Sunday is Onam and so Happy Onam to everyone. To the uninitiated, a little background on the festival - thanks to Wikipedia and other sources.
Onam (Malayalam: ഓണം) is a festival celebrated by the people of the state of Kerala (where I hail from) in India. It is also the State Festival of Kerala.
The festival falls during the Malayalam month of Chingam (Aug - Sep) and marks the commemoration of the 17th incarnation of Lord MahaVishnu namely Vamana (dwarf) and the subsequent homecoming of the mythical King Mahabali (lovingly called Maveli by Malayalees), who Malayalees consider as the ideal King. In Kerala, it is the festival celebrated with a variety of cultural elements such as Vallam Kali (boat race), Pulikkali (tiger dance), Pookkalam (decoration with flowers), Onathappan, Kazhchakkula,
Atthachamayam etc. Onam is reminiscent of Kerala's agrarian past, as it is considered to be a harvest festival.
While on the subject of agrarian past and harvest festivals, one cannot but think or talk about conservation and how it affects the indigenous peoples, when conservation is taken to the extreme levels, without a due thought process.
Tarzan, in this daily strip provided by Emile, gives us all a beautiful lesson on conservation, while not putting the life of the tribals in danger.
Download the original link from Emile here and enjoy.
