Every year, the Keralites in Kerala get to celebrate the fullest of their lives during the Onam celebration. It is a famous festival for the Keralites and is also known as the harvest festival of Kerala. This festival brings along a lot of joy, happiness, and togetherness amongst people. The Onam festival is celebrated with the involvement of people of all faiths and castes together. People say that this festival marks the yearly homecoming of Kerala’s loving king named King Mahabali. This festival is a sign of respect and gratitude towards the favourite Asura king, who was loved by every Malayali. This festival is of the Hindu religion, but people from all castes and religions celebrate it, which signifies unity amongst all religions and castes.
Story of the legendary King Mahabali
As per the Hindu mythology, once upon a time, there was an Asura (demon) king named Mahabali who ruled Kerala. He was the grandson of Brahmin sage Prahlada and had achieved victory over the three worlds by defeating the gods. Despite being an Asura, he was loved by the people because of his generosity, wisdom, benevolence, and helpful nature. Hence, the gods approached Lord Vishnu for help and asked him to fight against Mahabali. But Vishnu refused, as Mahabali was a good ruler and people were fond of him.
King Mahabali was a devotee of Lord Vishnu and performed a Yajna after his victory over the gods. After this Yajna, Mahabali had to grant any one person a gift or fulfil a request. Vishnu took this opportunity to test King Mahabali’s devotion and approached him in the form of a dwarf boy named Vamana to ask for a gift. The King’s preceptor, Sukracharya, warned Mahabali not to grant any wish to Vamana, as he had realised that he was not an ordinary man. But the King did not listen to Sukracharya and kept his promise by asking Vamana to ask for his gift.
Vamana asked for a gift in which he demanded three paces of land, and Mahabal, as said, fulfilled his wish. Mahabali saw that the dwarf boy Vamana instantly grew huge. He covered the land and water with one foot, the sky with his other foot, and now has to place his third foot. King Mahabali soon realised that his third foot would destroy the world and hence offered himself to Vamana to put his third foot on him. Lord Vishnu’s third foot trampled King Mahabali far into hell. Vishnu granted King Mahbali a boon that he could visit his kingdom once a year. Therefore, Onam is celebrated in Kerala to honour the annual visit of King Mahabali.
Where and How Onam is Celebrated
Onam is a festival in Kerala, a state of India. This festival is a reflection of the togetherness of people, keeping aside the caste and religions, as every person sends Onam greetings and wishes to each other.
The Onam festival spans at least ten days. It starts with a procession that starts from Thripunithara in Kochi. It is a parade that involves elephant marches, flag hoisting of the Onam festival, drum beats, folk art forms, etc. There are also traditional dances performed by the people. An essential dance form shown by the Keralites is Kathakali, and some other dance forms are Pulikali, Thumbi Thullal, Onam Kali, and many more.
The Onam boat race is an essential event during Onam celebrations, which includes a dash of snake boats, traditional boats, and paddled longboats. The people sing boat songs during the competition for the sake of entertainment. It takes place in the Pampa River of Kerala.
Next, coming to the Onam pookalam, this is a floral carpet that is decorated with different petals and flowers. Pookalam is made up of various flowers in different patterns in the centre of the floor of entrances. The making of pookalam involves a lot of patience and creativity to form a floral art on the floor. The Onam pookalam design is very similar to rangoli, which is made using colours. There are also pookalam competitions held during Onam.
People serve each other with a traditional feast on the occasion of Onam, which is Onasadya. It is a meal served on a banana leaf. It has 29 different dishes served, which depict the spirit of Onam, such as aval, pickle, dal, thoran, rasam, coconut chutney, moru, payasam, etc.
Onam Quotes and Messages
People send each other Onam wishes, quotes, and images to wish each other on occasion. A few Onam wishes in English are as follows:
- May the Onam bring a lot of joy and happiness to your family. May the pookalam, kathakali, and boat songs be as entertaining as they are every year. Happy Onam!
- Every year we wait for this time to come, where we can be with our people and enjoy our best. So let’s make this Onam a memorable one. We wish you and your family a Happy Onam.
- Here comes one more Onam to make us remember King Mahabali’s life. Let us also join together and spread happiness, generosity, and kindness amongst each other. Have a blessed Onam!
Products to send your loved ones on Onam
The Joy of Onam
Onam falls at the start of the month of Chingam, which is the first month of the Malayalam Calendar known as Kollavarsham. As per the Gregorian Calendar, it corresponds to August and September. The celebration of Onam lasts from four to ten days, out of which the first, eighth, and tenth days are essential.