Film actor Mammootty formally inaugurated the second edition of Manorama Hortus in Kochi on November 27. The four-day festival will continue till November 30.

Mammootty began his inaugural with his appreciation of the name Hortus, identifying it as Latin for garden. "There is no better word to describe Kerala," he said. The word 'hortus' and the way he likened a beautiful garden to the people of Kerala was his way of expressing gratitude.

"Kerala is also a garden with a variety of flowers of manifold colours, selfless and non-complaining. I, too, had enjoyed this garden's enchantment when I was resting after a physical ailment. There was no one in Kerala who had not prayed for me, who had not lit a candle for my health, who had not made offerings to the Lord for my long life, who had not said duaa for me in their daily prayers," Mammootty said. "This mutual love and trust are our social capital," he said about Kerala. By saying this, the superstar was once again emphasising the power of the collective that the second edition of Manorama Hortus has exalted in its theme: 'Me-You-We: The Power of We'.

Law and Industries Minister P Rajeev sounded a note of caution. He said that the 'We' in the preamble of the American Constitution, when it was first adopted,  did not include the blacks, women and the taxpayers. "But the 'We' in our Preamble to the Constitution included everyone right from the moment it was adopted. But now it looks like the 'We' in our Constitution is gradually shrinking in its inclusivity through Constitutional amendments and court judgments. It is this reality that we are facing. I hope Hortus will lead to such a realisation," Rajeeve said.

Besides the minister, Kochi mayor M Anilkumar, Colombian writer-journalist Pilar Quitana, Lulu chairman Yussuf Ali, Hortus festival director N S Madhavan and Santa Monica managing director Denny Thomas Vattakkunnel also offered felicitations.

Malayala Manorama executive director Jayant Mammen Mathew welcomed the gathering.