Festivals

Onam - Rejoicing The Return of Mahabali

Imagine one morning you open your eyes to the euphony of violins and cymbals. You walk over to the window - like a puppet of the moment - only to see a colourful procession coming towards you. It seems as if the entire city is on the streets. Women in colourful traditional costumes, with cascading gold necklaces, and carrying coconut-frond kiosks, are selling mouthwatering fried banana fritters. Look at those little girls, wearing tiny gold 'parrot's cage' earrings as they cling to their fathers, nagging for a cheap wooden toy or so. You fly through the stairs and think if you hadn't been staying so high! As you come down, you see a colourful checkerboard of 'rangoli' (with colored rice paste) and 'pookkalam' (with flowers), displaying some elaborate and intricate designs, in the courtyard. And instantly you remember that it is 'Chingam' (September), the colourful month of Malayali calender, when the whole state reverberates with the fragrance of enigmatic 'Pookalams' (the multi-colour floral decoration in elaborate patterns), taste of 'Onasadya' (festive meal) and the heart-throbbing frolic of Snake Boat Race. The 10-day festivity also celebrates the golden age of king Mahabali, a mythical ruler of Kerala, who is believed to return once a year from eternal exile to earthly splendours,

Namukku Onam Akhoshikkam - Let's Celebrate Onam

The ten-day celebrations of Onam presents an exquisite medieval grandeur. As you walk over the cobbled streets of Thiruvananthapuram, look at those beautiful houses, displaying a rich taste of parquetry, adorned with flowers and traditional lamps by the road side. The sprawling courtyards with 'Onapookkalam', a carpet made out of clustered blossoms, with a slight tint of green leaves, pinched up into little pieces to serve the decorator's interests. It is a delicate work of art and cannot be made without an artistic sense of tone and blending. Even a dozen of tusker elephants, caparisoned in their gold-leaf ornaments, share some space in the procession. Look at those petrifying performers, wearing fierce makeup and glittering headdresses, as they jaunt through the crowd. Some of them hold a flaming torch and fistful of a powder is thrown occassionally into the flames - presenting an aura around, that eventually crackles into tongues of fire. One can also see heavily painted colourful wooden mask depicting faces of Kummattikali dancers, who move from house to house collecting small gifts and entertaining people.

Enjoy the evenings from the terrace, usually illuminated by a fabulous display of fireworks, that turn the whole city into a genuine fairyland. The best thing about Onam is that, it is not only a break from the regular humdrums, but a moment which Malayalis celebrate with their hearts out. Even the poorest of the poor manages to find something for himself to celebrate the national festival in his own humble way.

Go Banana

During Onam, it is the aroma of the bananas that dominates the indoors and the outdoors of the state. As though to echo the month of Chingam, when a golden fulness replaces the damp hunger of the monsoon month of Karkidakam, the yellow fruit is everywhere. Huge bunches doll up the shop fronts - crescents of sunshine, plump and sweet. It is not bizarre to see men - sporting pencil-thin moustaches and crests of oiled hair - swinging banana stalk laden with fists of bananas on the roads. Do not forget to taste the mind-blowing combination of steamed bananas and 'puttu', or boiled bananas with a tinge of jaggery.

Vallam Kali - Unforgettable Holiday Fun On A Boat

The life of Kerala revolves around its waterways and hence a wonderful boat culture has developed on the layers of time. Don't forget to listen to the myths and legends related to the lives of the boatsmen and stories of their haunting adventures amid the sea. Visit Kerala during Onam and be a part of 'Vallamkali' or the renowned snake-boat race. After a colourful procession of taking local deities on a boat ride, the whole village participates in the merriment of boat racing. In enchanting unison, they row the long, decorated 'chundan vallam' (snake boats), their oars pushing past the blue waters with agility and grace, the sound of the cheerleaders at the prow impelling them to be faster, swifter, just past the next boat ahead. When the mesmerizing notes of the 'vanchipattu' (boat song) reach a crescendo, the ambiance reevrberates with the electrifying effects of the melody. You can look with the local folks who come from far and near to watch the snake boats skim through the shimmering backwaters. Plan a visit to Kerala during the second saturday of August, to witness the gala event of Nehru Trophy Boat Race  

Vishu

Like most parts of India, festivals in Kerala are an integral part of the social and cultural structure of the state and festival time is the best time to plan one's travel to Kerala. In Kerala, every community, every religion has something to celebrate about all through out the year.

