Onam: Kerala’s Sacred Reunion

The Legend, the Land, and the Return of the King

Prelude to the Ten Days of Wonder

When Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam calendar, arrives with golden skies and rain-washed fields, something sacred begins to stir across the land. It is not merely the start of a new season - it is the return of a memory. A story. A king.

This is Onam - the heartbeat of Kerala, the homecoming of a beloved ruler, and a time when the Malayali soul walks barefoot through time, guided by petals, prayers, and play.

The Soul of a Story

The tale of Mahabali is not just a myth - it is the moral memory of a people. It speaks not of conquest, but of compassion. Not of power, but of humility. Not of ruling through fear, but of reigning through love.

Mahabali, the noble Asura king, once ruled a land where no lies were spoken, no one went hungry, and none feared another. His kingdom was rich - not in gold, but in goodwill. So revered was he, even the gods grew concerned.

To restore cosmic balance, the Devas turned to Bhagavan Vishnu, who descended to earth as Vamana, a humble young Brahmin boy, during a sacred yajna. When Vamana politely asked for just three feet of land, Mahabali, generous as ever, agreed without hesitation.

But Vamana grew - vast, immeasurable, divine. With one stride he covered the earth, and with the next, the skies. For the third, Mahabali bowed low and offered his head.

Vishnu placed his foot gently upon it - not as punishment, but as a blessing. In return, the great king was granted a boon: once every year, he could return to see his people, to walk among them, to witness their joy.

That return is Onam. Not a mourning, but a celebration. A sacred reunion - when truth returns, if only briefly, and the world feels whole again.

Onam and the Sacred Seat of Thrikkakara

Once upon a time, Onam was a sacred convergence at temple grounds. It was a royal celebration, hosted by kings, where poets were honored, warriors were remembered, and gifts flowed like blessings from heaven.

In that era, temples stood not only as places of worship but as vibrant heartbeats of culture and celebration.

At the centre of it all stood Thrikkakara, the sacred seat of Mahabali himself. It is believed this was once the royal abode of the Asura king, where he reigned with justice and generosity. After Vamana’s divine descent and Mahabali’s humble surrender, the site was sanctified.

An idol of Vamana was consecrated on the ruins of the palace, and thus the temple at Thrikkakara rose, not just from stone, but from legend.

It is said that Saint Kapila, the revered sage, asked the rulers of Kerala to accept the supremacy of the deity. In reverence, they agreed. The saint decreed that a festival be held for 28 continuous days, from Thiruvonam of Karkidakam to Thiruvonam of Chingam.

Since there were 56 regional rulers, two kings hosted the festivities each day. Each was expected to be present in person at least once during the sacred month.

A pilgrimage to Thrikkakara during Onam became both a personal and communal vow.

There’s an old tale of one such devotee - a family head who couldn’t undertake the journey. Filled with sorrow, he prayed. That night, a vision came to him: even from afar, he could honour Onam by worshipping Onathappan in his own home.

He did so with devotion and thus was born the cherished custom of household Onathappan worship - a practice still followed by countless families today.

Over time, the festival evolved. Though Kapila envisioned a 28 day observance beginning with Thiruvonam in Karkidakam, the period was gradually shortened. The flag hoisting that marked the beginning shifted from Karkidaka Thiruvonam to Atham of Chingam.

Today, at Thrikkakara Temple, the Onam celebrations span the ten sacred days from Atham to Thiruvonam.

A Living Ritual

The festival begins with joyful pookalams, floral carpets, laid in the temple courtyard. On Uthradom, a symbolic Onathappan is placed at the centre of the pookalam and offered prayers.

On Thiruvonam, the ritual reaches its climax. After Onathappan is worshipped, all temple deities are honored and clothed in new yellow garments, signifying renewal, purity and joy.

In short, Onam is not merely a harvest festival or a nostalgic homecoming - it is also a sacred connection at the temple grounds.

Sources & References

1. Census of India 1961, Vol. I – Monograph Series: Onam – A Festival of Kerala

2. History of Kerala, Vol. IV by T.K. Krishna Menon (1937)

3. Oral traditions and family retellings across Malabar, Cochin, and Travancore

Coming up 24 August 2025: A new chapter from the heart of Kerala’s festival traditions. Follow along!

Chingam: Kerala in Motion

Kerala - God’s Own Country - is more than a picturesque landscape. It is a living theatre of nature, movement, and memory - a narrow strip of earth where rivers sing, mountains watch, forests whisper, and the sea forever breathes. Sandwiched between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, this land carries more than beauty. It carries the pulse of continuity.

Each year, as the month of Karkidakam retreats with its chantings, fasts, and inward silences, a subtle transformation stirs. From this quiet emerges Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam calendar - Andu Pirappu, the birth of a new year.

While much of the world erupts into fireworks at midnight, Kerala waits for dawn. In this land, sunrise is sacred. The first light is not just a change in the sky - but a change in spirit.

