Indore: City celebrates Onam festival with joy, gaiety

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Onam festival was celebrated with gaiety by Malayalees of the city on the day of Thiruonam Nakshatra of the Malayalam month of Chingam at Shri Ganesh and Ayappa temples at Mahalakshmi Nagar. In Ayyappa temple, 700 kg of flower rangoli was made, in which the people of the Malayalee community took part with full enthusiasm. On this occasion, 250 kg of ada pradhamana (traditional kheer of Kerala) was prepared and distributed.

Onam is a major festival of Kerala celebrated by people of all religions in Kerala. It is organised every year in August-September to welcome King Mahabali and lasts 10 days. The festival begins at Trikkakara, near Kochi, the only Vamana temple in Kerala. In Onam, beautiful rangolias, or pookalam, are thrown in the courtyard of each house with flower petals. The girls dance Thiruvathira Kali in glee by making circles around those rangolis. The initial form of this pookalam is small at first (on the first day, on the day of Atham) but every day one more circle of flowers is added to it. In this way, on the 10th day (Thiruvonam), this pookalam assumes a large size. Sports, such as Noka running, are also organised in Kerala on the occasion of Onam.