POOKALAM DESIGNS FLOWERS

By : http://www.rangolidesigns.net/

Onam is the harvest festival of

Kerala, one of the states in the

southern most tip of India It is

celebrated by all, irrespective of

caste, creed & religion.

Onam is said to commemorate

King Mahabali's visit. Pookalam

is an intricate and colourful

arrangement of flowers laid on

the floor.

Tradition of decorating Pookalam

extremely popular in Kerala.

It is followed as a ritual in every

house and families during ten-

days of the Onam celebrations.

It is a time of great festivity. People deck themselves in all their finery, prepare lavish meals, make by Jay (intricate designs filled with flowers as the one shown above), have special games and boat races.

'Pookhalam' consists of two words, 'poov' meaning flower and 'kalam' means colour sketches on the ground.

It is considered auspicious to prepare Pookalam, also known as 'Aththa-Poo' during the festival of Onam.

People believe the spirit of their dear King Mahabali visits Kerala at the time of Onam.

Besides making several other arrangements, people, especially adolescent girls prepare elaborate Pookalams to welcome their most loved King.

Lots of flowers, dedication,

creativity, technique and team

effort are the basic need to

create an eye catching

Pookkalam.

Athapoovu are circular in shape and multi-tiered with the colourful arrangements of flowers, petals and leaves.

You cannot use powder colors, desiccated coconut or artificial flowers.

Pookalams are created on the front court yard of the house. Idols of Mahabali and Vishnu are placed in the center of the Pookalam and worshiped.

Diameter of a Pookalam normally ranges from four to five meters.

Designing starts from the day of

Atham and is made ready by

Thiruvonam day.

Basic design is prepared on the

first day.

Size of a Pookalam is increased

by adding more to it on every

passing day hence a massive

Pookalam gets ready for the

main day of the occasion.

Different flowers are used on

each day because a specific

flower is dedicated to each day

of Onam.

The most used flowers are Thumba (Lucas Aspera), Kakka Poovu, Thechipoovu, Mukkutti (little tree plant), Chemparathy (shoe flower), Aripoo or Konginipoo (Lantana), Hanuman Kireedom (Red pagoda plant) and Chethi (Ixora).

Of all these flowers, among

these flowers Thumba flowers

are given more importance in

Pookalam as they are small in

size and glitter in the the soft

rays of the sun.

'Thumba Poo' is also considered

to be the favourite flower of

Lord Shiva and King Mahabali

was a devout worshipper of

Shiva.

On the next day of Onam, Thumba flowers are used to decorate Onapookalam. The arrangement is not touched for the next 15 days.

On the 15 th day, called 'Ayilyam', click here, Pookalam is decorated again.

On the next day,

called Magam,Pookalam is

given a cut in its four corners

with a knife. This marks the end

of Pookalam decorations for the

year.

Some also follow the tradition of

erecting a small pandal over the

completed flower carpet and

decorating it with colourful

festoons.

Creation of Pookalam is itself a

colourful and joyous event.

Focusing on team effort it helps

to generate feeling of

togetherness and goodwill

amongst the people.

It is very amazing to watch women when they are preparing Pookalam while singing traditional songs also giggling and sharing jokes between the thought provoking and back breaking job.

Thanks

CREDIT : http://www.rangolidesigns.net/