Onam Greetings Onam Wallpapers Onam Wishes Onam SMS Onam Messages ഓണം ഓണാശംസകള്‍

 Onam Greetings Onam Wallpapers Onam Wishes Onam SMS Onam Messages

Onam, ഓണം, is a festival celebrated by the people of Kerala, India. The festival commemorates the Vamana avatar of Vishnu and the subsequent homecoming of the legendary Emperor Mahabali. It is the state festival of Kerala and falls during the month of Chingam, August – September, and lasts for ten days. The festival is marked by various festivities, including intricate flower carpets, elaborate banquet lunches, snake boat races, Onappottan, Kaazhchakkula in Guruvayoor, Puli Kali, Kaikottikkali etc.

Onam Legend

Mahabali was the grandson of Prahlada, son of Hiranyakashyapa who was slain by Vishnu in his Narasimha Avatara. Prahlad, despite being an Asura, had great faith in Vishnu. Mahabali learned the act of love and devotion to Lord Vishnu as a child, from Prahlada. 

By traditional beliefs; Parasurama, an incarnation of Vishnu is credited to have founded Kerala. An alternate legend defines Onam as the day on which Parasurama recovered Kerala from the sea-bed by throwing his battle-axe. The axe traveled from Gokarnam in the North to Kanyakumari in the South. This legend is mentioned by Hermann Gundert in his Malayalam Dictionary.

Onam Legacy

Onam comes in the month of "Chingam" which is the first month according to the Malayalam Calendar. People put flower mats in front of their houses, to welcome King Mahabali. There will be competition for the laying of flower mats; Keralites all over the world will be celebrating this ten days with pomp and gaiety. They wear new dresses, visit as many temples as they can, perform dances like Thiruvadhira kali Thumbi Tullal etc. to name a few.

Onam Programmes

The most important things about Onam are the onakkodi, the new clothes worn on this day and onam sadya, a feast which is quite elaborate. This is usually a feast served on banana leaves and serves rice along with at least an array of 4 dishes. Traditional pickles and papadam are also served. Dessert is usually 'payasam', a sweet dish made of milk, sugar and other traditional Indian savories.

Onam is an ancient festival which still survives in modern times. Kerala's rice harvest festival and the Festival of Rain Flowers, which fall on the Malayalam month of Chingam, celebrates the Asura King Mahabali's annual visit from Patala, the underworld. Onam is unique since Mahabali has been revered by the people of Kerala since prehistory and is celebrated by people irrespective of religion.

According to the legend, Kerala witnessed its golden era during the reign of King Mahabali. The Brahma-Vaivarta Puranam explains that Lord Vishnu wanted to curb the pride of Indra; and therefore positioned Mahabali in great power.

The Bhagavata Purana reads "Vishnu will take the kingdom away from Purandara, Lord Indra, and give it to Bali Maharaja."

The subjects under Mahabli's reign was happy and prosperous and the king was highly regarded, so much so that even the gods under Indra became jealous of Mahabali as was intened by Vishnu, and they approached Vishnu claiming that Mahabali is now equivalent to an Indra. Once Vishnu was assured that Indra's pride has been contained and that a world with two Indras represents imbalance, Vishnu assumed the form of a dwarf: Vamana. Vamana requested three steps of land for him to live in. Given a promise of three steps of land by King Mahabali against the warning given by his Guru Sukracharya, Vamana, enlarged himself to such dimensions as to stride over the three worlds. He had grown so huge that he could step from heaven to earth, and earth to the lower worlds in two simple steps. King Mahabali unable to fulfill the promise of three paces of land to the Supreme God, offers his head for the third step. Thus, Vamana places his foot on King Mahabali's head and sends him down to the netherworld. Being worshipped however, by Mahabali, and his ancestor Prahláda, he conceded to them the sovereignty of Pátála, netherworld.

However, as Mahabali was equivalent to Indra, he had to wait until the next Yuga where he would be the Indra. In the meantime, with the grace of Vishnu, Mahabali visited his people on an annual basis. Vishnu served Mahabali as a gatekeeper in Patala as the Lord himself serves his greatest devotees.

It is this visit of Mahabali that is celebrated as Onam every year. People celebrate the festival in a grand way and impress upon their dear King that they are happy and wish him well.

The rich cultural heritage of Kerala comes out in its best form and spirit during the ten-day festival. The central feature of Onam is the grand feast called Onasadya, prepared on Thiruonam. It is a nine-course meal consisting of 11 to 13 essential dishes. Onasadya is served on banana leaves and people sit on a mat laid on the floor to have the meal.

Another popular feature of Onam is Vallamkali, the Snake Boat Race, held on the Pamba River, in which decorative boats oared by hundreds of boatmen race amidst chanting of songs and cheering by spectators and viewers.

There is also a tradition to play games, collectively called Onakalikal, on Onam. Men go in for rigorous sports like Talappanthukali, played with a ball, Ambeyyal (Archery), Kutukutu and combats called Kayyankali and Attakalam. Women indulge in cultural activities. They make intricately designed flower mats called, Pookalam in the front courtyard of the house to welcome King Mahabali. Kaikotti kali and Thumbi Thullal are two dances performed by women on Onam. Folk performances like Kummatti kali and Pulikali add to the zest of celebrations.

