Onam

Onam came and went, just as Mahabali (our dear Maveli) would. Growing up in times devoid of television and Harry Potter and Ben 10, I was eager to believe in Maveli or any of the legendary kings and gods of India. I waited for Kerala's favorite King in the dreary sun of our Onam vacation with an elementary athapoo/pookalam (rangoli of flowers) achieved with a few shoeflowers, jasmines, leaves and some such.
My children have not been really initiated into the Maveli myth and the annual welcome accorded to the pot-bellied king damned to languish in the underworld - not the Bombay underworld :) For now, they are happy to have their meals on banana leaves squatting on the floor. This year we had a modest sadya on Thiru-onam day, Sept 9. The real celebration was the sadya at church the day after - stressing the fact that Onam is a cultural (harvest) festival and not just a religious, Hindu festival.

Arranged by the Family Fellowship that V heads, the celebration included games for the young and the old alike. My kids enthusiastically participated in the tug of war between girls and boys (under 18), both happening to be at the front on either side. The sadya, with 21 dishes in all including the salt, was fantastic. The leftovers -  kaalan, pickles, ginger curry, payasam etc - kept some of us going for some days :-0