Onam Vannullo!

September 9th, 2011. At the crack of dawn, we are overwhelmed with celebration of Thiruvonam.

Onam is a season in which everybody in Kerala or keralites all around the world is immersed by a strong bout of celebration. As we are aware, Kerala is a land of cultural richness. It’s a celebration of gaiety and cultural blend in which the entire community unite to commemorate the glorious past.

Of all festivals celebrated by Keralites, Onam is by far the most vivid and colorful one. The torrential monsoon which batters this land from the month of June to August retreat giving a relief to all to come out and take pleasure in the brand new sunlight and new spirit. Nothing comes without significance and so do Onam, which has its own myth of uniqueness.

A long time ago, the beautiful state of Kerala was once ruled by an emperor by the name King MahaBali. The King was greatly respected in his kingdom and was considered to be wise, judicious and extremely generous. Everybody was living in happiness and contentment during MahaBali’s reign so well that his kingdom became more prosperous than heaven.

The fame of MahaBali made the Gods of heaven ruled by jealousy to be threatened and that they conspired to eliminate him. The mother of Gods, Aditi approached Lord Vishnu, their chief (whom MahaBali worships) and appealed for the elimination of the king to curtail the power of the king. Lord Vishnu took the shape of a poor Brahmin called Vamana and approached the king pleading for alms; a piece of land (knowing the generosity of Maveli). The king offered to give the Brahmin whatever he asked. (Sukramuni - the guru of Mahabali - had warned the king of imminent dangers sensing the appearance of the dwarf Brahmin, which the king ignored) In return the Brahmin said that he just wanted as much land as could be covered by his three steps. The King was surprised to hear but agreed.

The Brahmin all of a sudden turned into the size of cosmic proportions revealing his true identity, Lord Vishnu. With his first step, Vishnu covered the whole of earth and with the other step he covered the whole of the skies. He then asked King Mahabali where is the space for him to keep his third foot. MahaBali with obeisance bowed his head before Lord Vishnu and begged that the third foot may be placed on his head. Lord Vishnu placed his foot on the head of the King, which pushed him to the nether world. Lord Vishnu was shaken by the benevolence of the great MahaBali and readily headed to Bali’s humble request that once in a year he may be permitted to visit his dear land that is Kerala. And after Vishnu placed his foot on the head of the emperor suddenly the Emperor was transported to his original abode.
As promised by Lord Vishnu, King MahaBali visits Kerala once in a year to see his dear people. According to the folklore, the king was believed to visit each and every home in Kerala. Out of respect for their former king, the people of Kerala recreate a happy and joyful atmosphere to please MahaBali. The celebration marks the homecoming of King MahaBali. Till today this celebration is carried out for ten days which ends with Thiruvonam.



I take pleasure in celebrating this festival of rejoice to honor King MahaBali with ‘my favorite Onasadhya! Mom made all the significant dishes and it was a feast which ignited my gastronomical sense! Happy Onam to all!
Aishwaryathintheyum, samridhiyudaeyum Thiruvonam aashamsikkunnu. Ellarkkum ente hridayam nirannja Onashamsagal!