Onam And Its Many Stories

Homecoming

Dear readers,

Good morning and happy Sunday! Onam is in full swing, including right here in Coimbatore, where I’m writing this email from. Universities, colleges, and companies are hosting celebrations, and restaurants have been serving the traditional Sadya (a lavish lunch) all week long.

We initially planned to send out an email about our weekend issue, but I thought, why not talk about Onam itself? There are plenty of versions of the festival’s origins, but here’s one of the most popular:

• King Mahabali, the much-loved and benevolent ruler of Kerala, had a prosperous reign that eventually worried the gods.

• So, Lord Vishnu, disguised as Vamana, asked Mahabali for three paces of land. When Mahabali agreed, Vamana grew and covered the heavens and earth in two steps. For the third, Mahabali offered his head, which led him to the patal lok.

• Impressed by his humility, Vishnu granted him the blessing to visit Kerala once a year—and this homecoming is what is celebrated as Onam.

There are other versions of this story too. If you know a different one, we’d love to hear it!

And for today, we’ve put together some articles that explore the festival’s history and its many interpretations. We have pieces by Aravindan and Venu, along with a gem from our 1976 archives. And don’t miss this podcast we recorded last year, where Aravindan and Sharan discuss the politics behind Onam and whether it’s a Dravidian festival.

This makes for a nice Sunday reading and listening, it's a crisp 15 minute podcast.

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Until next time,

Raghu