Onam Celebrations in a Housing Society – Some Basic Tips
Apartment, Apartment Owners Association, Articles, Community Living, Housing Society hindu festivals, Housing Society, housing society events, housing society knowhow, kerala, kochi, Onam, Onam Celebrations, pookkalamOnam Arrangements in a Housing Society
You can get your friends and other residents together this Onam by organizing some group activities that you can run by the apartment association team, before you carry them out.
- Make Pookkalam or Floral Arrangements
One of the key features of this festival is the intricately designed floral Rangoli which is spotted at the entranceway of all houses. In a housing society, you can hold a competition among all residents during the festive season Onam.
Instead of plucking the flowers from the premises (for use in these rangoli), the housing society can arrange for the wholesale purchase of flowers which serves as an efficient cost cutting solution.
- Organize Various Games
The highlight of Onam and probably the most enjoyable part about the festival is the numerous outdoor games that are played during Onam in Kerala. Organize games such as Talappanthukali (a ball game), Kayyankali (a one-to-one fight) and Ambeyyal (A form of archery) and youngsters can participate in these games.
- Host a Tradition Onam Meal
On Onam, people come together and feast on mouth-watering delicacies. The housing society can organize a potluck feast, where each family is in charge of making a particular traditional dish. The delicious food items are served and eaten on banana leaves.
The meals are grand and sometimes more than 13 to 15 curries are served in addition to the regular items. Once you get all residents to participate, there’ll be a lot of variety as far as the dishes are concerned. An Onam feast is incomplete without the traditional pickles and papadam!
- Organize Traditional Dances
You can also try and arrange for various dance groups to perform within the premises of the housing society during the festival of Onam. Kaikotti Kali is a dance form performed by eight to twelve women who wear the traditional Kerala Saris and dance around a holy lamp called the Deepam.
Pulikali is traditional dance where the performers paint themselves in red, yellow and black symbolizing a tiger. The residents can join in with the dancers and enjoy an evening full of merriment. While bringing in dancers and other outsiders, though, security measures must be tight and beefed up.
- Have a Firework Show
During the festival, lamps are lit in all houses and temples and the sky comes alive with a vibrant display of fireworks. With the help of the other residents, you can arrange for a firework display in your housing society and the money for this can be collected in a common way.
- Set Up Shopping Stalls
Shopping for new attire and furniture is another key feature of the festival of Onam. Try and talking to the apartment management and see if you can allow various traders and stores to set up stalls within the premises selling traditional Onam attire and other accessories, for the convenience of the families.
Onam is no longer a festival that’s restricted to malayalis – there are many people who follow the festival thanks to its vibrant nature. With the above mentioned tips, you can conduct a memorable Onam event in your housing society.
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