When we were kids, any English essay about India would start with the clichéd opening “India is a land of festivals”. That time I did not know many festivals and was particularly clueless about the ones celebrated in the southern part of India. This year has been special – just two weeks after we bid good-bye to Lord Ganesh, we were ready to welcome King Mahabali (affectionately known as Maveli) into our homes.
Onam is a festival celebrated by the people of Kerala, God’s Own Country and it marks the harvest season. It is also a time when Maveli visits from Pataal to see that we are happy and safe. Onam is celebrated with a lot of cultural elements that make this festival very unique and pious. Some of these elements are Pookalam(floral carpet), Onam sadya(feast), boat race and Kathakali. Something that really fascinated me about Onam is that this is one festival which is a state-festival. It is celebrated by all Malayalees irrespective of their religion. Whether you are a Hindu, a Christian or a Muslim, when it’s Onam, it’s ours. Lovely “Unity in Diversity”!
This year, I learnt about Onam from LP, a friend at work, and she was kind enough to share her Pookalam(floral carpet) pictures with me. Onam is a ten-day celebration and all through during these 10 days, LP arranged floral carpets which were a pattern in itself. You will observe that the number of rings and complexity grows as we reach the 10th day. On the day of Onam, the Pookalam takes the shape of a final elaborate pattern with a lamp in honor of Maveli’s sacrifice to leave the world.
These colors, the festive season, hope, and faith make me say “I love my India“!
LP, Thank you again for sharing your Onam celebrations with me. I feel so good about learning a bit more about India and it’s multi-faceted culture.
Linking this post to the Thursday Challenge and the theme is “GARDEN”. Also linking this post to the Write Tribe Pro Bloggers Challenge – September (Post #5). A pledge to write everyday.
happiness and food 
wow what lovely flower designs, thanks for the info on the festival, very interesting; have a nice Thursday
much love…
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Thanks a bunch for stopping by Gillena. Glad you liked the post 🙂
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very nice pictures, extraordinary combinations of colours to
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Beautiful!!
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Thanks Gargi!
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How beautiful Pookalam!!. It can be used in form of floral rangoli in Deewali . I love my India ..
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Yes, we do with colors and call it Rangoli 🙂
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Marvellous pics…..Belated happy onam….
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Thank you! Wish you the same 🙂
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Such beautiful flower formations you created.
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Thanks on behalf of my friend. These were done by her and she shared the pictures with me 🙂
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Very attractive Pookalam. Each one looks so fragrant, unique and colorful. Happy Onam.
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Thank you! Hope you too had a good one!
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Every time I see these in South India I find it similar to something we have in Bengal. We call that art form as “aalpanaa” done by rice dust ..nowadays it is done by different colors of chalks..really good to know different cultures..
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Yep – In UP, we call it Rangoli. I too find it fascinating that we do similar things all around India.
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I just love pookalam….And rangoli and alpona (bengali decoration along the same lines during festivals) … Somehow these make me happy…
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Yep – this is the best time of the year 🙂 Colors and happiness and food! 😀
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Thanks Parul :)!! I am so glad to be receiving such encouraging feedback on the Flower Carpets that I am convinced I am going to repeat this next year!! Loved the way you’ve depicted this festival :D!!
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Sweet! Leetha, everyone is loving the beautiful pics. Next year too – please don’t forget me! Me and my blog will wait for your flowery Pookalam pics.
Thank you again!!
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Lovely post Parul.
Just one correction I just had to point out as a Malayali. 🙂
Mahabali was a beloved king – so ‘King’ Mahabali is a more appropriate term than ‘Lord’ Mahabali. He’s also known colloquially as ‘Maveli’ in Kerala. 🙂
His story is here on Wiki for anyone who doesn’t already know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabali
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Thank Gowri for the great tip!
I will change right away 🙂
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I love that everyone is able to celebrate Onam. Lovely, colorful floral carpets!
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Thank you Dolce! 😀
Glad you stopped by!
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Awesome arrangements.
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Thank you 🙂
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Pass this on to LP: “Wonderful designs and lovely”. They sure are decorating your blog too! Happy Onam Parul and thanks for the info (my fav part in your such posts) Surprisingly, I was so interested in knowing about feast that I never stopped to pay much attention to other side. Thanks a lot for sharing 🙂
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Thanks Shashank for taking time out to read the post! I will let LP know that you liked the Pookalams.
Ha ha..I’m already thinking that next year it’s going to be about Onam Sadya!
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Pookolam and other variants of everyday art have been thetraditional way of unsung women ( and some men too )expressing their creativity. What is amazing about these creative masterpeices is that they wither or get washed away as the days go by thus reminding the artist that everything in the world is transient. Great Attempt at showcasing one such piece of art.
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Thank you Jayanthi! Glad you stopped by!
I totally agree – the transient nature also reminds us that this time will come again next year bringing joy and hope. 🙂
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That was a beautiful post and those pookalams look so cute . And yes , you know so much about onam . Feeling happy .
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Thank you Shruti! A little from Wikipedia and a little from friends made me a little knowledgeable 🙂
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