Date:13/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/13/stories/2008091354990500.htm

Tamil Nadu

Music, dance and sumptuous feast mark Onam celebrations in Tirupur

Staff Reporter

— Photos: K. Ananthan and M. Balaji

FLORAL ART: (left) A traditional ‘pookalam’ at the Coimbatore Malayali Samajam for the Onam celebrations on Friday. (right) Malayalis celebrating the festival in Tirupur.

Tirupur: The Malayalis across the city celebrated Onam, the traditional harvest festival of Kerala, with marked zeal and gaiety on Friday.

Floral carpets called ‘pookalam’ were laid at the entrance of their houses to welcome King Mahabali, who is believed to visit his erstwhile kingdom on the day. They also danced and sang in traditional style as part of the cultural programmes organised in the households.

Rush in temples

Heavy rush was witnessed in Guruvayurappan and Ayyappa temples in the city, as people dressed in new clothes offered pujas. The celebrations in the city culminated with a sumptuous Onam feast in the afternoon. Lip smacking savouries like ‘erissery’, ‘kicchadi’, ‘aviyal’, ‘paruppu’, ‘steamed rice’ and ‘payasam’, were served on the plantain leaves.