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Carpets to floor Mahabali

From Atham onwards, it is a countdown for Onam proper, the mother of all festivals in Kerala. The first signs of Onam are the floral carpets that still bloom in many courtyards.

If cow-dung was earlier used to make the base of the pookalam, now it could be a thin batter of rice flour. Instead of collecting flowers from the countryside, many make a beeline for the markets to buy flowers of their choice. But Pookkalams or the flower carpet has remained an integral symbol of Onam.

And it not only schools that celebrate Onam with floral carpets. Institutions, hotels, shopping malls, schools and colleges pitch in to welcome Onam. The Net is a treasure trove for design-disabled pookalam enthusiasts. Photographs of pookalams in myriad designs and shapes are a riot of colours.

The simple circular, square and pyramid-shaped pookalams of yore have given away to jazzy shapes and designs. Abstract designs, motifs and contemporary themes appear on the pookalam.

The times may have changed but the sprit of Onam remains the same.

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