Inaugurating Change
Whenever a new venture is about to start in Kerala, be it grand or relatively modest, an inauguration ceremony launches the project.
Whatever the religious beliefs – or lack of belief – of those involved, fruits and flowers are proffered, and an oil lamp is lit:
a remnant, perhaps, of the persistent power of apotropaic prayer.
It is a custom which unites Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains and even the Marxist Communists of this state.
Picture taken at the inauguration of a new ayurvedic centre at Tom’s Old Mansion in Fort Cochin, Kerala
Neither Use Nor Ornament 