Onam
– The festival of Kerala
Malayalees (people of Kerala) through out the world
celebrate ‘Thiruvanam’ in the month of
Chingam ( August).. The storey behind this festival is as follows. King
Mahabali was ruling Kerala at that time. People were extremely happy and were
leading a comfortable life – devoid of theft, fight and quarrel. Devas became jealous of Mahbali and
requested Mahavishnu to take some effective steps to curb the influence of
Mahabali. Vishnu then took the form of a
Brahmin boy (Vamana) and approached King Mahabali. The king enquired as what
the Brahmin boy wanted. Vamanan told that he wanted only three feet of land.
Vishnu then suddenly grew in size and measured the whole world and heaven in
two steps and for the third Mahabali showed his head. Vamanan then pushed
Mahabali down to the earth.
As requested by Mahabali , he was granted permission to
visit his country men once in a year , on the
Thivonam (onam) day. Keralites all over the wordl celebrate Onam with
full of vigour and vitality. They make flower beds (pookkalam) in front of
their houses. Family members assemble in their ancestral houses and will have
sumptuous meals. Different types of
games are played. All wear new dresses.
A nice article
ReplyDelete