Wednesday, September 14, 2005

happy onam to all

sept 13

onam, the big harvest festival of kerala hindus, when all wear new clothes, traditionally gold-bordered off-white. and celebrate the annual return of mahabali to see his subjects.

38 comments:

prasank said...

Happy Onam to all

J Akshay Iyer said...

Wish you too a happy onam.

Anonymous said...

I'm an Indian Malayali Christian (in that order), who has been celebrating Onam for the last 30 years. Didn't know it was a festival of Malayali Hindus alone. This new information doesn't stop me from celebrating Onam this year also, though.

Anonymous said...

Anyway the correct order should be Indian-Malayali-Hindu-Christian, JII. Basically we are all hindus by blood, but some follow other faiths which are the legacy of foreign rule and conversion terrorism (Thanks to fanatics like John dayals, it still continues).

Of course Onam IS a hindu festival, see the number of temples celebrating and honoring our (hindu) art forms, dance and other rituals. Be proud of it, gentleman. Are there any Church in kerala or elsewhere participating & celebrating onam at least by putting 'athappoo'(floral arrangement)? Does any hindu-x-ian home light the 'nila-vilakku'(lamp) with flowers? But there are many hindu homes which put a star during x-mas, knowing fully well it's a non-hindu festival! Having said that, it shouldnt stop the tolerant hindus following other faiths, from basking in the rich harvest festival of their ancestors by inviting Lord Mahabali into their homes. Have a great Onam and enjoy a wonderful sadya.

Happy Onam to all.

Anonymous said...

Onam IS a Hindu festival. Christians are free to celebrate it, but it is not their festival.

Unknown said...

Rajeev, you are wrong. I know you do a lot of non-hindu bashing, but there are limits to it. Onam is not exclusively Hindu. It is celebrated by all. Onam is a festival of Kerala. There is no religious tones to it. It celebrates Mahabali visiting his subjects. His reign is said to have been the most blissful times the land has ever had, and his subjects await him every year.

I agree that the non-hindu community in Kerala is increasingly moving away from celebrating it, but that doesn't change the fact that Onam is for all.

By the way, i am a Keralite, a brahmin and very much pro-hindu. So what iam saying is with a good understanding of the lands legends, myth, history, and culture. Ellavarkum ente Onashamsakal

Anonymous said...

Sankar, I have so many Christian friends who celebrate Onam.

Anonymous said...

Christians celebrate Onam, just as westernized Indians celebrate Christmas. This does not change the fact that Onam IS a Hindu festival and Christmas is a christian festival.

Anonymous said...

Happy Onam to you Rajeev and other Hindus and Hindus alone!

Fence out the marxists and neutralised idiots who claim "all religions are the same".

I see the same pathetic attempt at misappropriating our ethos,culture and symbols by children of a "special god",a god so special, that he forgot to create the Sun and Sunday(a rest day!)and hurriedly created them when he plunged into darkness!

Remember how some churchian nincompoops claim "Thiruvachakam"has got nothing to do with "Saivam"(sic)?

Mahabali's reign was bountiful as Sri MahaVishnu in His ThriVikrama Avatharam blessed the former by placing His "Thiruppadham"(Holy Foot)on his head.

The churchians should concentrate on hastening their journey to their familiar heaven teeming with their poops(oops!popes).

Heard the story of a cat which branded itself to look like a tiger?

Anonymous said...

Ellavarkum ente sneham niranja onashamsakal. Happy onam to all fellow Indians who celebrate it.

Anonymous said...

Christians have a habit of stealing other peoples' culture. They stole the Druids' Winter Solstice celebration and called it Christmas.

Eventually they will say Onam is a celebration of the mythical arrival of their St. Thomas in India.

Nobody has any objection to Christians celebrating Onam. But they have already appropriated Kerala Hindu architecture and Kerala Hindu cuisine as 'traditional Kerala architecture' and 'traditional Kerala cuisine'. So it is time to put a stop to this cultural theft on their part.

Non-Hindus and the anti-Hindu Kerala government (dominated by either Christians or Marxists) have decimated Kerala Hindu culture. Christians have been stealing the land as well as money from temples.

Onam is a Hindu festival. How many Christians worship Vamanan/Mahavishnu? Christmas is a Christian festival because they worship Christ.

Brahmins don't have any monopoly on Hinduism, certainly not in Kerala. Brahmins have been at the forefront of Marxism and the destruction of Hinduism. A good example is E M S Namboothiripad. Another is V R Krishna Iyer.

