HARVEST FESTIVAL ONAM

ARE YOU EXCITED TO CELEBRATE ONAM FESTIVAL AND TO TASTE THE DELICIOUS ONAM SADHYA?

In and outside the God's Own Country, Onam is a major annual festival and State festival for Malayali People.
According to the Malayalam calendar, Thiruvonam falls on the 22nd nakshatra in the month of Chingam and overlaps with August-September in Gregorian calendar. It is believed that the annual harvest festival of the state which is known as Onam is celebrated to commemorate the King Mahabali. According to legends, Mahabali is said to visit Kerala at the time of the festival.
Along with Vishu and Thiruvathira, this harvest festival is one of the major three Hindu annual celebrations of Kerala and it is observed with numerous festivities. Onam celebrations include Vallam Kali (Boat Race), Pookkalam ( Flower Carpet or Rangoli), Puli Kali (Tiger Dance), Onathappan (Worship), Onam Kali, Tug of War, Thumbi Thullal (Women's Dance), Kummattikali (Mask Dance), Onathallu (Martial Arts), Onavillu (Music), Kazhchakulla (Plantain offering), Onapottan (Costumes), Atthachamayam (Folk songs and dance) and so on.




Onam is a festival which makes the Keralites one and this official state festival start with Uthradom( Onam Eve) with public holidays. Across 30 venues in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram, the major festivities takes place and also throughout the world it is celebrated by Malayali diaspora Even though Onam is a Hindu festival it brings all other religions ( Christians and Muslims) together considering it as a cultural festival.
Other customs on the occasion of the festival are buying and wearing new clothes and this tradition is known as Onakkodi. Also, Malayali Hindus welcome Thrikakkara Appan or Onathappan (Vishnu in the form of Vamana) by installing the images of them in their houses like Hindus welcome Ganapati or Lord Ganesh during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Also in front of the temples, a palmyra tree is erected and surrounded with a wooden balustrade which is covered with the tree leaves. According to the Mahabali legend to signify that the King Mahabali went to Patala as a sacrifice the palmyra tree erected which covered with the leaves is lit with a torch and burned to ashes. Also during Onam festival, many lamps are lit in Hindu temples in Kerala.
Especially in the rural areas of the State, the swing is another important part of the celebrations. Decked in their best young women and men sing Onappattu or Onam Songs and enjoy the harvest festival on swings slung from high branches. This season is also associated with the creativity that the weavers and potters go for excess production to meet the increased demand of the people for their products. Creativity is known in the North part of Kerala including regions Kasargod and Kannur, where the people have more demand.



During Onam or post- Thiruvonam people especially school students indulge in various kinds of games and dances which are known as Onakkalikal. Onakkalikal includes Pookala matsaram, food eating competitions, Uriyady, Ox races etc.

ONAM SADHYA



The very important and unavoidable part of Onam festival is the Onam Sadhya. This Onam Feast is either made in the house of Kerala people or they will attend any celebrations to taste the grand food. This indispensable part of Thiruvonam is a traditional food which reflects the spirit of the season. The Sadhya is made with seasonal vegetables like yam, cucumber, ash gourd and so on and the food is served on the plantain leaves. The Onam Sadhya is served with unlimited number of curries and dishes with rice. It includes Pappadam, various vegetable curries and soups, different kinds of pickles, Banana chips, Sharkaravaretti, Puliinji, Thoran, Aviyal, Kaalan, Mezhukuparatti, Olan, Sambhar, Erisheri, Rasam, Puliseri, Kichadi, Pachadi, Moru, Coconut chutney, and so on and the feast ends with a series of desserts like Payasam. The main part of the Sadhya Rice is usually the Kerala Matta.

MALAYALI CULTURE

LET'S FIND OUT THE CULTURAL BEAUTY OF THE BEAUTIFUL HOLY LAND.

As the Culture of God's Own Country is a part of India, it is a composite and cosmopolitan in nature. The culture of the state is derived from the Aryan and Dravidian cultures. Now it has been elaborated through centuries of contact with neighbouring and overseas cultures. However, Kerala has a distinctive lifestyle, art, architecture, language, literature, social institutions etc which makes Malayali people unique from rest of the world.



The Malayalam calendar which is a solar calendar started from 825 CE in Kerala is commonly used in agricultural planning and religious activities. Different slangs of the official language Malayalam, which is one of the classical languages of India are also spoken by the people of Kerala.
Every year over 10,000 festivals are celebrated in the State including Poorams (especially Thrissur Pooram), Makaravilaku, Attukal Pongala, Neymara Vallangi Vela and so on. Mainly the temples in Kerala holds Festivals and Utsavams, which are local festivals conducted on an annual basis. During the festivals, the surrounding of the temples will be hugely crowded, firework displays and it usually involve at least one richly caparisoned Elephant and as a procession, the idol in the temple is taken out around the countryside atop the elephant. Traditional music such as Panchari melam or Panchavadyam is often included in the procession.




The land of coconuts is also home to a number of performance arts including the five classical dance forms which were originated and developed in the temple theatres during the classical period under the patronage of royal houses.

• Kathakali
• Mohiniyatam
• Koodiyattom
• Thullal
• Krishnanattam

The other dance forms associated with the temple culture of the region are:

• Kerala natanam
• Thirayattam
• Kaliyattam
• Theyyam 
• Koothu
• Padayani

The popular traditional dance forms among Syrian Christians are

•  Margamkali
• Parichamuttukali

And among Latin Christians is

• Chavittunadakam

The popular dance forms of Muslims of the State are

• Oppana
• Duffmuttu

The development of the indigenous classical music in God's Own Country is received from the traditional performance arts associated with the temple culture of Kerala. Several musical forms illustrates the rich contribution of the culture of the temple has made to the art forms of Kerala like the classical music form Sopana Sangeetham. As the result of popularisation of the genre in the 19th century by Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma, the Carnatic music dominates Kerala's traditional music. Sopanam accompany Kathakali performances are Raga-based renditions. The percussive style of music Melam includes the paandi and panchari variants and it is performed with the chenda during the temple-centred festivals.

The state's most renowned painter is Raja Ravi Varma, who gave a different outlook to the visual arts of Kerala which ranges from traditional murals.

Associated with a variety of themes the state's most of the caste and communities have rich collections of folk songs and ballads including 

• Vadakkan Pattukal (Northern Ballads)
• Thekkan Pattukal (Southern Ballads)
• Vanchi Pattukal (Boat Songs)
• Mappila Pattukal (Muslim Songs)
• Palli Pattukal (Church Songs)

Even the Malayalam films have central attention in the overall Indian Film Industry because of the quality of the presentation of social themes. The Indian Film Industry is rich with directors who have made a considerable contribution to the Indian parallel cinema like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G. Aravidan, Bharathan, P. Padmarajan, M. T Vasudevan Nair, K.G. George, Priyadarshan, John Abraham, Ramu Karyat, K.S Sethumadavan, A. Vincent, Shaji N Karun etc. Also, Kerala is the birth land of talented numerous actors such as Satyan, Prem Nasir, Madhu, Sheela, Sharadha, Jayan, Adoor Bhasi, Seema, Bharath Gopi, Mohanlal, Mammooty and so on. 

The gifted Malayalam actor Prem Nazir holds the world record for acted as protagonist in more than 720 movies. Kerala has produced eminent personalities like K.J Yesudas, K.S Chitra in the field of singing. 

Malayalam literature also played a major role in shaping the Kerala state. The notable writers, poets like Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, Kumaranashan, Vallathol Narayana Menon, Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer and so on are notable among them.

The cuisine of Kerala is also a part of the Land of Coconuts.