Healing Before Motion: The Wisdom of Karkidakam

The beauty of Chingam cannot be understood without Karkidakam. The two are not opposites - but part of a rhythm. Karkidakam, the twelfth month, is the time of retreat. Known also as Panja Masam, it is a month of Ayurvedic healing - Karkidaka Chikitsa—when the body, like the land, is detoxified and made whole again. Internal fires are calmed. Illness is coaxed out. Nature encourages rest, ritual, and rain-borne restoration.

And then comes Chingam, as if the earth itself has finished meditating and begins to move. Energy returns - to the limbs, the fields, the hearts.

And so I too write - about Kerala’s timeless motion, about a people shaped not by wars and conquests, but by festivals, rituals, and games. About a culture where movement itself is sacred.

Season of Abundance, Spirit of Celebration

As the land dries and ripens, the farmers prepare to harvest. Laughter returns to the fields. Life, once washed and softened by the monsoon, begins to dance again.

It is in this context that Onam, Kerala’s grandest festival, is celebrated. Though mythologically rooted in the Mahabali legend, it also carries deep associations with agrarian joy—the gathering of grain, the ripening of rice.

Two fascinating, yet fading, festivals echo this connection: Illam Nara and Putthari.

Illam Nara means filling the granary with freshly harvested paddy. A basket is filled with paddy and sacred plants, carried into the house to the chant:
“Nara, Nara, Illam Nara, Kollam Nara, Pathayam Nara, Vatti Nara, Kotta Nara…”
(Fill the house, fill the year, fill the granary, fill the basket…)

Designs made of rice flour and water decorate the floors and courtyards. This ritual is both a prayer and a proclamation - calling for abundance, anchoring gratitude.

Putthari, the ritual of eating new rice, follows with equal solemnity. Before this, new rice is forbidden. Once the Illam Nara is done, the fresh rice is cooked, sweetened, and shared in a communal meal. Even today, in some pockets of Kerala, this custom survives in whispers and family anecdotes.

These are not Onam rituals by definition, but they flow with the same cultural undercurrent - the reverence for harvest, for renewal, for first fruits.

Month of the Sun God: Surya’s Healing Light

Chingam is also the month of Surya Bhagavan. Ancient traditions speak of the benefits of bathing in a pond, river, or well water under the morning sun, especially for skin and vitality. The logic is spiritual and physiological - a union of belief and nature’s science. The sun’s reappearance after long monsoon clouds is not just physical light; it is inner fire restored.

Each sunlit morning is seen as an invitation - to bathe, to breathe, to move with purpose.

Tradition in Motion: Dance, Games, and Collective Joy

With the new year comes not only prayer but performance. Villages burst into colour - temples resound with percussion, folk songs rise from coconut groves, and even sleepy hamlets awaken into movement.

Traditional games return. Some ancient, some sacred.

• Onathallu: a stylised form of group wrestling done during Onam, especially in certain Palakkad villages - blends masculine energy with ritual discipline.

• Uruvadi: a stick-play linked with Krishna Janmashtami - carries echoes of martial training and celebration.

These aren’t mere pastimes. They are rituals of community and physical culture—the body as temple, movement as offering.

And then, the most touching of all: children with baskets walk in search of wildflowers. Morning after morning, they gather blooms to craft the Onapookkalam - a floral mandala of welcome for Mahabali. Their footsteps in fields, their laughter under trees - these are Kerala’s most tender poems of motion.

Chingam Lives On: Then and Now

Even today, whether in rural hamlets or urban apartments, signs of Chingam’s spirit remain:

• Elders standing in silent prayer, facing the morning sun

• Children gathering blossoms under watchful trees

• Families preparing for weddings, housewarmings, or naming ceremonies

• All activities were in the vacant space or on temple courtyards

Chingam is when Kerala breathes with clarity. It is a reminder that movement need not always be frantic. There is a sacredness in rhythm, in repetition, in ritual.

It is the month when faith walks on bare feet, when culture plays in the open, and when sunlight itself seems to dance.

Conclusion: A Journey Begins

And so, Chingam is not merely a date in a calendar. It is an invitation to motion. A reconnection with what is essential - sun, soil, sweat, and spirit. It teaches us that after rest comes renewal, and after stillness comes the sacred stir.

Let us receive this month with folded hands and open hearts. Let us walk its path - step by step, breath by breath - with reverence, strength, and joy.

Sources & References

1. A Survey of Kerala Culture – A. Sreedhara Menon

2. Malayalam Calendar and Its Cultural Significance – Kerala Sahitya Akademi Notes

3. Oral traditions and personal interviews with cultural practitioners (Malabar & Travancore regions)

4. Encyclopedia of Art and Culture in India, Vol. 3 – Edited by Gopal Bhargava

5. History of Kerala, Vol. IV (1937) – K.P. Padmanabha Menon

Next on 23 August 2025: Onam begins with a sacred reunion - where legend, land and longing come together