By IANS
Kottayam (Kerala) : Kerala is wheeling out Christmas tunes in new ways.
If carol singers from Churches visited every home on foot after sunset in the yesteryears, it changed when youths arrived with Santa Claus riding pillion on two wheelers.
This time even that has changed with churches hiring light commercial vehicles, decorated with lights. The vehicles are fitted with state-of-the-art music systems.
“These days, those who join the carol group have very little time to spare and it is difficult to reach every parishioners’ home in rural areas in a span of one or two days.
“The problem of travelling on two wheelers is that there are many people at the beginning of the party, but they drop out midway.
“This time, we decided that we will go together in a group so that people do not leave midway,” Mathew Thomas, team leader of a carol party attached to a Syrian Orthodox Church in Kottayam, told IANS.
“The only thing that has not changed is the money these groups charge when they visit homes. Earlier, people gave Rs.10 to the carol groups as a token of appreciation. Today, they demand a minimum of Rs.100. It needs hard bargaining to reduce the amount. In the last three days, I have paid more than Rs.300,” said a not-too-amused Kurian Jacob.
Central Kerala is home to a large number of Christians, who make up 22 percent of the state’s 32 million people.