Almost 4 weeks back the feverish excitement was missing; it was yet to take shape. Dark clouds of doubt hung above the mallus (malayalis shortened!) gathered to discuss the viability of the Onam celebration. Faces were half smiling at each other with eyes echoing disappointment.
But as the mood swung towards making the celebration happen, the smiles were displayed more freely. The non stop chatter was clear evidence that we were taking it forward.
Plans materialised as if by magic. Practise sessions fell in place. And from just a couple of songs and a kaikottikali (traditional dance from Kerala danced by ladies of the house) planned, the repertoire swelled to include a programme each by almost all age groups! Weren't we happy at the turn of events!!!
Onam happened. Everyone ate sadhya (traditional lunch served on banana leaves) at their own houses. But the excitement was nowhere near depletion. We now had just 2 weeks to go for Onam @ Sarovar.
That was when the jitters started. Costumes to plan. Dances to be mastered. Duets to be planned. Shamiana, sadhya, tickets, backdrop.... The list seemed unending.
But new hands miraculously appeared to help out the old hands!!! And suddenly it was a full fledged event management company at work. Thanks to whatsapp and Facebook, the meetings happened without physical presence being mandatory. Of course a lot of people suffered from aching thumbs from all that texting!!
Practise sessions got noisier. The list of things to do got shorter. And September 21 was just around the corner.
20th evening the flowers arrived and the pookalam took shape with the many mankas (young ladies) lending a hand.
The tharavad (ancestral house) on the backdrop transformed the hall into a piece of nostalgic memory of our ancestral houses in Kerala, that each of us fondly carry in our hearts. The hammer knocking the nails brought us back to reality and the work to be completed.
Morning dawned bright and dissipated our worries about the sadhya that was about to be served out on the lawn. The mankas lined their eyes with kanmashi (kajal) and placed round pottus (bindis) on their foreheads just below the Chandana kuri (sandal marking). The jasmine in their hair mingled with the fragrance of sandalwood and declared the festivities open to the guests!
The doe eyed girls dressed in pavada and adorned with giggles, brightened up the place. The men in matching beige Kurtas and mundu (dhoti) vied with the mankas in cream and gold and pink mundum veshtis (traditional costume of malayali women).
The audience settled down to the tunes of an Onappaattu. The applause slowed down to the beats of the kaikottikali song being played. The mankas danced around the vilakku in synchronised rhythm.
The next set of entertainers were the tiny kind. Boys and girls in sequinned clothes danced to the latest malayalam hit - "maangalyam thanthunanenaa". They left the audience wishing the song were a wee bit longer with their endearing dance moves.
Strains of malayalam hits like 'pazhan thamizh paatu' from mani chithrathaazh and 'rajahamsame' from chamayam struck a chord with the audience and made sure they stayed put. The older boys spiked up the adrenalin levels with their lively dance set to a medley of hindi, malayalam and tamil songs.
Then it was the turn of the mankas to pep up the events with a folksy song - a foot tapping number about a village belle. The girls with glowing diyas performed a graceful and semi-classical dance to 'shashikala charthiya' from the movie Devaragam. When the tinkling of their bells died down a few more duets in Tamil and malayalam set the tempo back on track.
The audience round was a pleasant twist to the morning's programme. A few from the audience volunteered to sing songs; some were in malayalam, to our delight. Another semi classical dance performed by two beautiful mankas to the tamil song, 'chennai sendhamizh' was followed by a solo performance by an extremely talented budding dancer who awakened the dandiya spirit a bit early, dancing to 'nagada sang dhol baaje' from ramleela.
The tempo touched crescendo with the 'anthikadappurathu' song again from the movie chamayam. And before the clapping could die down, the group song, 'kuttanadan punjayile' echoed in the hall. Even the audience joined in with the chorus. That was a befitting end to the morning.
Of course the celebration would not end until the sadhya on banana leaves laden with traditional malayali fare had filled all the guests' stomachs.
Malayalis have a knack of feeling at home wherever we are. And we just proved that all over again that beautiful morning in Hyderabad!
