The homage of Vamana Avatar of Lord Vishnu is marked by the celebration of Onam Festival, the harvest festival of Kerala. It is celebrated for the homecoming of the mythical King Mahabali from the underworld. The celebration of the festival starts with a fortnight of the Malayalam New Year and continues for ten days. This Year the celebration of Onam begins on Friday, 25th August and ends on Wednesday, 6th September. Rituals, traditional cuisine, dance, and music are the key elements by which the festival is marked with. For the ten days of Onam every household in Kerala would have mouth-watering vegetarian spread comprising of 26 dishes, called as ‘OnamSadhya’. It is served on a traditional banana leaf, and the delicacy comprises of 13 to 15 curries, traditional pickles, papadam (papad), sambar, rasam, puliseri, payasam (kheer), yogurt, avail (mixed vegetables with coconut), plantain chips, thoran (dry curry with grated coconut), olan (pumpkin cooked in coconut milk and ginger) and many more.
The major festival is celebrated for three days, starting with first Onam followed by the most important day “ThiruOnam” and Third Onam. Onamsadya is the major meal on all the three days. On this festive occasion women preferably wear the traditional attire of Kerala, a white saree with golden borders, while men go for same color shirt and mundu. A rangoli (Onam Special Pookalam) is designed by the people using flowers. People also arrange of a Pookalam competition in some areas. Onakalikal (games) is a tradition that is observed on every Onam where people come together and play games which in turn brings out the festive mood and brings people together building community bonds and closeness. Various kinds of games are played from Pulikali, a folk art where performers are painted like tigers and hunters; and Vadamvali, a tug o’ war; to Kaserakali, musical chair.
Several traditional dances and dance-drama forms have made Kerala their home, the most notable being Kathakali. The meaning of the word “Kathakali” means “Story Play”. Kathakali is famously known for its heavy, elaborate makeup and costumes. The Kathakali performance is a major social event during the Onam which starts at dusk and continues all through the night.
The most enchanting facet of the festival of Onam is the Vallamkali or the Snake Boat Race. The event is also a major tourist attraction of the state of Kerala. The Snake Boat Race has been increasing in popularity with every passing year. The credit for the success of the Snake Boat race during Onam can be attributed to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who was so enamored by this colorful event that he instituted a trophy for it.
A shade of royalty is brought to the festival of Onam with the regal elephant ride that takes place at Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala. Elephants decked in gold are made to walk about the street that presents a magnificent treat to the eyes.
Finally, an inseparable part of Onam is gifted. The tradition of giving gifts helps to heighten the level of enthusiasm and raise the spirit of harmony among the traditional people of Kerala. The most popular gifts that are exchanged during Onam are gold jewelry, silver coins, gadgets, home appliances and much more.
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