be sure Alpha will have somethign to say ;-)

  • Aaar

    First of all, higher percentage of educated people means higher number of unemployed people in a state that is industrially backward. People have to go out of the state to find jobs and this includes jobs in all strata. Those in upper strata take their families along with them and those who cannot manage that earn for settling down in kerala. Doesn’t the same happen in the case of labourers migrating to urban areas in other parts of india?

  • http://soulcurry.rediffblogs.com jo

    why this sudden take on poor mallu’s…

  • http://source.rediffblogs.com m

    sankalp- you did crumble easily- but if it was to alpha then you had no chance……me perhaps you could have survived……..

    patrix….going by your comment box it is your mindless posts that catch more interest……the serious ones as i have said before sound like you are working on some college project. in the end your writing is always superb- look at rk narayans books- inane and yet wonderful.

  • http://patrix.typepad.com Patrix

    Leela – I know. Comments aren’t always expected..it just feels nice to have a conversation going or to have some sorta feedback rather than me droning on endlessly about something I like or I don’t.

    Aar – It sure does make sense but don’t we expect after years of migration the state would wake up and realize that this is not doing any good to the local economy. Merely inflowing cash is not enough. Since you are a Mallu, have you seen or experienced any move to keep the educated population from moving out? or is it the side-effects of having a communist government?

    Jo – I have nothing but praise for their enterprising spirit.

    M – I guess, I should just go by the flow and not count the comments, eh? :) but thanks for chiming in.

  • Aaar

    It is not the side effect of having a communist government. Both the fronts are responsbile… Governments make statements on improving stuff, but nothing happens!

  • http://patrix.typepad.com Patrix

    Aar – But with states improving rapidly around Kerela, something surely is wrong apart from the usual reason of loud unfulfilled promises.

  • Aaar

    Maybe it’s also got to do with the dense population in a small state and people crying about environment whenever the government talks about new industries/projects. IT seems to be the only way ahead. But with so many bandhs and harthals, enterpreneurs will think twice before investing there. But i also have thoughts of ‘why not’ – maybe this is the only viable model for the state… tourism, money from abroad and people going back to settle down in their old age!

  • http://patrix.typepad.com Patrix

    Aar – maybe it will fulfil the role that Florida does out here in US..i.e. be a pensioner’s paradise, haven for tourists and voting for the wrong guy :)..If Kerela has refugees from Maldives, the comparison is complete.

  • http://www.animaha.com/blog anya

    ha ha .. that was good .. the kerala-florida thing.

  • http://patrix.typepad.com Patrix

    Anya – hehehe..i hope that wasn’t too offensive for Mallus.

  • Aaar

    Inform us about florida… If we find it offensive, we will burn your effigy:-) Instead of refugees, there are lot of Mali tourists coming for ayurvedic treatment!

  • Aaar

    Did you read this article by any chance for this florida stuff?

    Kerala is Indian Florida in tourism promotion: Renuka
    http://www.kaumudi.com/news/081404/breakpage.stm#ren

  • http://patrix.typepad.com Patrix

    Aar – burn the effigy on Aar Leela? (too bad Lee has to be dragged into this) BTW the kerela-florida thing was an afterthought..never knew anyone would ever blow it up to a full article.

  • http://nittygritty.rediffblogs.com nittygritty

    Very interesting observation. I have heard of another place, in further interior Maharashtra where the sole inhabitants are Mallus.

  • http://patrix.typepad.com Patrix

    Nittygritty – That would be an interesting place. U know where exactly it is?

  • http://jstblgng.rediffblogs.com Aurora

    A lil late in commnets here:
    Most of the people who work out of Kerala come from really poor villages – their saving money in Mumbai/Dubai however miniscule makes a big diff in sustaining their families.
    The trend is to live like a pauper for your youth and enjoy yr retired life like a king.
    One more thing – nothing intentional here- A mallu typically will do a lowly job outside his homestate than in his home state. Which is why u see a lot of them coming somewhere in yr local grocerty store in B’lore to the highway near Patrix’s HWay in Mumbai! :-)

  • http://www.sijin.8m.net Sijin M Stephen

    No-one seems to remember that Kerala has the highest standard of living in India Almost asgood as Punjab?
    Most of the Rikshaw drivers in Kerala are graduates. Where else will u find Educated Construction workers? Wherelse, can u talk to a rural shopkeeper in English? It’s not just the wifes of people outside kerala who lead a decent life. A female construction worker gets 130 Rs A day. You think all this is bad?


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