Women design Pookalam during Onam celebrations at Kairali School. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Sept. 14: Malayalis in the city celebrated their bit of Onam today — two days after the original festival took place in Kerala and elsewhere.

Most members of the community were busy working when people in Kerala were celebrating their most important festival on September 12.

The community had to cut short the 10-day celebration to one-day. They wished each-other “belated” happy Onam.

Most Malayalis were getting nostalgic about the Onam celebration in Kerala. They missed the family get-together, Onasadya (Onam feast), the flower art , pookalam and boat race back home.

About 400 members of Malayali Association, Ranchi marked the Onam festival. The association organised a variety of cultural programmes on the premises of Kairali School.

Onam is predominantly a harvest festival. According to a popular legend, the festival is celebrated to welcome King Mahabali.

Some female members of the association wore traditional white saris (setmundu) with golden border on it while men were sporting white dhotis (mundu) with golden border.

Women made beautiful pookalam on that occasion.

However, the second generation Malayalis residing in the city seems to be little interested in the traditional dresses as many of them could be seen wearing casuals.

“I am born and brought up in Ranchi and have never been to Kerala but can tell you from my own experience that the new generation knows little about the festival and is losing interest in it, ” said Vina Verghese, a student of St Xavier’s college.

Unlike more than 30 items prepared on Onam in Kerala, people had to satisfy themselves with fewer food items dished out by the association.

Nevertheless, members were happy as the organisation served food on tender banana leaves unlike last year when they could arrange only plastic banana leaves.

General secretary of the association, G.R.K. Nair said: “We are celebrating the festival for last few years to connect the new generation Malayalis of the capital city to their roots.”