Onam - The Festival of Flowers, Feasting and Fun


Yet another Onam. And it brings with it all the merry and prosperity. That time of the year when King Mahabali visits his kingdom on earth. People of his city, believed to be in the perfection of administration and justice under the reign of Bali, the benevolent king, welcome the king to their houses elegantly. Earthen figurine of the king is placed with reverence on the centre of a floral pattern. It is said that the heart and soul of Onam lies in the beauty of the floral pattern, and that every blossoming flower longs to attain salvation by filling a gap anywhere in the patterns drawn on the day of Thiruvonam. Thiruvonam or Shravana is the 22nd star in the zodiac. It is a constellation of Alpha Aquila, Beta Aquila and Gamma Aquila stars, Alpha being the brightest. These three stars are believed to have originated from three footsteps of Vamana, the fifth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. King Bali had promised to offer three footsteps of land that the young Brahmin scholar demanded for. All flowers, sparing none, go into decorating the vivid patterns drawn on floor smeared with cowdung and rice flour. Kids in the household are engaged in flower plucking activities to get their basketfulls of flowers for decking the patterns to be drawn on each of the ten days of Onam. It is a sport of all sorts to venture out into the wild and pluck as much and as many different varieties of flowers as possible. The traditional Onasadhya is another hallmark of the festival. Onasadhya or the Onam Feast is the festive brunch served on fresh plantain leaves. The plantain leaves find a mention in Ayurvedic texts to contain elements of gold, which has been scientifically proven to improve immunity against infections. They also add an extra flavour to the recipes served on them. The dishes rolled out on Onam are nothing short of a delightful variety of tastes and aromas. All vegetables and spices go into the curries. To add to it, the chips made from bananas and jaggery, and payasam, the sweet pudding made from boiled rice or pulses or vermicelli or wheat or semolina, or even of fruits like jackfruit and bananas, build a massive empire of nutritiously healthy and tasty food. Not just the physical ingredients, but a lot of passion and love goes into making the Onasadhya. Malayalis in all corners of the world celebrate Onam. It is difficult, in these days of urbanized living, to get all the flowers for the floral patterns and vegetables for the Onasadhya. However, the festive spirit is not the one to fade away. It only gets stronger when passed through generations. It is in these very festivals that the soul of India and the pristine essence of spirituality dwells in. Happy Onam to everyone.

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