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MANGALURU: tera karchu PAYTM kara #KODIALOKKUL! Black Na White Matr!! INDIA can be cashless, but can never be BHANGless!!! Call it creativity or reflection of current day situation post November 8 demonetisation move announced by PM Narendra Modi and this was on display as the baabu’s and ammanni’s of Kodial flaunted these message with panache on their tees at the okkul of Sri Venkataramana Temple on Car Street on a hot and humid Saturday.

 A meeting ground for youths, the okkul marks the culmination of the five-day long festivities held in connection with the annual car festival of the temple. What holi is to the North, okkul is to the ’amchegeles’ (Konkani speaking community) of the South. March of time has seen okkul - once a simple ritual of smearing of ’gulal’ (colours) on each other to a high profile must attend and must be seen place for the youths of Kodial. This is also a place where cupid strikes.

 The creativity was not all about Modi and demonetization, but also the more profound issue of having a green environment with a message reading Save Nature for Future. Then there were the others who left it all to the Lord almighty in stating Deva Venkataramana Amka Tuch Raaka (Lord Venkataramana You Alone Should Protect Us). Then a group of friends with their custom made red tees burst on to the scene proclaiming MakeSomeKiriKiri to make a statement.

 The wordings on the tees and their import was not lost on the youths. Vipin Bhakter, a MBA student from Coimbatore who joined his brother Vipul, pursuing his BSc at Canara College for the okkul said - Black Na White Matr was their way of supporting PM Modi’s drive to rid Indian economy of black money. Taking part in the okkul for the first time thanks to his brother, Vipin said the slogans on the tees are a nice medium to make one’s point of view clear.

 Manjunath Prabhu and his group of friends who sported the ’tera karchu Paytm Kara’ tees said they had printed around 80 such tailor made tees and distributed it among friends. It does send out a message to the masses, Manjunath averred. Incidentally, the trend of flaunting custom made tees making rounds at the okkul started around a decade ago and this trend has only grown big with each passing year. And the messages are only getting funkier with each passing year