Mahabali's rule is considered the golden era of Kerala. The following song is often sung over Onam: “ Maveli nadu vaneedum kalam, manusharellarum onnupole amodhathode vasikkum kalam apathangarkkumottillathanum kallavum illa chathiyumilla ellolamilla polivachanam kallapparayum cherunazhiyum kallatharangal mattonnumilla adhikal vyadhikalonnumilla balamaranangal kelppanilla"

 

(Translation) “When Maveli ruled the land, All the people were equal. And people were joyful and merry; They were all free from harm. There was neither anxiety nor sickness, Deaths of children were unheard of, There were no lies, There was neither theft nor deceit, And no one was false in speech either. Measures and weights were right; No one cheated or wronged his neighbor. When Maveli ruled the land, All the people formed one casteless races”

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Rajapattai (2012) Tamil Movie Song MP3 Promo Track

Rajapattai, ராஜபாட்டை, King's path, is a 2012 Tamil action-masala film directed by Suseenthiran based on a story by Seenu Vasan., Featuring Vikram and Deeksha Seth in the lead roles and music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, the film is being produced by Prasad V. Potluri's newly-launched PVP Cinema on a budget of INR 39 crores.[3] The story revolves around the issue of land grabbing and how the protagonist becomes involved in it.

Rajapattai is currently in its production stage and scheduled for a release on 23 December 2011. The film is also planned to be dubbed and released in Telugu as Veedinthe.

Directed by Suseenthiran
Produced by Prasad V. Potluri
Screenplay by Suseenthiran, Bhaskar Sakthi (dialogues)
Story by Seenu Vasan
Starring Vikram, K. Vishwanath, Deeksha Seth
Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja
Cinematography R. Madhi
Editing by Mu. Kasi Viswanathan
Studio PVP Cinema
Distributed by Gemini Film Circuit[1]
Release date(s) December 23, 2011[2]
Country India
Language Tamil
Budget INR39 crore (US$7.91 million)

Casting

Reports suggested that the film would depict the relationship between a grandfather, played by K. Vishwanath and his grandson played by Vikram. Furthermore, the film was supposed to feature Vikram in dual roles as father and son, however the news was denied by sources, which confirmed that Vikram was to essay dual roles initially, but since the script had been reworked, he would play only one character. Vikram was revealed to play a gym instructor who aspires to become a noted stunt double in the film industry, with the makers adding that his character had negative shades. In March 2011, Deeksha Seth confirmed her presence in the film, citing that she would portray the leading female role of an IT professional. For a parallel lead female role, Amala Paul was signed on, but was forced to pull out due to schedule problems. Mithra Kurian was then supposedly signed on for the film for her second big Tamil venture after Kaavalan, after discussions with Abhinaya were unsuccessful. Pradeep Rawat, best known for his performance in Ghajini, was selected to play the main antagonist in the film. Actresses Shriya Saran and Reemma Sen, who had both worked together with Vikram earlier, were roped in to perform an item number together, after attempts to sign Hansika Motwani, who was reportedly offered INR 1.2 crores for the role, had failed.[34] In late October, National Film Award-winner Thambi Ramaiah as well as cinematographer-turned-actor Aruldass, who had also essayed a pivotal role in the director's Naan Mahaan Alla, were roped in for other supporting roles. Suseenthiran also confirmed that he would rejoin with the Naan Mahaan Alla crew, with Yuvan Shankar Raja, R. Madhi and Mu. Kasi Viswanathan taking care of the music, cinematography and editing, respectively.

Cast

• Vikram as Anal Murugan
• K. Vishwanath
• Deeksha Seth
• Pradeep Rawat
• Avinash
• Thambi Ramaiah
• Mayilsamy
• Aruldass
• Shriya Saran in a special appearance
• Reemma Sen in a special appearance
• Saloni Aswani in a special appearance

Filming

Filming began in June 2011, with the first schedule, during which filming was held in and around Chennai, lasting for 60 days. In August 2011, the first song was shot for five days in Mahabalipuram, with Vikram, Deeksha Seth and fifty back-up dancers participating. The team subsequently shot scenes in a set worth INR 40 lakhs that was erected at the Island Grounds, Chennai, while the next schedule was to be shot in Thiruvannaamalai and Pondicherry. In October 2011, filming was held near the Ramachandra Medical College in Chennai. Few days later, the crew was shooting a song and several stunt sequences near Karaikudi, and later in Kumbakonam. The climax scene that was canned for eight days at the Binny Mills in Chennai, had reportedly cost approximately INR 3 crores. During the last week of October and early November, Saloni Aswani, who had previously starred in Madurai Veeran, was shooting for the song "Villadhi Villain" along with Vikram at the AVM Studios, Chennai. The item number, featuring Shriya Saran and Reemma Sen, was initially to be filmed in Japan, however, since Suseenthiran was not satisfied with the locations, he decided to can it in Stucco, Italy.  

Rajapattai - 01 - Podi Paiyan Pola.mp3 

 

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