Traditional festivities and enthusiasm marked the celebration of Thiruvonam here on Wednesday as households were decked with 'Pookalams' and various local level cultural programmes were held in different parts of the district.
The Thiruvoam day was a day of festivities mostly confined to households with families keeping up the spirit of Onam by arranging floral carpets with flower petals and preparing special delicious 'Onasadya'. After hectic festival shopping over the past few days, it was also a day of leisure for the families. The Payyambalam Beach and Muzhappilangad Beach here drew large crowds of people out to enjoy the revelry of the festival.
A host of cultural programmes and 'pookalam' competitions organised in different places under the auspices of various local organisations and clubs also displayed the spirit of festivities. The District Tourism Promotion Council organised cultural programmes at the Town Square in the evening as part of its Ponnonam 2009. A dance performance based on M. Mukundan's novel 'Mayyazhipuzhayude Theerangalil' was presented by the Malayala Kalagramam at the function.
Busy streets in the town which had been crowded with people visiting various fairs and exhibitions for Onam-time shopping over the past few days were almost deserted. The handloom fair at the Collectorate
Maidan organised by the Handloom Development Committee, nearby women and small scale entrepreneurs' exhibition organised under the aegis of the District Industries Centre, IRDP mela at the Town Hall and Khadi mela at Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan here had all recorded good sales, according to their organisers.
