Colourful wrap to capital’s week-long Onam celebrations
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the Onam celebration procession moved through the city, a band played the popular Malayalam song ‘Shanthamee Rathriyil’, much like how the festivities were enjoyed in the state capital the night before. The ceremonial procession, which was flagged off by Governor Rajendra Arlekar, provided a visual treat for thousands of people, of all age groups, gathered there.
The governor began his speech by calling Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan his elder brother. Arlekar said the week-long festival has given a glimpse of “the great culture of ours and showed that we are celebrating with togetherness”.
A total of 151 floats, themed on ‘Unity in Diversity’ and the state government’s development activities, were part of the procession. A human-shaped float by the Suchitwa Mission and a float promoting electric vehicles by the motor vehicle department were special attractions. While the parents who carried their children on their shoulders explained what each float meant, the children were busy in their own world, admiring the colours of each exhibit. Even a broken hand didn’t stop eight-year-old Anurag V from attending the procession. The crowd cheered when a little girl danced in the middle of a band.
Though the procession has been a routine in the city, many local residents said they were witnessing it for the first time.
The same was the case with Vinod Nair, a college student in Dubai, who visits Thiruvananthapuram during Onam every year.
The Onam procession was also a refreshing experience for non-Malayalis. Macedonian vlogger Marija Paunousra was astonished by the celebrations.
“Being a traveller, I came to explore the state. But I never knew this time was so special for the state,” Paunousra said.
Interstate migrant workers, who came with their friends, too had a whale of a time at the festival. Rajesh Das from Assam, who has been working in the state capital for the past five years, was delighted with the celebrations. “We used to come and see the lights, but this is our first experience of the procession,” Das said.
The procession, as is customary, saw people from different walks of life coming together. Twenty-one nuns from the congregation ‘Prathyasayude Dasanmar’ walked from their nearby convent to see the programme. People also accompanied their friends with disabilities and autistic children.
Ajay Jacob, a city resident, said the procession was more crowded than previous years. Geetha Archa, a social worker, commented that though the procession was visually stunning, the Kerala essence was surprisingly low.