ONAM (Oh num) is the state festival of Kerala, India. It is a harvest festival, celebrates the glory and prosperity of a rich, bountiful harvest of plant products from the farms.
This festival falls in the Malayalam month of Chingam (now in August). This month follows the lean months of rainfall. With Chingam, the sun re-appears after 2-3 months of hide-and-seek with rain clouds. So chingam is springtime...the green umbrellas after a long battering of heavy downpour stands up and produces flowers of all hues and shades. At least in the countrysides, one can hope to see the Dashapushpams (ten flowers). I don't see all ten of them around, except in the newspapers.
Yes, Onam is celebration of prosperity. People spend money to buy new clothes and also to travel to their ancestral home (digging out own roots!) and have a good onasadya (Onam feast on the 2nd day of ONAM) on a tender plantain leaf. Really mouth watering........
Yup..wihout the green plants there is no ONAM. Onam is a celebration of plants and only when plants are conserved, be it paddy or Dashapushpams, can we celebrate ONAM.
No doubt, Onam is a Green Festival.
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| Thiruonasadya: It is all green here |
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| Floral carpet called Pookalam |
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| A close up of Pookalam-flowers, flowers.... |
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| Puli (tigers and leopards) raiding me! |
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| Kallavumilla chathivumilla......Pranamum Thampurane |
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