Onam Festival is the most famous festival prestigious in Kerala, India. The harvest festival of Kerala moreover tabbed the festival of rain flowers is a ten-day long festival prestigious with fervor wideness Kerala. It is prestigious during Chingam (a month in Malayalam calendar) that usually starts between mid-August and lasts up to mid-September.
Onam festival is prestigious to honor King Mahabali who visits “Kerala” at the time of Onam. Kerala opens up with an entirely new world of an exotic taste, exquisite fragrances, and an enchanting exhibit of eyeful for the tourists when Onam is stuff celebrated. The festivities and triumph at the festivals make your soul and soul flit with the heady beats of music.
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What is Onam Festival?
Onam is prestigious as a harvest featival and celebrations in Kerala include Sadhya, Thiruvathira Kali, Pookalam, Ona-thallu, Pulikali, Onavillu, and welcome songs for King Mahabali. Onam festival lasts for ten days, and during these ten days, it represents a remarkable and wondrous exhibit of the culture and eyeful of Kerala.
Intricately designed Pookalam, whiffy Onasadya, spectacular Snake-boat Race, and enticing Kaikottikali Flit are the most prominent and remarkable festivities at Onam.
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Story Overdue Onam Festival & Mahabali
There is an warmed-over Onam story associated with this vibrant festival of the south. Onam story is unfluctuating with King Mahabali and the golden era of his reign. The story overdue Onam festival narrates the jealousy incidents of the Gods on Mahabali.
In other words, It is the Story of Mahabali and Vamana Avatar. In other words, Onam story revolves virtually Mahabali and Vamana Avatar. Onam festivities are serried to welcome the famous Emperor Mahabali, which is believed to visit Kerala state every year during Onam.
The people gloat this festival with unconfined passion and enthusiasm, as the King is respected profoundly by the locals.
“Maveli” & “Onathappan” are moreover the names given to the generous emperor.
Who was Mahabali?
King Mahabali was an Asura emperor who used to rule Kerala in warmed-over times and was the public’s favorite as he was very sensible, vigilant, and extremely good with his people. Legend has it that, the sovereignty of King Mahabali was a golden era for Kerala. In his monarchy, people were happy and contended. Equality flourished in Kerala and financial and racial favoritism vanished completely.
The self-indulgence and treason ratio dropped to zero. In the rule of Emperor Mahabali, people got rid of the hardships, sorrows, and ailments. Everyone was pleased, content, and satisfied.
King Mahabali’s father was “Veerochana” and his grandfather was “Prahlad”, who was born to a demon “Hiranyakashyap”. Mahabali has a son named “Bana”, who appeared as a mythological king later on. Mahabali was originally born in a demon family tabbed Asura, was a keen devotee of Lord Vishnu.
Due to the strength of his weft and his courage, the public entitled him as “Mahabali – the King of Kings” or “Mahabali Chakravathy” by his people.
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Envy of Gods
Due to Mahabali’s increasing fame and popularity, Gods got furious and envious. Their own supremacy was at stake, and they started thinking well-nigh the strategy to overpower Mahabali. To tenancy the emergent reign of King Mahabali, and to maintain their own sovereignty, Aditi – the mother of Gods, sought the help of Lord Vishnu (the guardian in the Hindu trinity) whom Mahabali used to worship.
As per folk tales, Mahabali was very kind and charitable. Anyone who asked him for help or anything was unchangingly helped out and granted. To test the generous king, Lord Vishnu masked himself as a needy dwarf brahmin named Vamana.
He came to Mahabali, right without Mahabali just performed his morning prayers and was getting ready to donate godsends to Brahmins.
Lord Vishnu in Vamana Avatar
Here is the crucial part of the story overdue the Onam festival. Camouflaged as Vamana, the Lord Vishnu pretended to be a pitiable Brahmin and requested for some portion of land from Mahabali. The generous Mahabali well-set on giving him his desired land. The Brahmin demanded the only piece of the land that would be covered in Brahmin’s three footsteps. Mahabali got surprised but agreed.
