Onam is a harvest festival of Kerala- Gods own country. It is also celebrated to welcome the King Mahabali who was once a great king as per the legends.
Other exciting activities that happen during the Onam carnival are the snake boat race, folk dance, elephants procession and the very elegant ‘Pookalam’ .
Pookalam is a rangoli made of flowers, which looks more like a flower carpet.
No festival is complete without its lip smacking food. There is a grand feast at every Malayali home called the ‘Onam sadya’. It is a traditional vegetarian nine course meal and is served on the banana leaf. This grand meal is complete by polishing off the special Palada payasam/kheer (dessert made of rice and milk ).
Onam has recently gained popularity and we see a lot of non malayali women dressed in the elegant white and gold saris. A lot of companies host a Pookalam competition followed by the grand Onam sadya for all the employees at the office.
Here is a sample of the Pookalam done by my son with some help of course.
4 Responses to Wishing all you dear mommies a very Happy Onam