The famous Uthrattathi Vallam Kali (boat race) on River Pampa in Aranmula, Pathanamthitta and the traditional Pulikkali (Dance of the Tigers) at Thrissur, the State’s cultural Capital, on Monday marked the conclusion of this year’s Onam festival celebrations in Kerala which began with the colourful Athachamayam procession at Thrippunithura near Kochi on August 19.
Monday also saw the conclusion of the Government-organised week-long official Onam celebrations with a procession depicting the cultural grandeur of God’s Own Country, in Thiruvananthapuram. At Hindu homes, the end of the Onam season was marked with the removal of clay-made idols of legendary King Mahabali on Monday evening.
Though the spirit of Onam was marred to an extent on the main festival day, Thiruvonam on Friday, by the by the killing of a BJP activist and CPI(M) worker and the unfortunate incidents of CPI(M)-BJP clashes that erupted subsequently in several places, Malayalees celebrated the festival with minds brimming with nostalgia and joy.
Bars across the State — except those at five-star hotels — had remained closed as part of the Government’s pro-Prohibition policy but that did not disappoint revelers and the proof of this was evident from the serpentine queues seen at the retail liquor outlets. liquor sale through retail shops on Thiruvonam day registered a huge leap compared to that on Thiruvonam 2014.
On Monday, more than 3,000 persons, talented and skilled in various art forms, participated in the cultural procession that took place in Thiruvananthapuram marking the conclusion of the official Onam celebrations which were held with programmes presented at 22 venues in the State Capital in the past seven days.