Bhopal: Malayalis all over the world celebrated Onam for second year in a row amid the Covid pandemic. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in his message said “It is a matter of happiness that Onam festival is being celebrated virtually on 21st August this year with various cultural programs by United Malayalee Association.”
“Onam is the state festival of Kerala. This festival is celebrated in memory of the days when King Mahabali ruled in Kerala. It is believed that every year on this day King Mahabali comes to his kingdom to meet his people. On this auspicious occasion of Onam, I extend my warm greetings to all Keralites,” said the CM.
United Malayalee Association celebrated the festival of Onam. Most of the activities were held online and people participated enthusiastically.
The visit of Mahabali arrived at the IGRMS and witnessed different traditional art forms associated with the onam festival which were presented by the youngsters of the Association. Praveen Kumar Mishra, Director, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya welcomed Raja Mahabali along with other officials and members of the association. Traditional Dances, Thumbi Thullal, Pulikali, Chendamelam etc. were also performed.
OD Joseph, President of United Malayalee Association said that earlier we used to make the Onam celebration a big event where large gatherings of people from the community. Since arranging such functions and gathering is not possible, we are opting for the virtual mode of celebration without losing the spirit of the festival. IGRMS has depicted a mini Kerala by keeping the ethnographic objects of Kerala like Snake Boat, Naalukettu, Aalvilaku etc.
Mahabali also made a visit to the upper lake and accepted the greetings of the people. Apart from this, children performed dances, songs etc. at other places also as a part of this celebration. The entire celebrations are documented and are telecast through different media platforms so that everybody can enjoy the celebrations.
