ONAM, CHRISTMAS
AND THE BEINNALE (Kerala Holidays)
Kerala is a land of many festivals. There is a
lot of colour, music, fireworks and dancing involved in most of these
festivities. If you plan to visit Kerala, it would be amazing if you arrange it
in such a manner that you get to include any one of the many festivals
celebrated in the State. It would surely be an experience to remember.
Now, in this list I have talked about just 3
festivals amongst the many festivals that are celebrated by Keralities. A city
and its people come together to celebrate an event and this, for me is also a
festival; an opportunity to celebrate. Three times when I have experienced
Kerala coming together to celebrate is below. Of course, there are many many
more festivals in Kerala and finding them all out and writing about them will
probably take me a month so I’ll just leave it at this.
Onam
Onam is one of the biggest festivals celebrated
in Kerala and lasts for 10 days in the month of August or September. The photos
you see of people wearing traditional clothes posing next to flower carpets, a
group of people eating sadya or even kids on a swing, it is most probably from
Onam. During Onam, Kerala changes in appearance. You can see shops getting
ready with many “onam stuff”, shops with huge discounts and random flower shops
popping out of nowhere with flowers for the flower carpet.
Also, the sadya, which is one of the most
famous food specialties of Kerala, is consumed by everyone without any sort of
guilt during Onam. So, as a tourist, you can go into any restaurant of your choice
and ask for a sadya. They’ll probably have it. With all the 7+ curries, 2+
kheers, pickles, papad, chips, sambhar, rasam, sambaram and dal. Oh, and rice
too. What is a festival without some good food, huh
If you want to actually understand the rich
cultural heritage of Kerala, it is best that you visit during Onam. The Kerala
Tourism Department has now come up with ways to let tourists in to the
celebrations of Onam. Onam Week Celebrations take place in the state capital
Thiruvananthapuram at some 20 venues spread across the city. One can experience
Kerala in a nutshell at these venues. There are classical dance shows,
handicraft exhibition and sale, folk dances and music, food stalls etc. Walking
around those venues would be a day or two well spent.
Also, if you are somewhere around Thrissur
during Onam, you must not miss PuliKali which is the “play of the tigers”. No,
it has got nothing to do with real tigers. It is basically a procession of men
dressed and body painted to resemble tigers. There will also be a hunter or two
amongst the “tigers” trying to hunt them down. I’ve been a little sceptical
about it all my life, but I must say this is pretty weird, fun and fascinating
all at the same time and since you have come all the way to Kerala, why not
dance along with some grown men body painted to look like tigers??
Another very interesting
event you must not miss during Onam is the Aranmula Uthrittathi boat race
conducted in the Pathanamthitta district. The rhythmic songs sung during the
race and the cheering of the crowd when mixed together brings about a very
unique energy to the boat race and it is not something you can experience
anywhere else in the world. There is a very raw authenticity to this event
which you will be able to comprehend after you experience it.
Christmas
During Christmas every house in Kerala will
have a star adorning its porch, I kid you not. Some households will even go to
the extent of getting fairy lights and huge Christmas trees in their front
yard. Some of them go next level and make Christmas cribs. Yes, Christmas is a
big deal in Kerala. Honestly speaking, there aren’t many places in India where
I have seen Christmas being celebrated with such high interest and so I love
being in Kerala during this festive season. I love the way the churches light
up, I love the home cooked food and snacks, I love the wine and cake, I love
the midnight mass (and the sleeping that happens during the mass), I love the
gifts and the secret santa, I love everything about Christmas.
Christmas is mainly family time for most
malayalees. They cuddle up in their houses and take afternoon slumbers after
the feast. Many new movies premier during Christmas and you watch them even if
you saw them at the theatre. It’s all part of the tradition.
Put up decorations, eat, chill with family,
drink wine, and watch movies you must have already seen. Then sleep. That’s
Christmas for a localite in Kerala (Or at least that is what I end up doing).
As a tourist, you might not enjoy the whole
extent of the holiday if you don’t have a localite’s home to go to. However,
you should definitely go star-seeing like I do and see how much efforts people
have put into making their houses look fancy. A night time walk is enjoyable
during Christmas.
Drink wine, eat food and relish on cakes. Then
the walk at night to see the lights. That’s Christmas for an outsider in
Kerala.
Kochi – Muziris Beinnale
Art is not for everyone. I get that. However, I
believe that beauty lies in art and this beauty is easily visible for anyone
who wants to see it. Kochi – Muziris Beinnale is a celebration of this beauty
and is an international exhibition of contemporary art. The art could include
anything from installations, sculptures, performances, paintings, film
screenings etc. Many national and international tourists flock in Kochi during
the Beinnale and it is an opportunity to meet and interact with people who have
unique mindsets and to gather perspective of the world. Read up about Beinnale
and look up the photos. If you still don’t feel like visiting Beinnale, only
then should you pass on it.
Beinnale is an experience worth having in your
lifetime even if you are not the greatest fan of art. It is about seeing a
whole city getting immersed in art and creativity.
So, here is my tiny article about Onam,
Christmas and the great Kochi – Muziris Beinnale. Like I said before, writing
about all the festivals and cultural events in Kerala would take me ages. Every
district, I believe, has its own share of festivities. These three are the ones
celebrated in the whole state and Beinnale is something of a pride for Kerala.
Come, visit Kerala during one of these festivals. You will see a more chilled,
colourful and merry Kerala. That will be fun.
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