IT’S THE SEASON OF ONAM, RAKSHABANDHAN

By Tara Narayan

A SIZEABLE MALAYALEE community in Goa will celebrate Onam this weekend, actually a three-day festival encompassing a number of festive engagements on August 27, 28 and 29. The Malayalee community hails from Kerala although many of it members are as good as rooted in Goa now with their children first or second generation Goans speaking fluent Konkani. Many Malayalees have married into Goan families. But despite the distance from their mother state of Kerala they try to create a festive spirit by celebrating Onam which is a harvest time festival commemorating the golden age of the mythical King Mahabali.

Legand has it that although King Mahabali was a benign king he was also a demon …and in an incident in which he tried to take over every bit of land he was banished to the netherworld by the Lord Vishnu. Many old-timers still believe that King Mahabali returns to Kerala during the festival of Onam and therefore it is a time to welcome him with charming gestures like having a boat race, performing kathakali dances, doing floral patterns in homes (rangoli with flower petals) and partaking of onasadhya i.e. a feast of traditional dishes. Onasadhya is a vegetarian feast featuring common and uncommon favourites such as crisp banana wafers (deep fried in coconut oil), appalam (the favoured pappad or crispie of Kerala), puliyinji which is a ginger chutney or relish; the veggie medley of aviyal, a pachadi of tomato (pachadi is usually curd based), olan (pumpkin and dal curry), kalan (dry dish featuring yam, green banana), milk-based sweets like palada prathaman or payasam. (See box for a recipe for aviyal which is much like the Shravan-time Saraswat Brahmin dish of khatkatem.)

Raksha Bandhan comes on the heels of Onam and is observed widely in the northern states of India. It’s a custom which probably dates back to the times of King Dashrath who had several wives but no children. Legand has it that while out hunting the king shot a young man called Shravan who was by the riverside collecting water for his blind parents to drink…the king had confused him for a deer in the greenery. Shravan dies but when the king offers water to the blind parents they realize it’s not their son Shravan but the king. Nevertheless they curse King Dashrath, something on the lines of “May you too die of a broken heart waiting for your son!” While the king was unhappy his royal astrologers thought that surely now King Dashrath would have children (for the blind couple’s curse to come true). And so Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan were born to King Dashrath but to cut a long story short, Ram and Lakshman later went into exile for 14 years and the king did die of a broken heart.

Somewhere along the way as myth weaves into myth the essence of the legend is that Shravan died because he did not have a sister tying a rakhi around his wrist every year. He might have lived if he had a sister’s prayers, love and affection watching over him! The custom of tying a rakhi around a brother’s wrist is perhaps yet another custom to forge a loving bond between brother and sister…it’s a thought to think about in our times when families break up over trivial differences and there’s little love lost between siblings! But to this day sisters do tie a pretty rakhi on their brother/brothers’ wrist every rakshabandhan and the accompanying rites observed to the best of each sister’s ability be she married or unmarried e.g. a thanksgiving puja for the brother, rakhi tying ceremony, a festive meal with his favourite goodies, and so on.

If only we paid more heed to some of the wise customs of our tradition both in spirit and in practice! We would be better off as a people and a civilization.

NOTE: If anyone would like to relish a sumptuous onasadya in five-star comfort, the only place to head for is the Leela Palace at Cavelossim beach in South Goa. This year, for a change, they’re celebrating Onam with a sit-down dinner featuring the traditional onasadya (priced at Rs.475 vegetarian and Rs.575 non-vegetarian) at their restaurant Jamavar. Wise to book in advance though! Chef Anand Nair who did the Onam spread with distinction for years has been posted out to Bangalore but in his stead there is Chef Vijayan Parakkal. It is worth dropping in at the Leela Palace early enough to enjoy its beautiful gardens.

Back