Go To:  Index File

Onam: Keralites celebrate national festival
by Juhan Samuel

          Kochi: The traditional harvest festival of Onam was celebrated in Kerala. The day marks the home-coming of the mythical King Mahabali. Devotees visited temples to offer prayers and thank the God for a bountiful yield. It is also time to enjoy the bounty of nature after a year of hard labour. Elaborate elephant procession followed by delicious and sumptuous meals with over 15 varieties is the main attraction of the day at the Thrikakkara temple. Sudarshan Kumar, devotee said, "It is a great blessing to worship and have afternoon meals in the presence of deity at Thrikkara temple. I feel blessed." To have afternoon meals at the temple is said to be a blessing. The Thrikakkara temple is believed to be the only temple having Vamana deity, the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu. T. Thankappan Nair, temple committee member, said: "Here the deity is Vamana and there is no other temple for this in Kerala or in India. This makes this an important shrine during the Onam season. Here we conduct afternoon lunch for more than 20,000 devotees irrespective of their caste or creed." According to the legend, Onam recalls the story of King Mahabali, who created a kingdom in what is now Kerala. Afraid of his rising popularity, Gods sent Lord Vishnu to crush Mahabali. Vishnu disguised himself as Vamana, a small Brahmin boy, and came to Mahabali's court. He asked for as much land as he could cover in three steps. With the first stride, Vamana covered heaven, with the second, he covered earth. For the third step, he put his foot on Mahabali's head and pushed him down to the nether world. Mahabali then asked that he be allowed to visit his kingdom once a year. Pleased with his virtues, Vishnu made him the king of hell and granted a boon to him that he could visit his kingdom once a year. Onam is celebrated to welcome the legendary king returning annually to his earthly abode and kingdom. The festival falls during the month of Chingam (August-September as per the Gregorian calendar), the first month of the Malayalam calendar and lasts for ten days. Activities during the festival revolve around worshipping, music, dances, sports, boat races and sumptuous food. Traditionally celebrated as a harvest festival, mythologically it is linked to Malayalee-Hindu folktales.
- August 27, 2007

Previous File                               Current File