I am standing, balanced on one foot, surrounded by frenzied people, stamping, nudging, shoving and no I am not in a local train in Mumbai .I am in a gold shop in Kerala! My trip to Kerala coincided with the Grand Kerala

Shopping Festival. This festival is a Government of Kerala initiative and is modeled on the Dubai and Singapore shopping festival formats. A good number of shops all over Kerala joined under the awning of this mega festival, the result being that wherever I turned there was some marvelous sale or attractive prize being offered.

But what really excited me was the gold offered as prize to all shoppers! Now I knew that Kerala as a state is extremely gold crazy, consuming gold by the tons every year. But even for them so much gold seemed extravagant, and this year it has shot to 10I Kg gold! I set out, willing a little piece of golden luck to shine my way. As I dug deeper, interacting with the localities, I realized that shopping and Kerala is not such an unusual combination after all. Kerala was a hub on the silk route, trading spices, and ivory, silk and other exotic Indian produce with the Chinese, Egyptians, Arabs and even Europeans. The harbours of Kerala were decked with bounty from around the world and Cochin was like a melting pot of souvenirs. Being in the middle of GKSF felt like stepping back in time! This impression was enhanced further when I attended one of the weekly entertainment events held in the six weeks of GKSF (1st Dec – 15th Jan). Government, clearly in an effort to add spice and glamour to the festival organizes weekly events across 14 districts of Kerala. I attended out of sheer chance and was stunned by the array of national and international artists sharing the dais. From traditional Kathakali dancers with painted faces to Acrobats from Africa the evening teemed with grace and dazzle.

Now really curious, I tried to get the local perspective on the festival. The shop owners were garrulous on the subject; some even said that their GKSF sales had exceeded Onam sales, which is traditionally the peak shopping season of Kerala. This more than any other fact made me realize the scale success of the festival. As a consumer who participated in the festival and as a marketer, I heartily congratulate the Government of Kerala for making this bold debut and taking it forward with such elan. Such initiatives not only enhance the state economy but also the brand image of India and Kerala as destinations. When I embarked on my vacation I had little expectations of frenzied trips from shop to shop, bags full of jewellery, clothing, electronics, handicrafts, et al weighing down my arms, but at the end of it all my only regret was the limited liquid cash I carried with me for the trip. But of course plastic came to aid and I enjoyed a truly complete holiday!