THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was quite an informal get-together. The strict law keepers took some time off from their busy official duty to revive the innocence of bygone days by celebrating Onam at the Police Headquarters, Vellayambalam, on Tuesday. Setting aside the rigours of hierarchy, the khaki-clad men and women appeared in ‘pukka’ Kerala attire. Many were accompanied by their families. The event, ‘Onam 2011,’ was organised by the Kerala Police Headquarters Staff Recreation Club and Welfare Society. The ‘athapookalam’ competition had seven participants from the executive and ministerial sections at the headquarters. The enthusiastic participants had turned up for ‘Onam’ duty as early as 6 am to start laying the ‘pookkalam!’ ‘’Though we bought the majority of flowers from the market, some local varieties were collected by us. Some of us also fetched our families in the morning,’’ said headquarters manager Sudha D. ‘’As policemen are on 24 X 7 duty, it is hard to spare time for celebrations. These celebrations are intended to break the stereotypical definition of the police force that exists among the public. Through celebrations like this, we wish to establish the values of brotherhood among people. We have been conducting the celebrations for the past ten years,’’ said an official from the administrative section. The seven ‘pookkalams’ arranged inside the HQ building did not sport heavy artistic embellishments, but head constable Pramod Kumar R C justified this with the argument, ‘’Policemen are supposed to be not too ostentatious.’’ Pramod’s ‘pookkalam’ arranged by a team of 15 policemen portrayed ‘Ananthasayanam’ in the middle, for the treasure found in the subterranean vaults of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple being a widely-discussed topic. The team, particular about bringing a contemporary subject to their ‘pookkalams’, had portrayed the emblem of ‘jana maithri police’ last year. When the results were announced, the first place went to the ‘pookkalam’ made by the Camp Followers, second to the ministerial staff and third place went to the ‘pookkalam’ made by the Crime Branch. There was a victorious smile on the face of the Camp Followers as they had retained the place for the fourth consecutive year. Following the ‘pookkalam’ contest was the ‘vadam vali’ (tug-of-war) competition. The women did not test their physical strength and maybe because of that, a witty remark popped out of the crowd that the participants should be strong enough to lift the heavy rope! Teams of nine people gathered on either sides. Finally, the winning team was conferred the much coveted prize, a huge ‘plantain bunch!’
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