More on Onam

After the Onam celebrations in our office...

KK: Wow! It feels like Onam is finally here!

Latte: Yea, that is true

Espresso: Yea, so why so sad??

Latte: Because I am in a holiday mood now and tomorrow is a working day!!

Cappuccino: Lazy girl!

Latte grins

KK: So what all plans for Onam, gals? I will be going to my native place

Three gals: Me too…

Cappuccino: Did the Onam shopping? Onakkodi (New clothes that are given as presents for family members) and everything?

KK:Yes, we finished that part..The shops were all so crowded!!! It seemed everyone in the city had become shopaholics!

Espresso: I know! Going to the city is more or less a nightmare now

Latte: For some peace and quiet, we should visit places outside the towns and cities… So tranquil and peaceful…And there Onam celebrations are so different…with Pookkalam (Floral carpet), Thiruvathirakali (a dance form), Pulikkali (another dance form in which people dress up like tigers) and Onasadya (Onam feast with rice, many varieties of curries, payasam (sweet desserts)) … yummy…Here we don’t have time for anything... Too busy running about…

Espresso: Onasadya is one of the best parts of an Onam celebration

KK: And the Pookkalam!

Cappuccino: Yes, of course... The floral carpet we had at our office was simply gorgeous!

Latte: Gosh I remember setting up a pookkalam with flowers from the garden in my grandparents’ house…

KK: Surely we can’t do that now... Nobody has gardens now and the only option is buying flowers…

Espresso: Say, does anybody actually bother putting a pookkalam in their houses nowadays??

Latte: Well..No…Hmm... The competitions and pookkalams at offices and other public places are all that is left…

Cappuccino: And of Onam, the programmes in Asianet channel and the announcements like ‘Thiruvonadina special programmes, sponsored by….” over and over again

KK:Oh well, we can’t do anything about all that! All we can do is enjoy to the maximum, spend some quality time with our families and celebrate the spirit of Onam..

Espresso: And show Mahabali (It is said that Onam is celebrated every year when the great king Mahabali visits Kerala) that we are all very good even now:-)

Cappuccino: O…K..that remains to be seen...

Everyone smiles

A Cuppa Onam

It’s Onam! The festival is right here, right now!!!
Ok…I am overdoing the excitement but then it truly is something to rejoice about. The other day at office we celebrated Onam. And boy! Wasn’t it fun?

All the people in our office came in the traditional Kerala attire – girls in the Kerala Saree and guys in Shirt and Mundu. Of course, there were spoil sports who gallantly walked in, in casuals giving excuses such as ‘I don’t have a matching blouse for my saree’, or ‘I woke up late’ and the worst one, ‘It’s so damn difficult’! Aaargh! If we could, why couldn’t they? Anyway, the loss was all theirs. While we gathered compliments from all directions on how lovely we looked, we could see the kill joys regretting not donning the saree. Haha! That put us at ease (evil laugh)

The sumptuous Onasadya was followed by entertainment programmes that included dumbsharade. But before that we had an ‘introduce yourself’ session for the new employees. Since Latte and I fall into that category, we were to ahem…introduce ourselves (as if no one knows us already ;) )! And it was Expresso’s and Suze’s wicked idea to convert into a mini-ragging session.

We had to pick lots and do whatever stuff was written on that fateful piece of paper. Latte and I luckily escaped with simple stuff such as saying A-Z the reverse order (which I didn’t complete! ‘Grins shamelessly’) and saying Happy Onam in some absurd order, which Latte did. Some people got ‘sing a song’, ‘dance’ etc etc, after watching which Espresso wished she hadn’t come up with the ragging idea in the first place. Ok, I am being mean here. It really was fun.

We also discovered some great talents, such as our new receptionist who looks this meek and sweet girl, but she set the stage on fire with her absolutely delightful mimicry skills. She mimicked male actors and politicians, in a way that would have put even male artists to shame. It was fab. And that is an understatement.

So all in all, it was a day filled with fun and enjoyment. Did I forget to mention the Pookalam (floral carpet)? I think I did. Well, it was all colours, wonderful designs and fragrance. That must give you an idea of how beautiful it was…

So that’s Onam at Over a Cuppa Copy. We have a couple of day’s holiday and will be back with our Onam @ home experiences soon. Till then, it is one big ‘Happy Onam’ wish from all of us to you.

On behalf of Latte, Espresso and KK,

Cappuccino

Have a wonderful Onam folks! :)