Onam

'Chingam' is the most graceful month of our Malayalam Calendar. Naturally, its the first of the months in the year. The month is marked with harvests and blessings of nature symbolises the prosperity, joy and harmony with everyone irrespective of religion celebrating our state festival of Onam.

 The beginning of the festival is marked with Chamayam on the day of Attham in the royal town of Thripunithura where our Kochi Kings used to set about in a procession to the nearby temple of Maha Bali at Thrikkakara.

 The tradition is still maintained with the local authorities celebrating the Chamayam and its procession with all its pomp and glory.

Tenth day from Attham is our Onam, the greatest festival of our Kerala where we believe our greatest King Maha Bali comes to visit his people once more. The King was very popular and his administration is considered to be the ideal of all the world. 

 Uthraadam is the day before Onam, where everyone is busy buying things for preparing for Onam, the next day and its Sadya feast. No matter what, a Malayalee is duty bound to celebrate Onam with a sumptuous vegetarian Sadya. On Uthraadam day everyone is in a rush, The Thripunithura streets are so crowded with shoppers that we wont believe the quietness of the streets on Thiru Onam morning.

The main temple event on the day of Onam is at the Maha Bali temple at Thrikkakara where the activities start very early with the warm welcoming of the King followed by a feast for everyone who visit the temple. This year too, the festival was grand and we didn't missed visiting the temple. 

Vishu

Medam is the first month of our Malayalam Calendar. It falls on the fourteenth of April of this year. The day is celebrated as Vishu in our state. A happy day to welcome the new year with "Vishu Kani" the first sight of the most auspicious and the most blessed of sight to start the new year with. Usually an image of Krishna decorated with flowers and lights along with the fruits of the land and the season symbolising prosperity and blessings is arranged at homes. The Golden Blossoms of Indian Laburnum is mandatory among the flowers for the Kani. The Golden shower is the bloom of the season and can be seen on every "Konna tree" everywhere. It gives a gleaming gold feel to the sight.

Then there is the "Kai Neetam" the gift of money and silver which usually elders give to the younger ones. At noon, there will be a mouth watering vegetarian feast similar to Onam. In the evening the Vishu Padakam (Fire Crackers) marks the beginning of the new year.

A tradition, a festival. The day is happy and joyful, everyone greets each other wearing new dress. Vishu Kodi.

This year, it coincided with Good Friday. The occasion turned out to be the mark of Kerala's Cultural and religious harmony. The memes and the picture messages that went around on the Social Media speaks for  Kerala's encompassing spiritual and philosophical attitude.

Happy Vishu. May the new year bring the best for everyone.

Vishu

Yellow themed prosperity festival, which marks the beginning of the year, is one of the dearest and favourite festivals in Kerala. Everyone wakes up early and bows before the preset bowl of abundance which has all the summer harvest produce - Mangoes, jackfruit, flowers, kumkum and the idol of lovely Krishna. An auspicious way of starting the new year, Vishu also denotes the summer equinox.

In the 9th Century, the Travancore King convened a meeting of the scholars and set the calendar with few changes and started anew. So in Kerala, unlike the rest of the country, the new year starts in Chingam, the malayalam month, which falls in August - September in the Onam days.

The festival is a great way to connect with the past when life was more nature bound, the typical phrases and the entertainment involved in these days are great nostalgic reminders of the days and the people who went by.