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Kerala
wakes up to some festival or the other every day of the year and
Keralites are addicted to the festivals. In short ‘ Keralisation’ of
the festivals of different communities is the unique feature of
Kerala life.
Onam in
August September every year is the most popularly celebrated ,ten
day singing dancing ,festing and religious ceremonies. This
harvest festival is celebrated to welcome the legendary king
Mahabali. Intricate floral decorations are made on the courtyard
to welcome this king on his visit to his beloved subjects. The
most exciting feature of the festival however, is the snake boat
races held at several places on the palm-fringed lagoons.
Nehru
Trophy Boat Race is one of those events which the people of Kerala
look forward to with excitement. Pavilions are set up for the
spectators on the banks and in the middle of Punnamada Lake the
venue of the race. This boat race takes its name from India’s
first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who inaugurated in 1952.
There are separate races for women too. The race begins with a
colourful pageant of floats performing arts and decorated boats
and goes on late into the evening.
Payippad
Jelotsavam held in memory for the Prathista ceremony of Haripad
Subramanya temple and therefore has a religious significance. This
festival is celeberated for three days commencing from the Onam
festival day. Snake boat processions are taken out on the first
two days and competitive boat race take place on the third day.
Attukal
Pongala this is the one and the only temple festival in the world
where lakhs of women assembled together to make offerings by
cooking a pudding for the goddess in the Attukal temple. It is
taken home after the chief priest of the temple will come and
sprinkle the holy water and will shower the flowers. This festival
will come to an end in the evening with a procession from the
temple.
Thrissur
Pooram festival is a mammoth spectacle with arrays of thirty
caparisoned elephants bedecked with gold ornaments. Each elephant
is ridden by three mahouts holding projects symbolizing royalty.
As the elephants line up facing each other in two straight rows,
still in their disciplined dignity, the ancient resonance of
Panchavadyam, the five instruments of conch,cymbals,trumpet and
two kinds of drums build up a crescendo.
Pongal
festival is the first festival beginning off each new year in the
Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As the dates for pongal festival are
calculated by the solar calander (ie. Western), the dates of
January 13-16 never change. When the harvest is over, the people
of Tamil Nadu express their gratitude to the gods, the earth and
their cattle. For four days, they celebrate with abandon and
worship with devotion. Each day of this festival has a special
significance, however, it is celebrated more grandly in the
villages, while the city folk mainly celebrate on the second day
only.
Kolam ( Rangoli) :-
Preparations for the festival of pongal start early and the first
thing that is always found in Hindu homes before the start of "Pongal
Festival" or "Harvest Festival" is the 'kolam'. This is a form of
decoration for the Hindus' homes. This decorative pattern is made
with rice flour & is usually drawn on the floor, outside the door
in tamilnadu. The kolams serve as a symbol of welcoming guests to
the entrance of the house. At the center of the Kolam is a lump of
cow-dung, which holds a five-petalled pumpkin flower-a symbol of
fertility and an offering of love to the presiding deity.
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