Auckland Malayali Hindu Samajam launches Onam Festival Tickets

“Payments can be made through POLI or PayPal Apps. Tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis and will be closed on September 2, 2021 or when they are exhausted, whichever is earlier,” he said.

Mr Menon said that the Auckland Malayali Hindu Samajam is seeking sponsorship from commercial and non-commercial organisations and individuals. Further details can be obtained from him on 021-02560500. Email: president@amhs.org.nz

Onam is the biggest and the most important Festival of Kerala and is associated with the common folklore of King Mahabali and Lord Vamana.

According to the lore, Mahabali was a great, benevolent and just King who ruled over Kerala in ancient times. It was a time when equality and non-discrimination was the main characteristic of the society. People were happy, prosperous and maintained high moral standards. There was hardly any falsehood or deception in the society.

Mahabali’s rule on earth was so perfect that even the Gods started feeling insecure.

Vamana Avatar

Envious of his popularity, the Gods got together and petitioned Lord Vishnu to oust him.

Lord Vishnu then assumes His Fifth Avatar of Vamana, with short stature and approaches Mahabali. The King, known for great generosity asks Vamana what he can give him.

Vamana says, “Give me anything that I can cover with three steps.”

“Take whatever you want,” Mahabali says.

Lord Ganesha Temple Chief Priest Parameswaran Chandru with (from left) 

Amal Ravindran, Suraj Nambiar, Girish Nair, Divakara Menon, Soumini Varma and Smitha Nair

With just two steps, Vamana takes over everything that Mahabali had and whatever was available then on the earth and the Universe. With nothing left, Vamana asks Mahabali where to take his third step.

Mahabali offers him his head. And  with the third step, Vamana sends Mahabali to Pathala (the Netherworld) and tells him ‘you have to leave your land.’

According to legend, King Mahabali accepted his fate but made one request.

He implores Lord Vishnu, “My people love me and I love my people. Give me an opportunity to come back once in a year to partake in their happiness.’ Lord Vishnu agrees.

Atham is when the people of Kerala start preparations for welcoming King Mahabali back into their midst. Thiruvonam, the 10th and the most important day is the day when Mahabali returns to Kerala and is reunited with his beloved people.

Mahabali was a great but arrogant Asura King because he owned all the expanse that he could see on land and was considered invincible. His ego was conquered in three simple steps.  The philosophical meaning behind the three steps of Vamana is as follows:

Measure the Earth: Look around and be humbled by the sheer number of other living beings like you on this earth.

Measure the Sky: Look up the sky and be humbled by the sheer vastness and multitude of other worlds in the Cosmos and how insignificantly small we are.

Place your hand on your head: Realise that in the cycle of births and deaths, not only of living beings but the cosmos itself, the time span of everyone is very small and the role that we play in the larger picture of the order of the Cosmos is even smaller.

At the ticket launch (from left): Smitha Nair, Vignesh Sivan, Soumini Varma (Secretary),
Suraj Nambiar, Divakara Menon (President), Amal Ravindran and Girish Nair

A Unique Observance

Onam is a unique Festival for several reasons. It is a Festival which celebrates the return of a favourite King. Despite the association with the puranic legend, it is a Festival with a strong secular moral. It is celebrated by Keralites everywhere, irrespective of religion, caste, creed or economic status.

It is a harvest Festival but at the same time, it is also a Festival when the people of Kerala remember with gratitude nature’s abundant bounty. Most important of all, it is a Festival which reminds people that heaven on earth, a utopia, where good governance prevailed, perhaps could have existed in the past, can probably establish in the present, and most certainly created in the future, provided the people and the leaders work together.

Events in Kerala

It is that time of the year when Malayalees from across the world come home to Kerala for the 10-day Festival. Colourful aquatic Festivals are organised along the Sacred River Pamba. After three months of heavy rain, the sky becomes clear blue and the forest a deep green.

It is time to reap the harvest, celebrate and rejoice.

The harvest Festival of Onam corresponds with the Malayalam New Year Chingam and celebrates the bounty of nature after a year of hard labour.

Aesthetically laid out flower designs in front of the house with a variety of colourful flowers (Pookalam) evoke a sense of plenitude and prosperity.

Spectacular boat races on the river Pamba mark the merry-making nature of the Festival. The Aranmula boat race is organised during the Onam Festival. Every aspect of Onam is a nostalgic reminder of the bygone glory of the past.

The sumptuous Sadhya is followed by Kaikottikali, Tumbitullal and other fold performances like Kummatikali and Pulikali.

However, this year, owing to travel restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic, plans of many have been affected. Although in New Zealand we celebrate it with our family and community friends, nothing beats celebrating it in Kerala with our near and dear ones. No matter how much we try, it is very difficult to match the merriment and excitement back home.

The most urgent task right now is to win the battle against the coronavirus.

Let us all unite in fighting this pandemic and hope that our celebrations will be back to normal in the coming years.
Lata Nair is a Member of the Auckland Malayali Hindu Samajam.