40 Fun Facts About Onam

Which extreme does the proverb 'Kaanam Vittum Onam Unnanam' say a Malayali should go to for the Onam lunch?

The proverb tells Malayalis to sell one's property if that is what it takes: 'Kaanam Vittum Onam Unnanam' means one must have the Onam lunch even by selling one's land if need be. Almost every Keralite makes or attends one.

What did King Mahabali offer for Vamana's third stride, after two strides had covered everything he ruled?

His head was the offering: asked where the third stride might fall, Mahabali accepted his fate, and Vishnu rewarded that humility by letting him revisit his people once a year, the homecoming Kerala celebrates as Onam.

Vamana, the dwarf who tricked Mahabali out of his kingdom, is which numbered avatar in Vishnu's Dashavatara?

Fifth in the Dashavatara, Vamana is the first avatar of the Treta Yuga, arriving right after the man-lion Narasimha; his name simply means 'dwarf'.

Which animal do Pulikali's painted, belly-shaking dancers imitate on Thrissur's streets on the fourth Onam day?

Tiger stripes take five to seven hours to paint in two coats of tempera and enamel, and the dancers wear broad belts of jingles as they act out hunts around the Swaraj Round.

Which creature lends its name to the chundan vallam, the racing boat over 100 feet long rowed in Onam's Vallam Kali?

Snake boats earn the name from a stern that rises about 20 feet like a raised hood; at 100 to 138 feet they hold the record as the largest water vessel used in competitive sport.

What is a pookalam, the circular decoration Kerala homes start on Atham and enlarge every day until Thiruvonam?

A flower carpet grows ring by ring from Atham to Thiruvonam, beginning as a small single-layer Athapoo made only of yellow blossoms, with the pyramidal Onathappan figure set at its centre.

What is Onakkodi, the purchase every Malayali household traditionally makes before Thiruvonam, Onam's main day?

New clothes are the Onakkodi, bought and worn for the festival; Onam is Kerala's busiest retail season, with the frenzy peaking on Uthradam, the day before Thiruvonam.

Which famous boy devotee of Vishnu, protected from his own murderous father, was the grandfather of King Mahabali?

Prahlada was Mahabali's grandfather, making the Onam king a descendant of the sage Kashyapa and the heir of one of Vishnu's most devoted families, which is why the asura is remembered as noble rather than wicked.

Which asura guru, blocking the spout of Mahabali's water pot to stop the gift to Vamana, was blinded for the attempt?

Shukra had recognised the dwarf as Vishnu and jammed the kamandalu's spout to halt the water that would seal the donation, so Vamana pierced it with a stick and cost the asura guru an eye.

What does Trivikrama, the name Vamana takes when he swells to cosmic size before Mahabali, literally mean?

Three steps is the literal sense of Trivikrama, from tri and vikrama, and the epithet echoes the Rigveda's hymn of Vishnu striding thrice across the whole world.

Which group of seven immortals did Vamana himself bless Mahabali to join, according to Hindu literature?

The Chiranjivi count Mahabali among their seven immortals, and he is said to reign from Sutala loka until the day he takes the throne of heaven in the next manvantara.

Which god's office is Mahabali promised to inherit in a future age, consolation after Vamana took his three worlds?

Indra, king of heaven, is the role Mahabali will one day assume, a neat reversal of the war in which Bali had driven that same king out of Svarga to begin with.

Which festival in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka marks the Onam king's return to earth on the fourth day of Diwali?

Balipratipada doubles as the traditional New Year in Gujarat and Rajasthan, so the asura king Kerala welcomes at Onam is greeted again, a thousand kilometres north, in Diwali week.

What does the name of Thrikkakara, the Kochi temple town where Onam opens on Atham day, mean?

Place of the holy foot marks where Vamana is said to have pressed Mahabali into the netherworld, and the temple's Vamana icon is carved preparing to do exactly that.

Which former capital of the Kingdom of Cochin hosts Athachamayam, the royal-style parade that opens Onam on Atham?

Tripunithura's parade recalls the Kochi Maharaja marching in ceremonial robes from his residence to the Thrikkakara temple; halted in 1949 by the merger that created Thiru-Kochi, it resumed in 1961.

What sets apart Onapottan, the crowned, bell-ringing Mahabali figure who calls at North Malabar homes during Onam?

He never speaks, hence the name, pottan being Malayalam for a deaf-mute; his bell announces him as he blesses homes on Uthradam and Thiruvonam, a role some villages reserve for the Malaya community.

What are the skirts and shaggy bodysuits of Kummattikali, the masked house-to-house Onam dance of Thrissur, made of?

Plaited grass skirts go with heavily painted wooden masks of Krishna, Narada, Kiratha or Darika, while a bow-shaped instrument keeps time and the dancers collect rice or small change at each door.

In Thumbi Thullal, an Onam game where women sing around a girl holding thumba leaves, what does she sway like?

A dragonfly, thumbi in Malayalam, is what the girl imitates as the clapping and songs speed up; once a village pastime, the game now survives only as part of Onam.

What do women circle, clapping, in Thiruvathirakali, the Kerala group dance performed at Onam and Thiruvathira?

A lit oil lamp, the nilavilakku, anchors the circle while the dancers clap and pirouette in graceful lasya style; performed indoors at home, the same dance is called Kaikottikali.

At which Thiruvananthapuram temple are painted ceremonial bows called Onavillu offered on Thiruvonam day?

Padmanabhaswamy temple receives the bows at the onavillu charthal, each painted with Vishnu reclining on Anantha, the ten avatars or Krishna's play, and making them is the preserve of a single local family.

