Onam is a collage of images – of pookkalams, sadyas, swings, new clothes (onakkodi), games and family get-togethers. MetroPlus asks some of our young celebs from cinema what comes to mind when they turn nostalgic about Onam, the mother of all festivals in Kerala and for Malayalis. Incidentally, most of them say they are all set for a working Onam. But all of them have cherished images of an Onam when they were at home to celebrate the festival with family.
Namitha Pramod
Onakkodis. Onam used to be celebrated with great fun at my grandmother’s house. All our aunts and uncles used to give us gifts of new clothes. There used to be a competition among us cousins to see who got the most number of new clothes. So once we got the clothes, we used to spread out the booty on a bed to compare and see what each got. It used to be great fun. Once I began earning, my cousins expected me to buy clothes for those younger to me.
However, this year, I will be on the sets of Ormayundo Ee Mukham , shooting with Vineeth Sreenivasan.
Parvathy
It is that raw smell of chanakam (cow dung) that comes up. That was the only time in the year when children were permitted to mess with such things. It was used to smear the pookkalam. There is a bouquet of aromas that is associated with Onam, which was spent in my grandmother’s house in Kozhikode. My mother, aunts and Ammamma would be dressed in kara mundu-neriyathu sets. They would be sweaty after all the cooking and the work. But I used to love that aroma of sweat, masalas, and the starchy smell of the clothes, all mixed with the fragrance of Cuticura talcum powder. I used to go and hug my mother to fill myself with that aroma. I thought they all looked so beautiful. Onam was all about family gatherings and school vacations.
However, vacations are rare now. This year, I would be shooting for Ennu Ninte Moideen . So we will have a sadya on the sets.
Jayasurya
My most enduring childhood memory of Onam is the Athachamayam procession at Tripunithura. I used to go there every year with my family and friends. Everyone tends to get nostalgic when they think of Onam; about those carefree, colourful days of childhood when everything was a wonder. Nowadays people whine about how things have changed. I feel that happiness during Onam is all about the mindset. At present I am in Karikudi shooting for Priyadarsan’s Aamayum Muyalum and will most likely celebrate Onam on the set. Onam becomes truly delicious when celebrated with family and friends.
Nivin Pauly
Onam has always been special and despite how busy we have all become, that feeling will always remain so. My childhood memories of Onam are about spending time with my family and friends at my mother’s place. It is a village and the thoughts of those vacations are still there in my mind, intact. Of course, life has changed and now, even the celebrations have become mechanical, to a certain extent.
This year I am at the location of Alphonse Putharen’s Premam during the Onam. I wish to have a release during the Onam season. I hope it happens next year.
Aparna Gopinath
It is the sadya that comes to mind – all those curries and the payasams. Avial remains my favourite among the many curries that are served for the sadya. All of us cousins in Chennai used to get together at one place to celebrate the festival. The sadya was great fun. But I also remember the queue to receive the Onakkodi from the senior most member of the family. I was the youngest in the family and I had to wait till all the others got theirs. I used to be impatient to get mine. Now the cousins are in different parts of the world. But whoever is there in Chennai, where I stay, make it a point to celebrate Onam together.
This Onam, I will be travelling to attend a friend’s engagement.
