Onam celebrations in Chennai

The onam celebrations begin within a fortnight of the Malayalam new year and go on for ten days, marked by festive rituals,traditionalcuisine,dance and music. While some malayalees may not be in kerala, but settled in Chennai celebrates the festival with equal vigour.

On Onam, everybody in the family would be wearing new clothes. As much as it’s known for it’s mythology, onam is now also known for the food. During Onam, traditional rituals are performed and the people celebrate the occasion with a grand feast. The Onamsadhya is an indispensable part of the festivities and is served on a traditional banana leaf with the number of dishes going up to 30! It has around 13 to 15 curries,traditional pickles,papadam,payasam, sambar, rasam, puliseri, plantain chips, yogurt, avial(mixed vegetables with coconut),koottukari(hot and sweet gravy), olan( pumpkin cooled in coconut milk and ginger)and more. One favorite dessert that would be served on the day is ‘payasam’ a sweet & tempting porridge. As a part of the festival, a grand onamsadhya buffet were served in different kerala restaurants like kumarakom, akshayam, The cochin cafe ,entekeralam, mahamudra etc.,

On Onam, everybody in the family would be wearing new clothes called as ‘Mundoos’, the white Silk Dhotis and sarees.One important item that would be visible outside each house is the ‘pookalam’ a flower mat.This flower mat is like a symbol of welcoming the King Mahabali.

For entertainment, the popular Indian dance, ‘Kathakali’ dance would be performed and other spectacular events like carnivals and sports events would be some of the highlights for the festival as well. Traditional dance forms including Thiruvathira,pulikali,thumbithullal are performed at this time.At night there would also be songs and dances to delight all.The onamchanda sold traditional kerala dishes like kaalan, olan and erisheri in sachets and clothing like ‘mundoo’ too. Talking of these affordable markets organized in various parts of the Chennai, including Anna nagar and kilpauk by malayalee associations.

‘Onamhalwamela’ by Sri Krishna Sweets in 2nd Avenue of East Anna Nagar is holding a ‘HalwaMela’ till Sunday. 30 types of halwas are available there. Anna Nagar AyyappanKoil is located at the junction of 6th Main Road, onam was celebrated there with bhajan,Pushpabhishekam, and chuttuvilakku,Deeparadana with sarvadhaym.southern railway is also operated special trains to these destinations to clear the rush of passengers from chennai to shornur,ernakulam,kochuvelli,kollam and Trivandrum. One remarkable thing about Onam is that it is celebrated by all, not only Hindus but also by Christians and Muslims.