Report from William Mendonza and Shali Pampenkuzhiyil
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Sep 14: Onam, the harvest festival of the Keralites is a festival that celebrates a happy blend of myth and reality. Onam is part of the cultural repertoire of every malayalee. It is celebrated in ten daylong festivities during the month of August or September with ‘Atham’ as the first day and thiruvonam as the grand finale. The festival of Onam cherishes the memory of the legendary king Mahabali and his prosperous reign during which perfect communal harmony and prosperity prevailed. It had been a glorious period. Thus Onam brings back nostalgic memories, carried on the wings of folklore of a bygone utopian era of prosperity, equality and righteousness under the golden reign of Mahabali. Year after year, for centuries the people of Kerala irrespective of caste, creed or colour, join together to welcome back their vanquished and exiled king.
St Joseph’s Seminary, Mangalore also witnessed to the pomp and pageantry of reliving and reawakening these nostalgic memories through the Onam celebrations which was celebrated with great joy, gaiety and splendor under the direction of Mar-Thoma Malayala Samajam.
It began with the preparation of the floral carpet (Atha Pookalam) in front of the Seminary oratory, an important part of the festivities which a symbolic gesture to welcome King Mahabali. The prayer service held in the Seminary on the previous day of Onam (Uthradam) was creative and inspiring. Dn. Simon Peter, who presided over the prayer service exhorted the Seminarians to make every failure a stepping stone to success. “Onam is a celebration of a great failure”, he remarked recapitulating the legend of king Mahabali who was conquered by Vamana. He added further that, “despite all his failures he has been successful in conquering the hearts of the people. The audio-visual presentation which vividly depicted how great and renowned personalities including Jesus, the central figure of history transformed their failures into success.
The celebration reached its zenith at the Eucharistic celebration. The Eucharistic sacrifice offered in the Syro-Malabar rite was officiated by Rev. Fr George Pulickal and concelebrated by four priests. Several guests and invitees too were present during the Eucharistic celebration. Deacon Vipin, in the homily said that “Onam is an exodus to the heart of Mahabali- a journey to his heart. The heart of Mahabali is a heart of love and self sacrifice”.
After the Eucharistic celebration “Punchiri” the annual literary compilation of Mar-Thoma Malayala Samajam was released by the dean of studies Rev. Fr Rony Serrao. The reception given to king Mahabali and Vamana was another significant event during the celebration. The tantalizing and reverberating traditional drum beats and fire-works speard the aroma of the celebrations far and wide.
The events followed were: Veedi Kanikkal i.e. taking the king in and around the Seminary, onakalikal i.e. the onam games which included the tug- of – war, snatching the tail, climbing bamboo pole, breaking the pot and so on… Onasadhya the grand onam lunch prepared by Mar-Thoma Malayala Samajam members marked the finale of the celebrations. Delicious sweetmeats and favorite vegetarian dishes were prepared and served on Banana leaves along with our favorite dessert, payasam, a delicious sweet tempting porridge.
Thus the reliving of the nostalgic memories of onam turned out to be an auspicious moment of reestablishing our bands of friendship, revitalizing our spirituality and re-energizing our physique.