Onam Irony: BEVCO’s Mega Bonus vs. KSRTC’s Dried Leaves”

Ah, Onam! That glorious time of the year when the fragrance of fresh flowers fills the air, families come together in joyous celebration, and – most importantly – employees wait with bated breath to see just how fat their festival bonus will be. After all, it’s not just about the grand pookalam or the majestic Onasadya, but also the golden opportunity to splash out on those extra packets of banana chips. But wait, there’s a catch in Kerala’s Onam celebration this year. While some are rolling in prosperity, others are still waiting for a whiff of their paycheck.

Let’s start with the heroes of our story: the employees of BEVCO. Yes, the state-run liquor company – the purveyor of joy (and, let’s admit, sometimes sorrow) – is spreading more cheer than the average pookalam. BEVCO employees, being the unsung heroes of Kerala’s fiscal health, have received a jaw-dropping Onam bonus. The kind of bonus that makes you wonder if their Onasadya includes gold-plated papadams. Who knew pouring spirits could be so rewarding?

On the other side, we have the valiant employees of KSRTC (Kerala State Road Transport Corporation), who, despite ferrying people to their Onam destinations year after year, seem to be overlooked when it comes to bonus cheer. The sound of those honking buses is now accompanied by the sighs of their drivers, whose wallets remain stubbornly light. While BEVCO employees toast their success with premium whiskey, KSRTC’s finest can only hope their tea break includes an extra biscuit – if they’re lucky.

The irony is thick enough to cut with a butter knife. BEVCO, responsible for ensuring that half the state gets tipsy, is showered with bonus money, as if they are the true architects of Onam’s spirit. Meanwhile, KSRTC employees, who are tasked with getting people to their villages to celebrate, can barely afford a handful of flowers for their pookalams. One imagines the bus conductors staring wistfully at the BEVCO employees, who are too busy planning their extravagant Onam vacations (perhaps a week of relaxation in Munnar, after all that hard work selling bottles) to notice the plight of their fellow public servants.

What’s Onam without a bit of irony, right? A festival where the state’s liquor sellers are paid in bundles, while the transport workers, who are equally (if not more) essential to the state’s functioning, are left in the lurch. Perhaps the KSRTC employees can take solace in the knowledge that, thanks to BEVCO’s fine work, the passengers on their buses are always in good spirits – literally and figuratively.

After all, in Kerala, it seems that while some people may be steering the buses, it’s the ones who hand out the liquor bottles who are really driving the state forward!

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