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FESTIVALS ||||| ONAM<br />
Kerala’s scenic backwaters come alive with snake boat pageants and races during Onam.<br />
ODE TO THE KING<br />
COME MONSOON AND KERALA TURNS INTO A PHANTASMAGORIA OF COLOURS,<br />
FLAVOURS, RITUALS AND CULTURAL PERFORMANCES FOR 10 DAYS COINCIDING<br />
WITH ITS BIGGEST AND MOST IMPORTANT FESTIVAL OF ONAM. BY BRINDA GILL<br />
Ask any Keralite when<br />
one should visit the<br />
state, and the reply will<br />
invariably be “during<br />
Onam”. Kerala’s biggest<br />
and most important festival coincides<br />
with the harvest season, and is<br />
celebrated for 10 days throughout the<br />
state by all communities, with rituals,<br />
festive meals, new clothes, snake boat<br />
races, cultural programmes and what<br />
have you. As Onam falls in August or<br />
September during the monsoon, “God’s<br />
own country” turns into a kaleidoscope<br />
of blues and greens, making it a very<br />
pleasant time to visit the state.<br />
Legend has it that ages ago, King<br />
Mahabali, an illustrious and benevolent<br />
106 ||||| SEPTEMBER <strong>2016</strong>
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