Onam messages are not mere wishes but there is more to it if one reads it with greater attention

 By K.R. Nayar

Another Onam has passed with most of us unable to celebrate it with family or friends due to  COVID restrictions and other reasons.  Since social media is now the most preferred and easiest mode of communication, we connect and wish our near and dear ones through these popular apps. I enjoy reading all messages even though some of them are mere online forwards only because some of them seem very motivational to me. It could be an image of the traditional flower decoration or the boat race or a lighted lamp or the sumptuous Onam feast on a banana leaf. To me, all of these are meant to get us to sail happily towards our goals with renewed vigour.

Being a Keralite, Onam is special to me. It was then normal for families and/or friends to get together on this special day and enjoy the traditional meal called sadhya. Since that's not possible today, most of our gatherings are through social media apps. Hence it's no surprise that storage space in our mobiles is all used up by greetings and messages from family and friends.

Most Onam messages have a positive tone; so I don't mind reading them. Some are not messages but old Malayalam songs describing the beauty of Onam. These songs take me on a nostalgic trip to my school and college days back in Kerala. Those days, during the Onam holidays, these popular songs would be playing everywhere on the streets, and I was carried away to all those places where I would stand and listen to these beautiful numbers. Those lyrics penned by the great Malayam poets, beautifully tuned by the finest composers of that time, and mesmerisingly rendered by the soulful singers remain evergreen in my mind.

Since most of us receive so many greetings, it is but natural to ignore what is mentioned in the pre-designed online greetings considering them as mere forwards and not specially directed to us. All we see are the words 'Happy Onam' and we quickly respond...'Same to you'!

For me, the Onam pookalam (traditional flower design) is not a simple colourful arrangement of flowers laid out in front of a house. Poova in Malayalam means flower and kalam means colour sketches on the ground. And many of the greetings that come along with the pookalam image are very creative and positive. One said: “May your life be decorated like a 'pookalam”.  Isn’t it beautiful to visualize our life like a pookalam, colourful and vibrant?

Onam is also celebrated as the start of the harvest season. And this message from a friend was rejuvenating. It said, “Onam wishes for a wonderful harvest of your deeds at all times. May you reap a wonderful harvest of relationships and happiness.” All of us aim for a life that is bright and colourful. We perform deeds to make relationships stronger and remain happy.  And these Onam messages give us those sparks to give us a nice feel about life. 

Boat races have always been a part of Onam celebrations in Kerala. To win that race, all team members in a boat must sail in harmony. Some of the greetings depicted these boats and said, “Onam wishes to you to sail in harmony towards your goal.” The lighting of a lamp in the centre of the pookalam is another ritual. One message I received said: “Let the twinkling lights from the lamp fill your life with happiness and joy." Both these messages gave me the feeling that everyone should try and sail past all that is happening around us now with renewed vigour and brighten up our lives like the light from the lamp.

Onam celebrations mark the first month (Chingam) of the Malayalam calendar. For those who could not hold on to their New Year resolutions in January, this can be the time to try again. Many Onam messages also come with the image of a traditional spread called sadhya served on a banana leaf. 

All in all, I believe every Onam message is meant to lift up our spirits, be it the flower decoration, the lighted lamp, the boat race representing action, or the food with its variety. Can the word ONAM  be considered as a reminder of  Our Numerous Accomplishable  Motivations?