On October 15th I attended the annual Onam Celebration at the Knanaya Catholic Community Center in Rockland County. As the president had mentioned the celebration was a great success. The day started off with mass followed by a general body meeting. After the meeting there was food and numerous cultural programs that represented what Onam is all about.
Onam is an ancient festival which still survives even today. It celebrates the homecoming of the legendary Emperor Mahabali of Kerala. Onam is unique since Mahabali has been revered by the people of Kerala since prehistory. According to the legend, Kerala witnessed its golden era during the reign of King Mahabali. Everybody in the state was happy and prosperous and the king was highly regarded by his subjects. The emperor visited his people annually to see how everyone was doing. It is this visit of Mahabali that is celebrated as Onam every year. People celebrate the festival in a grand way and express their happiness towards their King and wish him well.
In the beginning of the event, after the mass, I got to interview a female guest and asked her about Onam and what King Mahabali meant to her:
“What does Onam mean to you and how important is it to celebrate it here in the U.S. with your children who are not familiar with the customs of Onam?” I asked.
“Onam is a big part of me. I grew up celebrating it with my family and extended family and also neighbors. I used to decorate my front yard with “pookalam” (multi-colored floral decorations on the floor) with my friends. It used to be so much fun. I tried to do that here but the kids would just mess it up anyway. My children don’t like to come to these events as much but I make them because it is important for me and my husband that they learn more about their Indian culture. Coming to the event makes me very, very happy,” the guest explained.
“How did your town celebrate King Mahabali’s reign and did the event justify his importance?”
“Oh one of the uncles used to dress up as the King Mahabali with his big belly and unique beard. We used to have a parade in the city and there were actually more than one King Mahabali. The person who was dressed up as him used to wave to the crowd constantly and the crowd treated him like the real King, showering him with flowers when he would come into sight. Oh it was very nice. I miss the parades with my school too. The event also had an uncle impersonating King Mahabali. But it was not as fun as watching the King back home.”
“Are you enjoying so far”
“Yes I am!”
On Saturday I saw a combination of a variety of activities that would be performed during Onam in the state of Kerala. A general body meeting was conducted after the catholic mass in malayalam was said. The meeting covered what the Knanaya Community accomplished during the last year and discussed what they hoped to accomplish in the next few months. Dinner was served afterwards. The women of the community conducted a traditional onam “sadya” (banquet). This is usually a feast served on banana leaves and serves rice along with at least an array of 4 dishes. But for the celebration we had plastic plates. Traditional pickles and papadam were also served. Dessert was “payasam”, a sweet dish made of milk, sugar and other traditional Indian savories. The cultural program, which was the highlight of the day, followed right after desert. The programs were performed by the people of the community and consisted of many traditional dances such as Thiruvadhira kali and Thumbi Tullal. Onam songs, which are collectively called Onappaattu, were also sung by a group of kids. Most of the onam songs are praising Emperor Mahabali.
I got to interview a male audience member after the cultural show:
“Did you have good time?”
“Yes, everything was wonderful!”
“How was the general body meeting?”
“Ahhh same old same old. Nothing new really.”
“How was the food? Did it remind you of your days in India when you celebrated Onam?”
“The Food was absolutely wonderful. They had everything and more of what I used to have in my home during Onam. The food and how everything was set up made me feel like I was in India right now celebrating Onam there.”
“How were the cultural programs?”
“They were superb! The Westchester group did the best. Their skit and dance really reflected not only Kerala but India. All the programs were enjoyable. I’m so sad everything ended so quickly. We should have this celebration go on for 3 or 4 days like they do in India.”
Many came out for this grand event. They got to experience the unique celebration of Onam and witness the colorful culture of Kerala, India. I and I assume everyone else learned about the Knanaya community through attending the general body meeting, taste great traditional Kerala food by attending the onam sadya, and witness the interesting and exciting Onam activities during the cultural programs.
I enjoyed that your event was extremely unique. Also, you did a really great job of explaining all the difficult terms required to fully understand the festival. Overall, you did a really great job on the background of the cultural festival. There was very few things wrong with your essay. As nit-picky as it sounds, remember to fully write out your numbers "four" instead of "4". Also, I would have liked to see a more creative transition between introducing the people you interviewed. Maybe embed your quotes more into your account of the event instead of simply laying out the dialogue for at least one of them. Great job with structure and overall presentation of the event, though!
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