Malayalees recreate Onam celebrations again

Nashik: A week after Thiru Onam, city-based Malayalees recreated the mood again on Saturday evening for all those who missed the celebrations with a community gathering and cultural events.
Beautiful flower carpets, people in traditional Malyalee attires and worship of King Mahabali followed by a feast of Malyalee delicacies were the highlights of the occasion.
"This year, Thiru Onam was celebrated across the country on September 14.Looking at the convenience of the community members, we held a function on Saturday. Along with thousands of community members, Malayalee celebrities, stars and singers also attended the function," general secretary of the Nashik Malyalee Cultural Association Suresh Babu said.
Organized at Mauli Lawns, DGP Nagar, the Onam celebrations began with worshipping King Mahabali. After which, the children and youths of the Malayalee community gave cultural performances and enjoyed the traditional feast, Sadhya.
The main attraction for the youths was a person who was dressed as King Mahabali, as they took selfies with him.
There are 680 Malayalee families in Nashik city alone. Including the residents of Deolali, Nashik Road and other adjacent towns, the Malayalee population is over 4,000.
The newly opened Lord Ayyappa Temple at Satpur also remained a special place of worship this Onam. "Shri Ayappa Seva Samajam Trust has finished the construction work of the Lord Ayyappa temple at Satpur and inaugurated it recently. This Onam celebration also aimed to spread awareness about the new temple in the city," convener of the trust Girishan Nair said.
Meanwhile, the Nashik temple is being constructed on the lines of the famous Shabarimala temple which also has idols of Lord Gopalkrishna.
Malyalees in Nashik celebrated their biggest festival of Thiru Onam on Saturday, a week later the original date, and re-created the Onam mood with community gathering and cultural events. Beautiful floral carpets; people in traditional Malyalee attires, and worship of King Mahabali followed by a mass feast of typical Malyalee delicacies were the special features of this celebration.
"This year Thiru Onam was celebrated across the country on September 14. Looking at the convenience of the community members, we decided to hold the community function on Saturday. Malyalee celebrities, stars and singers are attending this function along with thousands of localites," said Suresh Babu, general secretary of Nashik Malyalee Cultural Association. The celebrations were organized at Mauli Lawns, DGP Nagar on Saturday evening.
The Onam celebrations began with the traditional worship of King Mahabali. Children and youths of Malayalee community gave cultural performances and later enjoyed a mass feast. A person dressed as King Mahabali was the centre of attraction for youths. They took selfies along with King Mahabali and also enjoyed the Malayalee delicacies with him.
There are 680 families of Malayalees in Nashik city only. Including the residents of Deolali, Nashik Road and other adjacent towns, the Malayalee population is more than 4,000.
While the cultural gathering received overwhelming response, the newly opened Lord Ayyappa Temple at Satpur remained a special place of worship this Onam. "Shri Ayappa Seva Samajam Trust completed the construction work of Lord Ayyappa temple at Satpur. This temple was inaugurated recently. The Onam celebrations also aim to spread awareness about the new temple in the city," said Girishan nair, Convener of the trust. The temple in Nashik is being constructed on the lines of the famous Shabarimala temple having idols of Lord Gopalkrishna, apart from Lord Ayyappa.