When three-year-old Trijal S Sundhar, fondly called Shanku, expressed his wish for biryani and chicken fry instead of the usual upma at his anganwadi, little did he know his request would lead to a statewide change. Shanku, who lives in Prayar North, Alappuzha, had joined the Khasheriel anganwadi last year. His mother, Ashwathy, recorded a video on January 26 where Shanku told her, “I want biryani and chicken fry at the anganwadi instead of upma.” Ashwathy shared the clip on Instagram, where it quickly went viral.

The video caught the attention of Kerala’s Health, Women and Child Welfare Minister Veena George, who promised to consider the suggestions and revise the anganwadi menu. True to her word, the government announced a new menu on Tuesday, now including dishes like egg biryani and pulao.

Shanku’s reaction to the news was sweet: “Thank you, Minister Aunty, I have seen the news,” he said in a video. Ashwathy and her family were pleasantly surprised by the quick decision. “We are all happy. Next month, we are planning to enroll him in lower primary class,” she shared. Ashwathy also explained the origin of the video — sharing moments with her husband working in Qatar and highlighting Shanku’s displeasure with repetitive meals.

The revamped menu is diverse: Mondays offer milk, pidi (rice flour balls), and kozhukkatta (steamed rice flour sweet) for breakfast, and rice with green gram curry, spinach, and payasam for lunch. Tuesdays include nutri laddu, egg biryani or pulao, fruit cup, and ragi ada. Other days feature soya dry fry, idli, sambar, puttu, omelette, and rice flakes with jaggery and banana — a welcome variety for the children.

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