ENARADA, Mangalore, September 23, 2013:
Coastal town Mangalore reverberated to the tunes of pookulams, chende and traditional dances as sizeable Keralites in Mangalore celebrated Onam with pomp and gaiety. Add to these traditional celebrations was the mouth watering “Onam Sandhya” the traditional festive meal which forms part of the Onam festival. The celebrations organized at TMA Pai hall by Kerala Samajam gave Mangaloreans an opportunity to get a glimpse of the cultural extravaganza of Onam and also a golden opportunity to taste the sumptuous Onam fesive meal.
The Onam fever was in the air in and around the venue where the multi hues of Pookulum was the centre of all attraction. Ladies dressed in traditional Kerala sarees also added fizz to the existing festive mood. The guests were accorded a traditional welcome by the ladies even as the sound of Chende echoing all around. The man dressed like King Mahabali was also the cynosure of all eyes.
While traditional dances and rituals enriched the soul Onam Sandhya proved to be a crowd puller. More than 1200 people enjoyed the famous Kerala dishes like Aviyal, Kaalan, pachadi, Parippu, banana chips, banana jiggery chips in addition to many other dishes. It was an enriching and fulfilling event both to the mind and of course to the stomach in the real sense of the term.
