Onam Celebrations in Kerala-day01

Legend is that once up on a time there was a demon king called Mahabali who used to rule the land now known as Kerala. Mahabali was a just king and under him the land prospered and his fame reached everywhere. The Gods (being Gods) became jealous of his fame and asked Lord Vishnu to step in. Now anyone going to the court of Mahabali with a reasonable request has never ever been turned back. So Vishnu took up the guise of a humble human being called Vamana and went to Mahabali's court. He asked for three steps of land for him to live in and Mahabali granted him his wish. Upon this Vamana took the form of a giant so huge that he was able to cover the entire space from Earth to Heaven and from Earth to the underworld in two steps. To keep his word Mahabali offered his head for the third step and Vamana sent him to the underworld by stepping on his head. However Vishnu was pleased by the righteousness of Mahabali and before sending him to underworld, offered him the boon of returning to earth once every year to see his beloved people. So till this day the people of Kerala (Malayalis') mark the return of their king every year by celebrating Onam.

Onam is the biggest festival for the people of Kerala (Malayalis’). Unlike many other festivals in India Onam is a secular festival celebrated by all even though the legend is based on a Hindu mythology. It is celebrated over 10 days with Thiru Onam being the main day. Every day floral arrangements are made in front of the houses or main squares and traditional meals are served. It is also the most important shopping season for Kerala (think about Christmas shopping in the west and you get the idea).

Hello World

Over the last few years I have been taking photos of various events and festivals in Europe and publishing them on my website. All this time I wanted to write about my travel and these events but never found the time or courage as writing is not one of my strong skills. 2011 July my girlfriend and I decided to spend a few months in India so that we could spend some time with my family and travel a bit around India. The idea was that that I could work in Trivandrum Kerala and she could practice her play therapy while we are here.

Things haven't quite worked out the way we planned as I ended up working in Chennai and the three month trip becoming a six month trip! So I have decided to make the best out of the situation and start writing about our experiences in India and post some photos. Hope you enjoy the posts. It also gives me an opportunity to go through my back-catalog of photos and create some blogs.

 Cheers San