ONAM – festival of all flavors of happiness and taste

ONAM 

 festival of all flavors of happiness and taste

Thoughts😊

Being an urban grown-up Onam gives separate experiences, delightful moments, flavours, and colors to my life. Whereas rural celebrations entirely vary with the extreme touch of nature with very traditional practices of togetherness. Urban centre Onam is flourished by posters of Onam advertisements, money gathering, and Pookalam with accessible flowers. Community level of celebration with cheerful competitions is present in both but more extended ranges of celebrations of friendship in career centres can be seen in urban. So, these two poles of traditions of rural and urban heterogeneity of celebration fulfill our minds and memories with the prosperity of Onam. 

Thiruvonam- 10th day

On the morning of Thiruvonam, my dear sibling was perplexed to find out the ten colours for Pookalam with his great enthusiasm he somehow managed to complete ten blooms of the Pookalam.

This Onam was in between troubles which had resulted in unexpected outcomes in my life but still, I utilized all the way to be in the brook of Onam. Amma was busy in her food-making process and my brother assisted her with utmost interest in eating the grand Sadhya. I chopped the vegetables and Mom shared her Onam memories.

“I always think about your aunt, she disguised as King Mahabali and blessed all the neighbors without their concern. Haha...”

Sadhya with three special Pickles,  Banana chips, Uppari, Pachadi, Kichadi, Olan, and famous Avial of Mighty Bheema, Madura curry, Papadam, Potato curry, Thoran, Sambar, Parippu curry, White rice, Payasam with Boli all these flavors were decorated in a spacious banana leaf. All just floated inside my watery mouth with the rhythms of Onam. 

image of Aleena, Nanu and Vavachi

Onam is also the fest of beauty and colors. I wore a traditional red saree with a green border, my mom said I was exquisite in the traditional wear. My brother helped me to get prepared and click photos with his cheerful smile.

My viewpoint of Onam has transformed a lot from swings, and ten traditional days of Pookalam to simply seeing swings hung in a neighboring house with one day of Pookalam but the tale of Onam narrated by my grandfather is a static insight for me, 

"The Asur king Mahabali was cheerful and affable; people admired his ruling tales like the music of nature. Heaven was filled with heartful jealousy. The jealous devas requested Lord Vishnu to end the glory of Mahabali. Lord Vishnu disguised as a dwarf Brahmin known as Vamana before Mahabali and asked the king to offer him three feet of land. Mahabali agreed but  Vishnu measured the entire universe with his two steps and Mahabali for keeping the promise of three, bent his head before Vishnu to fulfill the promise of three. The king who only prioritizes the well-being of his beloved subject expressed his desire to visit once every year".

 Adding new memories

This year of Onam was unique because I also considered some time for Onam blogging. This Onam empowered and taught me how to be delighted during the most undesirable times beyond contentment, prosperity, and solace in nature.