Onam celebrations at UN
There were 50 or so staff members who got together and ushered in the Onam at the United Nations and created history. Gathered in the group were Malayalees from all over the world; some who were born in South Africa and Singapore.

Two High officials of the United Nations graced the occasion; Mr. Shashi Tharoor (Under-Secretary General for Department of public information) and Mr. Dileep Nair (Under-Secretary General for the Office of Internal Oversight Services). Mr. Abraham Mathai (Security Advisor to Peace-keeping) welcomed the guests. Those who present included George Abraham (Chief of IT Operations for Pension Fund), V. Krishnan (Executive Officer of Department of Management), Ramu Damodaran (Editor, UN Chronicle) Abraham Joseph (special advisor) and Lissy Joseph who organized the event.

Mr. Shashi Tharoor gave the following Onam message:
"What brings us here together is the fact that we have shared Malayali heritage and the shared commitment to the United Nations. I do want to underscore that message that there is something to be proud of. When we celebrate Kerala on the occasion of Onam, I think we are celebrating
what is the best we have and can lay claim to our heritage as Indians as well, because it is that pluralism that India strives for, that is in many ways India's greatest strength, that Kerala exemplifies more successfully than any other part of the country, and has done so from time immemorial.

There would be some who would ask us, what are we doing in a sectarian gathering and why are we all gathering as Keralites? But it seems to me that we can honorably make an exception for Keralites and Kerala because there is nothing exclusionary about Keralites. We have, through Geography and history, a tradition of engaging with the world, of engaging with each other, without the worry of sectarian consideration, on engaging others whoare not like us on equal terms. And so, for that reason, at this Onam, let us celebrate what that means in today's world.

We have a society we can be proud to lay claim to; we have the right to call ourselves heirs to a millennium-, no, two-millennium tradition of history, of culture, of learning and of engagement, that is truly something that each of us as an individual should be honoured to share. In that spirit, let me join you all today, thanking those who organized this get-together, thanking those who had worked so hard to produce the feast that I think we are all going to enjoy, to say, as we eat each Onam feast let us look forward to a great, prosperous, pluralistic and happy year.