Even for many who usually are not liable to nostalgia, Onam opens a floodgate of memories. Of a time when flowers for the pookkalam didn’t come out of plastic luggage, sadya was a neighborhood affair that households and neighbours obtained collectively to make, festivities introduced total cities and villages alive and the way individuals got here collectively in a shared sense of co-existence.
Celebrated personalities from varied fields share their particular Onam memories with MetroPlus.
Vinayak Sasikumar
Lyricist
Vinayak Sasikumar
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
In childhood, Onam meant sadya and I relish the sadya from my hometown, Thiruvananthapuram. Parippu, sambar, vada curry, which is unique to the metropolis, two payasams – the pradhaman and paal payasam-boli combo, then one other course of rice with pulissery, rasam, buttermilk and many others… That is pure nostalgia for me.
Onam was additionally the time after I seemed ahead to watching films on varied channels, particularly these which I missed out in theatres. Another standout reminiscence is of my school days in Chennai, when [composer] Ouseppachan got here because the chief visitor for an Onam celebration. A tune, which I wrote and my buddy composed, was introduced. His appreciation was an enormous confidence booster for me who had not but began working in films. It was throughout one other Onam programme that I staged mimicry with [actor] Kalidas Jayaram, who was my classmate then. It was a musical mimicry the place we imitated the voices of assorted actors by way of songs. That was maybe my one and solely correct mimicry efficiency until date!
Arjun Radhakrishnan
Actor
Arjun Radhakrishnan
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
I’ve by no means celebrated Onam in Kerala. Say, after the age of 4. By then we had moved to Pune. So each Onam has been about sadya at dwelling with mother and father. The Poona Keraleeya Samaj organises an Onasadya on the closest Sunday publish Onam. That is the place you work together with pals and acquaintances who you in any other case wouldn’t meet through the course of the yr. That makes the memories I’ve of Onam. And now that it is just my mom and I for the previous 4 years, she makes a sadya for my shut pals. My favourites within the unfold have been pachadi, inji (ginger) pickle, and palada pradhaman. Since I’ve moved to Kochi, I hope to begin celebrating Onam in Kerala.
Dr Divya S Iyer
Bureaucrat
Dr Divya S Iyer
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
I grew up Thiruvananthapuram and my first understanding of Onam is that it’s the time when town opens up for everyone. Since I stayed behind the Government Secretariat, it was type of a vantage level to witness how the locations round it turned extremely busy with individuals turning up from throughout the district. An space which in any other case stood for officialdom turns into one other world. And there was essentially the most unbelievable a part of the festivities — witnessing the Onam pageantry that includes a plethora of floats. I felt extraordinarily privileged and it was maybe the primary massive crowd I noticed in my life. I keep in mind my father lifting me on his shoulders for me to look at the floats and we stood for hours by the roadside. Now, life has come a full circle in that this yr I’m related to three departments that may line up their floats — Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited [she is the managing director], Kerala Solid Waste Management Project [as director] and Department of Culture [as director].
Another particular Onam was after I was invited to be a part of Onam festivities on the Rashtrapathi Bhavan through the tenure of Pranab Mukherji. When the brand new batch of us civil servants referred to as upon him, I used to be the one assigned to talk on behalf of the group. I had goosebumps talking on the Durbar Hall, which has witnessed many historic moments. It felt surreal. I might need spoken properly as a result of after that occasion, I used to be invited to be a part of Onam celebrations that was a healthful event with cultural programmes and a floral association.
Aathira Manali
Designer and founding father of designer label Inkpikle
Aathira Manali
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Onam, for me, has at all times been about coming collectively. My favorite childhood memories are of how the pageant introduced individuals nearer like household, neighbours, and communities, all celebrating in unity. Growing up in Fort Kochi, I used to be at all times impressed by the best way completely different cultures and religions lived collectively in concord. That variety and unity is one thing I deeply cherish.
Today, I carry that very same essence into my work. My Coexist assortment at Inkpikle is impressed by this very thought, ie the concord of contrasts. Just like Onam, the place completely different traditions mix seamlessly, my designs convey collectively natural shapes from nature with architectural geometry, the summary shrines and dutch gables that stand by facet to create a wonderful mosaic. For me, Onam is not only a pageant in Kerala; it’s a reminder of coexistence, of unity in variety, and that continues to remain related each in life and in design.
Sabareesh Narayanan
Stand-up comic
Sabareesh Narayanan
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Since I hail from Tripunithura, Onam memories will at all times be about Athachamayam (a grand procession to commemorate the return of Mahabali held within the temple city). The Tripunithura Boys’ School, the place we performed cricket as kids, turns into Atham Nagar, the centre of town’s celebrations.
Athachamayam marks the start of the Onam festivities, and I attend this procession with out fail yearly. Instead of staying at dwelling, I’m going there to witness the canine present, the Wall of Death stunts, small performs, and mega exhibits. On the morning of the parade day, I get pleasure from watching the preparations earlier than it leaves the varsity grounds. Then I’m going again dwelling to eat breakfast earlier than strolling to NSS Higher Secondary School in Tripunithura, the place the procession ends. During Onam, the entire space comes alive, with flower distributors occupying the streets. This vibrant ambiance excites me greater than different conventional Onam experiences like sadya.
Jalaja PS
Artist
Jalaja PS
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
My standout Onam reminiscence is of thumba poo ada, a candy snack made from tender thumba (Common Leucas) flowers. At my childhood dwelling in Keezhillam, in Perumbavoor, my mom ensured that Onam was celebrated correctly. She would put together this ada with rice (soaked, dried and powdered with a lot care) and a scrumptious filling of coconut, thumba flowers and sugar, in contrast to the same old ada with the jaggery and coconut filling. Thumba poo ada is made specifically for Mahabali, subsequently it was additionally known as ‘Maveliyada’. While the jaggery adas had been made in a lot, the thumba ones had been restricted.
Our Onam was as earthy and as near Nature because it might get. Two days forward of Thiruvonam, we kids would make the Onathappan (symbolising Mahabali) and Onamuthi (an outdated girl’s type) with soil. These can be organized within the courtyard, adorned with festive designs and the ada and payasam are provided to them. Unlike the ada that’s steamed, these are roasted and subsequently coarser in texture. These final for a couple of days and are served with tea even days after Onam. The cattle within the shed had been additionally fed Onasadya; after all, they most popular to shine off the banana leaves first!
Published – September 04, 2025 08:14 pm IST
