So...we got the day off of school! Onam is actually a holiday celebrated in Kerala (the "beautiful" state next door to Tamil Nadu), but, since there are so many Malayali's (Kerala people) that go to my school, we got the day off!
Onam is a festival that celebrates a legend of a King that used to rule over the state of Kerala during a "golden era" when everything was perfect, and everyone was happy. The legend says though, that the king was egoistic, and the weakness in this King's character was utilized by the Hindu Gods in order to bring an end to his reign over the sate- the Gods felt challenged by the King's growing popularity. However, according to this legend, because of the King's good deeds throughout his life, the Gods granted him a gift- that he could annually come back to the earth to visit his wonderful people- therefore in Kerala they celebrate this homecoming as "Onam."
Onam is celebrated anywhere from four to ten days all filled with festivities! The people of Kerala will have feasts, dances, games, elephants, and lots of flowers! This morning when I woke up I saw a photo in the newspaper (the Tamil newspaper) of a beautiful design made entirely of flowers made by some girls at a school here in Coimbatore. The girls were doing a traditional dance around their creation.
This morning I went to the office with my host mother, and then we spent the afternoon together with a man named Kartick- Kartick works with my host mother at Oriflame, and he was nice enough to offer to be our "chouffer" for the day! We went out to lunch around 3:00 p.m. at the same place where I ate a "burger" on one of my first days here. My choice from the menu this time though, was an Indian dish called pav-bhaji, which is a spicy sauce with really good bread on the side to dip it in.
After our lunch, we all drove out to a friend of my host mother's house. This friend is Malayali, and so my host mother thought that this friend could maybe teach me a bit about the Onam holiday. Unfortunately, the friend didn't know the story at all, but I did get a picture of the flower designs that her and her family had made in front of their house!
3 comments:
I love Onam! I'm so glad you got to experience some of it, even though you're across the border!
We were in Kerala for Onam about 9 years ago.
It was a lot like Christmas — pre-holiday gift buying in very crowded stores, people's relatives arriving from a great distance, a festive hustle-bustle all around, and "illumination" at night, which means colored outdoor lights decorating streets and some buildings.
And there was a huge cultural program on the grounds of an old palace, with dances and wonderful music. I remember thinking how funny it was to head off to an evening performance outdoors without taking a jacket. We didn't need one, for sure!
I also remember relaxing to the sounds of wonderful ghazals sung by the famous Hariharan (who actually "belongs to" Kerala) and leaning back in my seat, looking up at the darkening sky — and seeing a flock of huge fruit bats setting out to feed in the night. They're so fat and sluggish that it was like looking up at the bottoms of slow-moving boats on the surface of the water. Think: fish's-eye view.
And I remember leaving the palace grounds with our friends, our stomachs all growling, for a belated dinner at their home across town — only to find absolutely NO autos anywhere. We walked for about a kilometer before we found one — but we had the pretty colored lights to look at as we walked.
We're hoping to spend Onam next year in Kerala, with the same friends. But I'll suggest we EAT something before we head to the palace! :D
Sara
haha! Probably a good idea! I can't believe you aren't coming to India this year! I really want you to!
Me too. When the cold, rainy winter sets in here, I'll ESPECIALLY wish we were in India. :D
But, alas, we have a lot we need to do here — and there's some pesky law of physics that says we can't be in two different places at the same time. Sigh.... Stupid law... :(
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