Vishu is one of the important festivals of Kerala. It comes in the month of April usually on the 14th. According to the traditional Malayalam calendar, it is the 1st day of the first month Medam of the New Year. Traditional rituals are followed to bring in another year of prosperity.

Vishu is one of the most popular festivals of Kerala. Vishu falls on the first of Medam (March-April), which is the Malayalam New Year's Day. Since it is considered propitious to view good things on this day for year round good fortune, Vishu morning is an important time. The heart of this festival of Kerala is the preparation of the kani (the lucky sight or gift).

The custom of preparing the kani has been followed for generations. The women take a large dish made of bell-metal (uruli), arrange in it a grantha (palm-leaf manuscript), a gold ornament, a new cloth, some flowers from the Konna Tree (Cassia fistula), some coins in a silver cup, a split coconut, a cucumber, some mangoes and a jack-fruit. On either side of the dish are placed two burning lamps with a chair facing it. Family members are taken blindfolded and then their blindfolds are removed and they view the Vishu Kani. As in other Indian festivals, a great feast at home is the high point of celebrating Vishu in Kerala.

ELEPHANT FESTIVAL AT THRISSUR

Location : Thrissur, 83 km north of Kochi
Celebrated At : Thekkinkadu Maidan outside the Vadakkunathan Temple
Major Attraction : Line of beautifully caparisoned elephants, fireworks
When To Go : April to May

Elephant Festival - Thrissur

If you wonder what else you can do beside cruising on the backwaters, getting an ayurvedic massage and messing with the sands, you should reshuffle your thoughts, because aptly you are in God's own country. You will always find something or the other to elevate your spirits - be it mist-clad mountains or handsomely decorated elephants at Thrissur. 'Puram', the most colourful temple festival of Thrissur (or Trichur, as is known locally), attracts thousands of people to witness the grand elephant procession. Apparantly, no celebration in Kerala is complete without an elephant pageant. The gentle pachyderm has been revered a noble position and accorded the privilege of fetching numerous gods and goddesses of this land. Interestingly, many well-to-do families in Kerala, until a few years ago, owned an elephant which was considered as a member of the household.

A Festival For The People, By The People And With The People

Considered to be a people's festival, the 'Pooram' is held at the Thekkinkadu Maidan outside the Vadakkunathan Temple in the Malayali month of Medam (April-May). Beautifully caparisoned elephants in two processions representing the Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu temples, compete to create impressive sights and sounds. The celebration eventuates in the early hours of the dawn and continues till the break of the next day. Each group is allowed to perform with a maximum of fifteen elephants and extensive efforts are made by each party to insure the best elephants of South India and the most colourful and artistic cloaks, several kinds of which are raised on the elephants during the display. The commissioning of elephants and parasols is done while maintaining an utmost secrecy by each party to surpass the other. The mammoths decorated with gold ornaments, each ridden with three priests, are a splendid sight to behold. Tourists can crowd at the maidan with their loved ones and see the elephants stand still, ears flapping nonchalantly. Soon a magnificent work of fireplay will enchant you as hundreds of cylindrical drums of the Chenda Melam orchestra rise to a deafning crescendo. The procession of the Thiruvambadi Pooram to the grounds of Vadakkunnatha Temple and back is not only fascinating, but much more than that. Listen to the magical euphony of the 'Panchavadyam', a combination of five percussion and wind instruments, a joy to the ears that is to be felt to be described. The revelry continues all night with the Vadakkunathan Temple act as a backdrop in a blaze of coloured lights.

Choose Your Way

The Thrissur 'Puram' being one of the most celebrated festivals of this southern state of Kerala, attracts thousands of spectators during the festive time. Special KSRTC buses are also regulated between Thrissur and other destinations like Guruvayur, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Coimbatore, Kozhikode and Trivandrum. The nearest airhead is the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery, 45 km from Thrissur. One can fly upto there, then get a cab to reach the festive destination. However, if you are planning to come from Ernakulam (79 km) or Trivandrum (275 km), you have to drive on NH 47 that links Salem to Kanyakumari.