What is the kasavu that gives the festive Onam sari worn by Malayali women its everyday name?

A golden zari border, the kasavu, may be pure gold, copper-coated or artificial, and it frames an otherwise plain white or cream weave that has come to symbolise Malayali women.

How many pieces of cloth make up the mundum neriyathum, the cream kasavu attire Kerala women wear to dance at Onam?

Two pieces, a mundu at the waist and a neriyathu draped above, make the attire, whereas the look-alike Kerala sari is a single length of cloth; Raja Ravi Varma painted both styles.

Which town near Thiruvananthapuram, where a maharaja settled seven Tamil weaver families, weaves Onam's kasavu?

Balaramapuram took its name from Maharaja Balarama Varma, who reigned from 1798 to 1810, and its weavers still use throw-shuttle pit looms to turn out cotton kasavu mundu and saris with real metallic thread.

What is traditionally chewed after an Onasadya to round off the meal, once the banana leaf has been folded?

Betel and areca nut with a smear of lime, the vettila murukkaan, follows the feast; the cooking itself may begin only after a prayer to Agni, the fire god.

Which Pandava, posing as the cook Ballava in King Virata's kitchen, is credited with inventing the sadya dish avial?

Bhima, the story goes, could not cook, so he chopped every vegetable he could find, boiled the lot and topped it with grated coconut; the result today is a thick stew of around 13 vegetables.

Which vegetable, simmered with red cowpeas under toasted coconut, makes the best-known erissery on an Onasadya leaf?

Pumpkin gives erissery its mild sweetness, set against the nutty, deep-browned coconut fried with mustard seeds and curry leaves that is poured over the top just before serving.

Which light Onasadya dish simmers ash gourd and cowpeas in coconut milk with ginger and a splash of coconut oil?

Olan is the gentlest curry on the leaf, white gourd and cowpeas in coconut milk, a contrast to kaalan, the thick curd-and-coconut dish built around a single vegetable such as yam.

What coats sharkara varatti, the sweet, pricier counterpart of the plain fried plantain upperi on an Onasadya leaf?

Jaggery-coated chips cost more than plain upperi, which are sliced from Nendran plantains, ripe or unripe, and fried in coconut oil, a fixture of the leaf at weddings and Onam alike.

In which corner of the banana leaf are an Onasadya's pickles placed, so waiters can spot at a glance who needs more?

Top left is for pickles and bottom left for the banana, fixed spots that let servers read a leaf instantly; the banana itself is saved to be eaten with the dessert.

Which deity receives the first leaf of an Onasadya, set before a lighted nilavilakku before any guest is served?

Ganapati gets the first serving, laid on a banana leaf in front of the nilavilakku once the cooking fire has been lit with a prayer to Agni; preparation starts the night before and is done by ten in the morning.

What are the 64 paddlers of a classic chundan vallam, seated two to a row for Onam's races, said to represent?

Art forms, 64 of them, are what the paddlers stand for, with around 25 singers seated mid-boat to drive the rhythm; the hulls are built of anjili, a wild jackfruit timber that resists rot.

What is rubbed into a chundan vallam's hull each racing season to keep the wood strong and the surface slick?

Fish oil, carbon and eggs, blended with coconut shell, are worked into the hull every year, a dressing the boat-makers trust to keep the planks tight and the boat fast through the water.

Aranmula's Onam boat race, Kerala's oldest river boat festival, is a ritual for the deity of which temple?

Parthasarathy, the Krishna-and-Arjuna shrine on the Pampa, draws boats that move in pairs to full-throated singing rather than sprinting for a line, a rite more than a contest.

Which cricket legend inaugurated the 2019 Champions Boat League, Kerala's IPL-style season of twelve boat races?

Sachin Tendulkar opened a season that ran from the Alappuzha trophy race in August to the President's Trophy in November and drew about 1.8 crore television viewers; a 2018 launch had been postponed by the floods.

Which Maharaja of Cochin is said to have introduced Pulikali, Thrissur's painted Onam street dance, 200 years ago?

Sakthan Thampuran's men reportedly performed in animal paint with peculiar moves, a show called Pulikkettikali that locals loved; today the troupes converge on Swaraj Round, and women joined for the first time in 2016.

Which Thiruvananthapuram landmark's grounds are the main venue of the Kerala government's week-long Onam celebrations?

Kanakakunnu Palace anchors a week of programmes at some 30 other venues, ending with a procession of floats and masquerades through streets lit from East Fort to Vellayambalam, the Secretariat included.

In which country does the Malayali diaspora stage its own Onam chundan race each year on Jurong Lake?

Singapore's Jurong Lake race is a tribute to the Kerala original, and Onam is also marked by Malayalis in Oman, Switzerland, New Zealand and France, notably in Paris and Marseille.

How many days, from Atham through Thiruvonam, does Onam run in Chingam, the opening month of the Malayalam year?

Ten days named Atham, Chithira, Chodhi, Vishakam, Anizham, Thriketa, Moolam, Pooradam, Uthradam and Thiruvonam make up the festival, with Uthradam doubling as 'First Onam'.

Which Sanskrit nakshatra, the 22nd lunar mansion, is called Thiruvonam in Malayalam and fixes Onam's final day?

Shravana falls within Makara, the sidereal sign of Capricorn, and Onam's date is fixed by the Panchangam on the day that star rules in Chingam, which is why it drifts between August and September.

The Malayalam calendar that places Onam in Chingam counts its years from the founding of which port city in 825 CE?

Kollam gave the Kollam Era its name, and when Kerala adopted it as the regional calendar, Chingam 1, the month of Onam, replaced Vishu as the official New Year.