ONAM POOKALAM Onampookalam also called the athapookalam or onapookalam is the prime highlight of onam festival. icious day.
ONAM FESTIVAL Onamfestival is celebrated to commemorate the homecoming of our beloved king mahabali. this festival dates back to ancient history when Lord Vishnu incarnated in a form of a small brahmin child Vamanan , one of the incarnation from the 10 forms(Dasavatharam) and visited king mahabali on the day of the yagna puja in his kingdom.Vamanan asked for 3 feet land as alms which the king happily agreed to give him.
ONAM SADHYA Onamsadhya is yet another attraction of onam festival where variety dishes, atleast more than 10 dishes are made and served on the banana leaf for lunch followed by payasam. Members of the family dressed in new clothes sit together and relish these delicacies.
PULIKALI Pulikali is a recreational folk dance that is performed by the trained artists on the 4th day after thiruvonam (which means on the chathayam day) in the month of chingam. Here in this form, you can see the artists paint their body with the faces of lion, tiger, black panther and leopards. The main attraction of this event is that men with pot bellies dance out the steps on the beats of the traditional instrument chenda. Today women have also proved their mark in this.
BANANA CHIPS As the onam eve approaches the markets are packed with Raw Nendran bananas. Even though the price of the bananas will be at its peak not a single household will be without these, regardless of what the price is. The main highlight of onam sadhya is the banana chips without which the sadhya is incomplete. The banana chips are made from firmer and starchier variety of bananas like saba or nendran. The banana chips can either be sliced into round or into 4, which means 4 cuts. Both this form imparts different taste. These chips are deep fried in oil that makes it crispy and tasty. One of the important servings of onam sadhya are the Banana chips.
VALLAM KALI Vallam kali also known as Snake Boat Race is a traditional boat race in Kerala, India. It is a form of canoe racing, and uses paddled war canoes. It is mainly conducted during the season of the harvest festival Onam in spring.