Students of the Kerala State Institute of Design (KSID) came up with an eco-friendly Onam celebration on their campus in Kollam. Instead of merely going in for a song and dance topped by a feast, Manoj Kini, Principal of the KSID, encouraged his students to come up with a ‘green Onam’ that would derive inspiration from traditional Onam celebrations of the past and their surroundings.
“As design students, I wanted them to use their brains to come up with alternatives that were inspired by our environment. In the past, festoons made of tender leaves of coconut, stems of the plantain, coconut flower and so on were used creatively and extensively to usher in the festive air whether it be in temples or for weddings and other auspicious occasions,” says Manoj, an architect from the College of Engineering, Trivandrum.
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He motivated his students to learn to use the coconut fronds and revive the art of using them for decorations. “In fact, I found out that a part-time peon in our Institute, Venu, was an expert in this and was much in demand during temple festivals for his art of using the pale greenish-yellow leaves of coconut. He taught the students to make the designs and we had a great time documenting it. This was a craft that was on the verge of extinction,” he says.
There were a few hiccups, beginning with the difficulty of procuring the leaves. The students could not climb coconut trees; professional coconut pickers were a little wary on account of the monsoon that had made the trunks slippery and dangerous to climb. Finally, Manoj managed to use his contacts to source the coconut fronds.
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Manoj says that next year, he plans to document such decorations that are found all over Kerala and the craft and craftsmen involved. Then, they plan to take it a step ahead by coming up with designs for weddings and other functions. “Some of us were aghast at the gaudy and tasteless sets put up for weddings. We have been doing some work for our friends and want to make this popular again in Kerala,” he says.
What an idea!