Onam Diaries

TechnoparkToday.com>> When the majority of mythological stories in the most part of India celebrated the victory of Gods over Devils, there existed a small empire at the southern tip of the country where a demon’s homecoming was rejoiced.

Onam, the biggest and the most secular festival of Kerala, celebrated across the length and breadth of the state is beyond all the beliefs and legendary stories. Onam is an emotion that every Malayali holds close to his heart no matter where he resides. The festival knows no religion, no caste, no geography; it doesn’t abide by any specific strata of society. It is an omnipresent expression for every Keralite who have breathed the air of this Feast-aval!

Onam is about many things. Of Atthapookalam(Flower designs), of Onakodi(traditional wear), of Onasadya(feast), of greenery, of happiness. The very mention of the festival brings back so many memories for many of us. That whiff of Onam aura which filled our tharavadu(ancestral home) on those golden days. A huge family union where every member of the grand family gathered together to relish on that sumptuous meal…all of them dressed in the most glitzy outfits, those  oonjaal(swing) times, Jokes shared, laughter exchanged. When I think of Onam of my childhood all these nostalgic moments get wings to give a blink and miss appearance in my mind.

Indeed the festivities have changed by leaps and bounds with time. It’s more of a closed private  affair restricted to nuclear families of these days. The other day while getting back from work I heard an advertisement being played on the Radio. The girl in the ad sounded worried about the trouble of cooking  Onam lunch on Thiruvonam for 4 people. That’s when someone suggests her to order the entire lunch from a catering service. The ad was about a catering service which apparently serves the best sadya in town. I chuckled on listening to the ad as it exposes us to the grave picture of what Onam has come up to. Most of us cannot even cook one curry that’s served on the banana leaf; forget about the other 27 items! And there were days when our moms would wake up at 4am in the morning to kickstart the lunch preparations and after hours of hardwork the most lip smacking meal of the year would be served in front of the entire family.

 These days more than family gatherings and attachments with near and dear, it’s about adorning the designer outfits, posing in front of pookalam, clicking selfies and terming the whole celebration as “Onam celebration of the year”. Yes, we all are guilty of doing so! But in spite of all the new age clichés of us youngsters the fact remains that the very soul of the festival is still intact in every Malayali’s heart. It might have confined to shopping sprees, readymade sadya and new movie releases but the passion and verve in which the state gets lapped up on those auspicious days, I can firmly ascertain the fact that God’s own country eagerly awaits for Onam every single year.

Pull your hair down and let’s welcome our king this Friday…

Ponnonashamsagal!!!

Aparna Nair