Even for many who are usually not vulnerable to nostalgia, Onam opens a floodgate of memories. Of a time when flowers for the pookkalam didn’t come out of plastic luggage, sadya was a group affair that households and neighbours acquired collectively to make, festivities introduced complete cities and villages alive and the way folks got here collectively in a shared sense of co-existence.
Celebrated personalities from numerous fields share their particular Onam memories with MetroPlus.
Vinayak Sasikumar
Lyricist
Vinayak Sasikumar
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Special Arrangement
In childhood, Onam meant sadya and I relish the sadya from my hometown, Thiruvananthapuram. Parippu, sambar, vada curry, which is unique to the metropolis, two payasams – the pradhaman and paal payasam-boli combo, then one other course of rice with pulissery, rasam, buttermilk and so forth… That is pure nostalgia for me.
Onam was additionally the time after I seemed ahead to watching films on numerous channels, particularly these which I missed out in theatres. Another standout reminiscence is of my school days in Chennai, when [composer] Ouseppachan got here because the chief visitor for an Onam celebration. A track, which I wrote and my buddy composed, was introduced. His appreciation was an enormous confidence booster for me who had not but began working in films. It was throughout one other Onam programme that I staged mimicry with [actor] Kalidas Jayaram, who was my classmate then. It was a musical mimicry the place we imitated the voices of assorted actors by way of songs. That was maybe my one and solely correct mimicry efficiency until date!
Arjun Radhakrishnan
Actor
Arjun Radhakrishnan
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I’ve by no means celebrated Onam in Kerala. Say, after the age of 4. By then we had moved to Pune. So each Onam has been about sadya at residence with dad and mom. The Poona Keraleeya Samaj organises an Onasadya on the closest Sunday publish Onam. That is the place you work together with pals and acquaintances who you in any other case wouldn’t meet throughout the course of the 12 months. That makes the memories I’ve of Onam. And now that it’s only my mom and I for the previous 4 years, she makes a sadya for my shut pals. My favourites within the unfold have been pachadi, inji (ginger) pickle, and palada pradhaman. Since I’ve moved to Kochi, I hope to start out celebrating Onam in Kerala.
Dr Divya S Iyer
Bureaucrat
Dr Divya S Iyer
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
I grew up Thiruvananthapuram and my first understanding of Onam is that it’s the time when the town opens up for everyone. Since I stayed behind the Government Secretariat, it was type of a vantage level to witness how the locations round it grew to become extremely busy with folks turning up from throughout the district. An space which in any other case stood for officialdom turns into one other world. And there was probably the most unimaginable a part of the festivities — witnessing the Onam pageantry that includes a plethora of floats. I felt extraordinarily privileged and it was maybe the primary giant crowd I noticed in my life. I keep in mind my father lifting me on his shoulders for me to look at the floats and we stood for hours by the roadside. Now, life has come a full circle in that this 12 months I’m related to three departments that may line up their floats — Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited [she is the managing director], Kerala Solid Waste Management Project [as director] and Department of Culture [as director].
Another particular Onam was after I was invited to be a part of Onam festivities on the Rashtrapathi Bhavan throughout the tenure of Pranab Mukherji. When the brand new batch of us civil servants referred to as upon him, I used to be the one assigned to talk on behalf of the group. I had goosebumps talking on the Durbar Hall, which has witnessed many historic moments. It felt surreal. I may need spoken effectively as a result of after that occasion, I used to be invited to be a part of Onam celebrations that was a healthful event with cultural programmes and a floral association.
Aathira Manali
Designer and founding father of designer label Inkpikle
Aathira Manali
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Onam, for me, has at all times been about coming collectively. My favorite childhood memories are of how the competition introduced folks nearer like household, neighbours, and communities, all celebrating in unity. Growing up in Fort Kochi, I used to be at all times impressed by the best way totally different cultures and religions lived collectively in concord. That variety and unity is one thing I deeply cherish.
Today, I carry that very same essence into my work. My Coexist assortment at Inkpikle is impressed by this very thought, ie the concord of contrasts. Just like Onam, the place totally different traditions mix seamlessly, my designs carry collectively natural shapes from nature with architectural geometry, the summary shrines and dutch gables that stand by facet to create a ravishing mosaic. For me, Onam isn’t just a competition in Kerala; it’s a reminder of coexistence, of unity in variety, and that continues to remain related each in life and in design.
Sabareesh Narayanan
Stand-up comic
Sabareesh Narayanan
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Since I hail from Tripunithura, Onam memories will at all times be about Athachamayam (a grand procession to commemorate the return of Mahabali held within the temple city). The Tripunithura Boys’ School, the place we performed cricket as kids, turns into Atham Nagar, the centre of the town’s celebrations.
Athachamayam marks the start of the Onam festivities, and I attend this procession with out fail yearly. Instead of staying at residence, I’m going there to witness the canine present, the Wall of Death stunts, small performs, and mega reveals. On the morning of the parade day, I get pleasure from watching the preparations earlier than it leaves the varsity grounds. Then I’m going again residence to eat breakfast earlier than strolling to NSS Higher Secondary School in Tripunithura, the place the procession ends. During Onam, the entire space comes alive, with flower distributors occupying the streets. This vibrant environment excites me greater than different conventional Onam experiences like sadya.
Jalaja PS
Artist
Jalaja PS
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Special Arrangement
My standout Onam reminiscence is of thumba poo ada, a candy snack manufactured from tender thumba (Common Leucas) flowers. At my childhood residence in Keezhillam, in Perumbavoor, my mom ensured that Onam was celebrated correctly. She would put together this ada with rice (soaked, dried and powdered with a lot care) and a scrumptious filling of coconut, thumba flowers and sugar, not like the standard ada with the jaggery and coconut filling. Thumba poo ada is made specifically for Mahabali, due to this fact it was additionally known as ‘Maveliyada’. While the jaggery adas have been made in lots, the thumba ones have been restricted.
Our Onam was as earthy and as near Nature because it might get. Two days forward of Thiruvonam, we kids would make the Onathappan (symbolising Mahabali) and Onamuthi (an previous girl’s type) with soil. These can be organized within the courtyard, adorned with festive designs and the ada and payasam are supplied to them. Unlike the ada that’s steamed, these are roasted and due to this fact coarser in texture. These final for a couple of days and are served with tea even days after Onam. The cattle within the shed have been additionally fed Onasadya; after all, they most well-liked to shine off the banana leaves first!
