Celebrating Onam in a Nuclear Set Up

I have been away from Kerala for the last 10 years and I found a lot of changes when I came back to settle in my home town a couple of months back. But what really astonished me was the way the festival Onam has changed.

Onam is the time when all the people of Kerala, known as Malayali after the local language Malayalam, remember their legendary king Mahabali. Mahabali was an Asura (demon) King who loved his subjects and ruled over them in fairness. The old songs say that there was no falsehood or cheating or lies, no false measures or weights in his time. All men were equal. It was a joyous time without any tragedies or dangers, no diseases or sorrows. However the Gods grew jealous of the King and his power over the people. They sent God Vishnu who comes as Vamana, a poor brahmin and asks the King for a gift of 3 feet of land. The King promises though he is warned that all is not as it seems. Vamana grows in stature and in two steps covers the heavens, earth and hades and asks for space for the third. The king bows down and offers his head. Vamana puts his foot on the head of King Mahabali and sends him down to hell. However, he is permitted to come up to earth once a year to see his beloved people. Onam is the time he comes and people decorate their houses and yards with floral patterns, dress in new clothes and cook a traditional Sadya with many dishes and sweets and eat together and sing and dance to welcome the King.

In my childhood and youth and until the time I left Kerala, people used to celebrate Onam in the traditional way. All of us were in great excitement buying vegetables and jaggery (brown sugar) and ghee. We would prepare the meal, serve it on a plantain leaf and exchange Payasam (sweets).

Today people can buy the Onasadya from caterers, You just have to order  (a minimum of 5 plates) and pick up the meal from the caterer who will give you the full course well packed. You can watch TV for floral contests and music and dance.  In some families where more than one family stays in the same city, each prepare a set of the dishes (curries/sweets) and they all gather at one place to eat.There is some degree of festivities in this case.

Whatever, in this day of computers and e-mails and e-cards, Onasadya from parcels seem to be a natural evolution