Kerala - Thrissur   

Cultural programmes mark Onam in Thrissur

Thrissur: After the crowded melas, non-stop shopping and no-holds-barred marketing for two weeks, the city witnessed a relatively quiet day on Friday.

Most city residents preferred to celebrate Thiruvonam in a traditional manner at home. Streets remained deserted for most of the day, except in the morning.

Clad in new clothes people went to temples early in the morning. Heavy rush of devotees was seen in all temples.

When many prepared the sumptuous traditional lunch at home, many hotels were serving Onasadya. Of late, the Onasadya served in hotels have been drawing larger crowds.

Payasamela organised by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation at Yatri Nivas and Thekkinkad Maidan also attracted many. Special palpayasam and banana payasam were available on Uthradam and Thiruvonam days.

By evening, large number of families could be seen strolling through the streets.

Kummattikali, the colorful mask-dance was performed at Kizhakkampattukara, near here.

Wearing skirts woven out of plaited grass, various teams of Kummattis will entertain people for three days starting from Friday.

The Kummatti performers don colourful wooden mask depicting faces of Krishna, Kali, Narasimha, Kattalan, Hanuman, and Ganapathi. Some performers cover their whole body with grass.

Themes of Kummattikali are mostly taken from the stories of Ramayana, Darika Vadham, the story of Shiva and folk tales.

The Tourism Department also organised various cultural programmes to mark the occasion.

Onathallu, the art of bare-handed fighting was revived after a gap of 23 years at Jawahar Square, Kunnamkulam. Local chieftains once promoted Onathallu to retain their territorial supremacy. However, the traditional sports lost its charm over the decades.

Various tourism clubs performed myriad cultural forms at Thekkinkadu Maidhan in the evening.

‘Sega Dance from Mauritius’ by Kendriya Vidhyalaya,Thrissur, ‘Thiruvathirakkali’ by Sri Sarada H.S.S. Puranattukara, ‘Onappattu’ by A. K. M. H. S. S. Puchetty and National H.S.S.Irinjalakkuda, Mimicry by

A.K.M.H.S.S. Puchetty and Thabala by G.H.S.S. Vettilappara attracted many.

An audio-visual presentation on Kerala’s traditional culture ‘Sargakeralam’ presented by Kanakadas was also part of the programmes.

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