Q 01/05

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

A) Sell one's property

B) Skip a year's wages

C) Travel home from abroad

D) Fast for nine days

Answer · why

A) Sell one's property

Sell one's property if need be, says the old adage, rather than miss the Onam sadya; yet a feast once cooked at home now often comes from hotels and c...

Q 02/05

Once Vamana's cosmic form had covered everything he ruled, what did King Mahabali offer to keep his promise?

A) His crown

B) His throne

C) His head

D) His sword

Answer · why

C) His head

His head was all Mahabali still had to give, and Vamana pushed him into the netherworld, yet the king was allowed to visit his people once a year.

Q 03/05

In the legend behind Onam, what does Vamana, the dwarf who tricked King Mahabali, carry?

A) A battle-axe

B) A plough

C) An umbrella

D) A bow and arrows

Answer · why

C) An umbrella

An umbrella, given at his thread ceremony, marks Vamana as a young Brahmin student, and in that humble guise he went to Mahabali to ask for a small gi...

Q 04/05

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

A) Tiger

B) Elephant

C) Peacock

D) Bull

Answer · why

A) Tiger

Tiger hunts are acted out in the procession, with some performers cast as hunters, while the painted tigers dance to chenda drums.

Q 05/05

Why did Kerala's government cancel its official Onam celebrations in 2018?

A) Severe floods

B) A Nipah outbreak

C) A cyclone

D) A heatwave

Answer · why

A) Severe floods

Severe floods, the state's worst in nearly a century, hit that August, so the money set aside for the Onam festivities went to relief work.