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/