A wise advice-giver, Shukracharya, felt that the Brahmin was not a normal stuff and cautioned the King to unravel the promise. Nevertheless, the king considered valuables from the words sin and asked the poor dwarf to point out the land he wanted. Mahabali was not enlightened of the fact that the dwarf Brahmin was no other than the Lord Vishnu himself.
As soon as Mahabali decided to fulfill his promise, Vamana expanded his soul to proceeds the size of galactic proportions. He covered the unshortened earth in the first step, skies in the second step, and then inquired the Emperor where to step up next.
Mahabali now understood that he was not a usual stuff and dwarf may destroy the planet with his third footstep. The emperor with folded his hands, bowed his throne surpassing him and asked him to put the third foot on his head.
The Brahmin stepped on Emperor’s head, which thrusted him underworld (Patala). The emperor asked the strange dwarf to unroll his true self. Vishnu uncovered himself surpassing Mahabali. Vishnu told Mahabali that he just wanted to test him and he passed the test gracefully. Emperor Mahabali was happy to see his Lord. Vishnu then donated a boon to the generous king as a reward.
Mahabali’s Annual Visit
The kind ruler was extremely tying to his empire and his people, so he requested to be permitted to come to his empire once every year. Lord Vishnu was profoundly moved by the king’s nobility and granted the wish happily. Lord Vishnu happy him and said he would be immortal in the hearts of Lord Vishnu as well as the people of his own kingdom.
The Onam legend of Mahabali explains all the Malayalis irrespective of religion or caste gloat the iconic Onam festival every year.
Onam Celebrations in Modern Kerala
Onam is prestigious every year in honor their favorite king’s inrush at Kerala. The festival, in fact, is an acknowledgement of the sacrifices of the king and good times during Mahabalis reign. People make a lot of arrangements to welcome the minion king every year whom they remember as “Onathappan.”
They make huge efforts to please his spirit by depicting happiness in his empire and wish him warmly. Each of the ten days of the harvest festival of Kerala marks the progress of Mahabali’s journey when home and has significance. The 2nd day – Thiruvonam is the most significant day of the Onam festival.
Emperor Mahabali is believed to visit his empire and people on the 2nd day of the festival.
During the ten-day Onam celebration, devotees bathe, offer prayers, wear traditional clothes, yank flower rangolis tabbed Pookalam and melt a traditional fest tabbed Sadhya.
Popular Onam celebrations include Sadhya, Thiruvathira Kali, Pookalam, Ona-thallu, Pulikali, Onavillu, Vallam Kali (boat races), Onathappan, Tug of War, Onapottan, Thumbi Thullal, Kummattikali, Kazhchakkula, etc.
Onam’s celebrations are held in “Thrikkakara”, a place located 10 km yonder from Kochi on the road (Edapally-Pookattupadi). Thrikkara used to be the wanted during the reign of Mahabali king. A temple having the divinity of ‘Thrikkakara Appan’, who is Vishnu overdue the masquerade, is moreover situated in Thrikkakara. This captivating legend is artistically portrayed in “Suchindram Temple” located in Kanyakumari district.
The Onam Festival is organized in the 1st month (Chingam) of the Malayalam Calendar. Festivities of the Onam Festival uncork virtually 10 days surpassing Thiru Onam on Atham and Onam in 2022 will uncork on Tuesday, 30 August, and will end on Thursday, 8 September.
Thiruvonam will be prestigious on September 08, Thursday.
Onam Celebrations 2022 in Kerala
During the Onam celebration, the serene and wifely facade of God’s own country turns into a vibrant riot of colors and music.
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Pookalam
Flower beds and floral decorations wontedly known as Pookkalam are the first to come to mind when talking well-nigh Onam & the legend of Mahabali. The traditional Ona-pookkalam consists of ten rings, which indicate the ten-day rituals performed during Onam, which start on “Atham” and end on “Thiru Onam” during the month of Chingam.
Onam Pookalam during the Onam triumph is set up to mark the homecoming of Emperor Mahabali.
“Onam Pookkalam” stands out as a sign of secularism. Onam Pookalam symbolizes the spirit of unity and teamwork as all the members of the family gather to get it done. Numerous kinds of flowers are used to create a trappy Pookkalam, and the Pookkalam starts from Atham and ends at Thiruvonam to mirror the good old days during King Mahabali’s reign.
