Onam brings Keralites together in Vizag

VISAKHAPATNAM: Welcoming guests with bright and colourful floral decoration Pookalam, as many as 3,000 Keralites in the city came together to celebrate the annual harvest festival Onam at Manchukonda Gardens along the NH-16 near Kancharapalem here on Sunday.
Though Onam falls on Tuesday, the Kerala Kala Samithi (KKS) organized the annual event in advance as it was a holiday, said KK Madhu, secretary of the KKS.Men, women and children dressed in traditional attire set the festive mood at the venue where a host of cultural events were organized. Thiruvathira Kali, the traditional dance that is especially performed during Onam, as well as Mohiniattam, Kathakali and Ottan Thullal were performed by various groups and individuals including children from Muralingar area in the city which enthralled the audience. Adding a contemporary touch, a couple of group dances were performed on the hit songs of some Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi.
Noon saw everyone gorge on traditional delicacies. Irrespective of religion and caste, relatives and friends of the Keralites participated in the Onam celebrations and relished the traditional feast, Onasadhya, served on tender banana leaves, said Madhu.
A team of special cooks from Kerala were brought to the city to prepare nearly 30 different items of the Onasadhya that included Payasam, uppilittathu, lemon pickle, cabbage thoran, mango pickle, kootu curry, beetroot pickle, chammanthi chutney, puddings, pineapple chutney, dal, sambar, papads and banana chips, etc.
NM Pillai, president of the KKS, said they have been celebrating the festival in the city for the past three decades. Every year they come up with new social events to mark the event and this year they donated musical instruments to a group of visually impaired persons. The Samithi also invites Malayalam actors as chief guests every year and this year, Malayalam cine actors Spadikam George and Bhiman Raghu were invited along with a singer, Poornasri, Pillai added.
Madhu told TOI that they were planning to build a new community bhavan near the same location in order to handle the huge rush during their religious festivals. “We will soon meet GVMC officials on the issue,” he said.