Corononam

(Read Corona-onam)

The God's own country and Malayalis all over the world are gearing up to welcome Mahabali Thambran (King Mahabali) on Thiruonam day. Mahabali or Maveli is one of the prominent kings in Indian history who enjoys the continued patronage of his subjects and their progeny to date. In line with the Onam images pouring on social media, I'm hoping he will come equipped with mask and sanitizer this time around, similar to his arrival on boat during the Kerala floods. Just like Lord Ganesha, Mahabali is considered an epitome of agility. 'The Cool king', you give him any avatar and he is game, one reason why kids adore him.

The Mallu kids love to listen to the story of Mahabali, and mine is no exception. It has become a ritual every year to narrate to Aditi the story and the relevance of Onam celebrations. So here it goes.

King Mahabali was a benevolent king, who treated all his subjects equally and people lived very happily during his reign. The Devas who grew jealous of his popularity approached Lord Vishnu, who took the form of a Brahmin dwarf named Vamana. When Vamana requested the altruistic king for land equal to three footsteps, Mahabali happily agreed. Little did he know that Vamana would grow like a giant! With the first step, he covered the entire earth and with the second step the sky. For the third step, he asked Mahabali what to do and Mahabali readily offered his head. Before Vamana could step on Mahabali’s head, he offered to grant him a last wish. Mahabali wished to meet his subjects every year on a particular day and this day is celebrated as Onam. In Kerala, the festivities are spread across ten days called 'Atham Pathu' culminating in 'Thiruonam'.

I told Aditi the Pookalam was meant to give King Mahabali a hearty-ebullient welcome and the sumptuous Ona Sadhya (feast) was meant to appease him that we were living a content life. She laughed when I shared our Onam experience when she was a 3-year-old. Aditi had been expecting Mahabali all day long, answering the door every time the bell rang. Disappointed and eyes filled with tears, she had come to me around 6.30 in the evening and asked, ‘Why didn’t Mahabali come to our home? I have been waiting all day.” I told her Mahabali must have had a tough time visiting homes in Kerala and missed the train/flight to Chennai. She kind of accepted this but pointed out that we should ask him to start with Chennai next year and then go to Kerala. Now she laughed at her innocence. Ammamma narrated her own childhood memories of Onam, when it was more a familial gathering with Pookalams made using flowers and leaves found in their surroundings. This Onam too would be similar she said.

This year has been exceptionally notorious, sparing no-one and no occasion. Corona has definitely impacted the Onam celebrations, specifically for small businesses and traders, and in terms of availability of flowers from neighboring states for the Pookalams, dearth of opportunities for artists who perform traditional art like Pulikkali and the absence of social gatherings and larger celebrations. But its up to us to covert this Corononam into a Safe-onam by celebrating with families at home and a Green-onam using home-grown flowers and leaves.

This year too, lets cheerfully appease our loving king with a humble celebration and the hope that his blessings will promise a safer tomorrow. Lets ensure the Festival of flowers and flavours leaves behind a ray of hope for a safer living space.

Happy Ponnonam, Corononam, Safe-Onam, Green-Onam!