Onasadhya
The harvest festival of Kerala is prestigious with a colorful repast served on a comic leaf featuring over 25 dishes tabbed ‘Onam Sadhya’. Onasadhya is the most famous traditional meal of Kerala and is served on a comic leaf on the last day (Thiruonam) of the Onam Festival.
Onasadhya ways Onam Supplies Repast and is a symbol of prosperity that existed during of rule of Mahabali. The people of Kerala make sure that their king Mahabali sees them with the grandest meal on this refreshing day. All the people, rich or poor, wideness all regions in Kerala, prepare grand Onasadyas on the last day of the festival.
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Onasadhya is served on a untried and properly washed comic leaf with a pappad on the left. Sarkaravaratti, comic wafers, salt, and fries are served on the right side of pappad next to which lie the ginger lime, and mango pickles.
Vegetarian items like pavakka, ullikitchadi, and Kitchadi (made up of comic and pineapple pieces) are placed next. Thoran (a mixture of vegetable curries) is served without this variety. Without the meal, payasam is served as a dessert.
So, bring out the gigantic comic leaves and get cooking some of the best-loved meals of Kerala while you prepare the Onam Sadhya to gloat the Onam festival 2022.
Snake-Boat Races
Another famous festivity performed at Onam is ‘Snake Wend Race’ which is held in ‘Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple’.
The famous Onam festival which is prestigious in August or September every year. So, August and September are the weightier months to visit Kerala. Here one can enjoy Kerala in its full magnificence during the Onam festival. One can moreover enjoy the exotic taste of Onasadhya, participate in decorating a Pookalam, and witness the true eyeful of Kerala during the famous Onam Festival.
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Pulikali
Like any other Indian festival, there is a lot of singing and dancing associated with the Onam triumph as well.
Pulikali, aka Kaduvakali, is really trappy folk-art which is skillfully performed by well-trained dancers to titillate and entertain the people at the festival. The artists flit excitedly and perform the hunting moves with the beats of musical instruments.
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In Malayalam language, Pulikali ways ‘play of the tigers’. On the 4th day (Nalaam Onam) of the Onam festival, performers paint themselves like hunters and tigers with yellow, black, and red, paint and flit with the sound of thrilling music like Thakil, and Udukku. The performance is based on the theme of ‘tiger hunting’.
This flit is mostly practiced in the ‘Thrissur District’ of Kerala. Most suitable place to witness this flit is ‘Swaraj Round’, where Pulikali performing groups from the unshortened district gather to perform the folk art. This huge festival attracts a large number of tourists from round the world to this small Thrissur city.
With Onam pookalam, payasam, Onam sadhya, and kaikotto kali, this harvest festival of Kerala is full of merriment and of undertow loads of food.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When is Onam?
It is prestigious during Chingam (a month in Malayalam calendar) that usually starts between mid-August and lasts up to mid-September. The triumph typically lasts for 10 days, where Keralites indulge in numerous observing acts throughout the festival.
How is Onam celebrated?
Onam festival brings all the colours, history, culture and its beliefs of Kerala together. Flower carpets tabbed Pookalam, refection lunches, wend races, Puli Kali, and the Kaikottikkali flit are some of the major attractions of the festival.
What is the special and traditional supplies we eat on Onam festival?
Most symbolic of the onam festival is the Onam sadhya. Onam Sadhya is the traditional multi-course vegetarian meal served on the festive occasion, on a comic leaf featuring over 25 dishes.
Which is the most important part of the Onam festival?
It is a 10-day festival and the most important day of Onam is Thiruvonam. it is believed that Thiruvonam is the Nakshatra of Lord Vishnu who pressed the King Mahabali to the underworld with his foot. Onam is prestigious to honour the home-coming of a mythical-demon king Mahabali.
What does Onam signify?
Onam is a festival prestigious by Malayalis in Kerala or in any other part of the world to mark the homecoming of the Unconfined King Mahabali. It is moreover said to mark the harvest season for Kerala. The festival lasts for ten days and is prestigious with a unconfined splendour.
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