Onam: The many ways Keralam celebrates
The Onam we know falls in the first month of the Malayalam calendar year, Chingam. Starting on Atham day, it is celebrated for ten days, culminating on Thiruvonam. The festival pivots around the arrival of the benevolent Asura ruler, King Mahabali, amid a dazzle of pookkalams, sadyas and payasams. But beyond this popular narrative, there…