Time for nostalgia again...It was 'Atham', the first day of the 10 days of Onam celebrations yesterday. Incidentally, it was also Vinayaka Chaturthi..a very auspicious day in many ways.
The best things about Onam in any Keralite household, is that everyone gets up, clean up, children rush out to pluck flowers.... though now-a-days, it is sad that there are not many flowers to be plucked off trees or bushes, rather as preplanned, the flower vendors bring them to our homes... and most neighborhoods have a Pookkalam (flower arranegment)competition.
For people in our place, Thripunithura, there is the added bonus of Athachamayam, a large procession of King maveli, dancing girls, various Theyyams, school bands, kathakali, tableaus on a lot of floats.. it is a sight to behold, and that I have sadly been missing for many-a-year...
I have a lot of memories of the many Athachamayams I did get to see, especially in the company of my two grandfathers. The whole streets would have many stalls with everything from fruits to clothes to household items and we never came home without our grandfathers buying enough to fill our hands.. I especially loved the sugarcanes that were available during this time. I even remember one year when I could not go to see the processions because of having measles, but my mom's second brother who had come home for his annual leave bought me a big box of beautifully life-like birds made of clay. They did not last very long with my very naughty brother around, and I never found those birds again... but my delight and colourful memories will remain with me always..
So for all of you, an Onam pookkalam, and a couple of snaps of Athachamayam, all browsed from the internet....!!
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