Onam ashamsakal to all Malayalees

Today, the Malayalees in Malaysia celebrate Onam – an annual harvest and cultural festival .

While their cousins in Kerala, India celebrate over a period of 9 days from Sept 6, Malaysian Malayalees celebrate it on a single day.

According to Hinduism, Onam celebrates the fifth avatar of Lord Vishnu – Vamana and the king Mahabali.

Vamana appears as a dwarf priest who requests three paces of land from Mahabali.

The king acceded. Vamana then grew in size and covered the entire land with just two steps.

For the third pace Mahabali offered his head with one request.

The king requested that he be allowed to visit the land and people he ruled. This was the basis for Onam that also coincided with harvest.

The highlight of this festival is Onam Sadhya – 26 – vegetarian dishes served on a banana leaf.

Inji puli also known as ginger tamarind, avial – coconut based stew and pradhaman payasam that epitomises the sweetness of the festival are the chief highlights..

Due to the popularity of the celebration of this festival, the Malayalee Christians and Malayalee Muslims also celebrate the cultural aspects of Onam.

In Malaysia the celebrations are done at homes by the Malayalee community. Alternately, the All Malaysia Malayalee Association and its affiliates would host Onam celebrations.

To all our Malayalee readers, we at Harapan Daily would like to wish you:

Ellavarkum hridhayam niranja Onashamsakal.