Onam

Yesterday – September 15 – was Onam, a traditional holiday in Kerala that celebrates the harvest, as well as the beginning of the new year according to Kerala’s traditional calendar. In honor of this holiday, children are let out of school (the college has been closed for 10 days), all women and girls purchase new saris or salwar sets, and families come together to enjoy a great feast. We were blessed to have an opportunity to celebrate as a group. But before I go into that, there is more to Onam that you should know.

The story goes like this: A long time ago, there was a great king who ruled Kerala. He was benevolent and gracious, and the people of Kerala (Malayalis) thrived under his rule. After some time, however, one of the gods became very jealous of the popularity of this king. The jealous god decided to do something about this, so he came to speak to the king.

The god asked the king to give him whatever he could cover in three steps. Thinking that was hardly anything at all, the king agreed to the request of the god. So the god took his three steps. With the first step, he covered the entire earth; with the second, he covered all of the heavens. And when it came time to take the third step, the only thing that was left to cover was the great king’s head. The god put his foot on the king’s head and pushed him down, ending his era of rule.

Before the king was gone, he made one last request: that he would be allowed to visit his people once every year. The god agreed, so each year the king revisits the Malayalis. (This is why the women and girls purchase new outfits; they must look their best for the king).

The actual celebration of Onam goes on for three days, and the dates change each year because Kerala’s traditional calendar does not have 365 days. This year the dates were September 14, 15, and 16, but September 15 was the most important day. This is the day that the king actually comes. On the day the king comes, the world of Kerala changes drastically. There is, for once, no one in the streets. Normally, you fear for your life every time you walk on the road, not to mention cross the road; but on this second day of Onam, the streets are deserted. All shops are closed, as well, just as they would be on Christmas. And on this day, families (or a big group of American volunteers) come together to share a great feast.

The feast consists of four courses – all different types of vegetarian curries, which you eat in order. I don’t remember now what each one was, but I remember that each one got better! You eat each curry, of course, with rice. But there is so much more. There are at least two vegetable sides, which you can eat separately or mix in with the curries. There are several different chutneys, which also add to the flavor of the curries. Along with that, there are several kinds of chips. We had banana chips; these are salty, not sweet. We had tapioca chips, which are much like potato chips; this is actually no surprise if you know that tapioca and potatoes are both root plants. And we had another type of root chip that was, again, like a potato chip. My favorite thing – and I mean favorite since I’ve been here, not just favorite of the Onam feast – are these little banana slices, dried and covered in a wonderfully sweet sugary sauce. I don’t know what they are called, but I’m going to have to find out because I don’t know if I can live without them now that I know they exist. So yummy!!!

But that wasn’t even all. To top off the meal, we had payasam. This is a pudding-like dessert that has been a favorite of the volunteers since we got here (Kochamma made it a couple times the first week). It can be made with cow’s milk (white payasam), or it can be made with coconut milk (brown payasam). A really big deal is made of payasam in Kerala. I hope to learn to make it so we can all enjoy it at home. I’ll be the rage of all potlucks! It was a lovely, lovely meal.

But wait, I’m still not done. I think my absolute favorite part of the Onam feast – ok, besides those ginger banana slices I mentioned – didn’t have anything to do with the actual food at all, but with the fact that they serve the entire meal on a banana leaf.