Anonymous said...

Happy Onam to all......
and you too Rajeev..

Sameer

Anonymous said...

Rajeev, you are wrong. I know you do a lot of non-hindu bashing, but there are limits to it. Onam is not exclusively Hindu. It is celebrated by all. Onam is a festival of Kerala.

Mr Kashyap, somehow I have a strange feeling that you are a malayali x-ian fanatic who occasionally disguise as 'high-caste hindus' to manipulate facts. As many kerala journalists (x-ian fundementalists) in Manorama, Deepika, Mangalam with hindu names! But remember, what Rajeev did is nothing compared to years of campaign of hatred and lies by the Christian controlled kerala media to bash hindus, their saints and even to destroy and loot their temples

By the way, i am a Keralite, a brahmin and very much pro-hindu. So what iam saying is with a good understanding of the lands legends, myth, history, and culture.

No learned brahmin or for that matter any educated hindu, talks so arrogantly like a fanatic sunday-school educated kerala x-ian. This is something like a typical Kerala x-ian boasting of his non-existing 'brahmin' ancestors accepting baptism from the mythical character Thomas. Or if you are a kerala brahmin, just be aware that it's because of the unwanted 'aryan' supremacy arrogance of a few like you(stammering EMS,Krishna Iyer) that Kerala hindus are suffering today due to the communal X-ian and Marxist jehadis today. You should have aligned with all indic-communitties to form a broad 'hindu mandalam' and saved the temples rather than forming militant trade unions in temples.

[i]Sankar, I have so many Christian friends who celebrate Onam.[/i]

How? by having chicken and beef curry with sadhya? Or rightly inviting them home and providing proper onam sadhya? Or do they visit the nearby temple wearing new clothes and worship Lord Vishu? Please dont mix Onam with other garbage days like Friends day, teachers day. This is a hindu traditional festival. Courtyards would be decorated with Athappoo to welcome King Mahabali. They wear new clothes as rajeev mentioned and have a wonderful sadhya and participate in many onam games. You need to visit a hindu home near a temple in the city-outskirts to witness and experience Onam...
Since Truth will always prevail and hindus are(at last) awakening to the bitter experiences with the cunning lot, we neednt be apprehensive of this festival getting 'converted' by the mischievous land looters. Thomas myth , mylapore lies are all getting exposed while the frockling bishop community living in Palaces(british bounties) are frequently interfering shamelessly in Govt. matters to loot and plunder the revenue.

Let Lord Vishnu bless you all for a happy & prosperous Onam..

Anonymous said...

Sankar, No they have proper onam sadya on a banana leaf with vegetarian dishes. They make wondeful payasam too. Too bad they don't fit your stereotype.

Anonymous said...

Do Hindus celebrating Christmas attend the midnight mass? Do they worship Jesus Christ? Do they go to a Church?

Anonymous said...

It is fascinating to watch people like Sankar rant on and on about how various people are destroying Hindus. Yep. the whole world is the problem. Everyone from White House to Aliens in Star Trek are conspiring to destroy Hindu civilization. "Hindu" - isn't that word itself a colonial hangover?

Communists have power. Christians have power. Muslims have power. They can control and bend rules. You can rant and rant. The party which was an insult to Hindus called the BJP is totally out of business. The geriatrics running that outfit have personality problems! So the only thing left for you to do is complain.

In fact this is what people like Arundhathi Roy also do. For them everything in this world is wrong.

So pathetic.

Anonymous said...

Onam is a hindu festival.
Christmas is a christist festival.

enjoy onam, enjoy diwali, enjoy christmas

Unknown said...

Shankar, you seem to be one of the blind kinds. There is no difference between you and the jihadis. All i meant to say earlier was that non-hindu bashing is all good, but we should not become blind in it and distort the facts ourselves. That will leave no difference between us hindus and x-ian zealots. By the way...I am not spoofing or something, and am very much hindu. Also, indian history (esp. pre-islamic) linguistics etc are my favourite subjects and have done a lot of research on them. I donot to take to congress version of anything realted to our country and truly hold a hindu-nationalist view.

check out my blog "Mathrubhumi"
http://bharatam.blogspot.com

Dont complain about how people celebrate what. It is all a concequence of history. If kerala is 40% christian today we are partially to blame. The whole MF'in kerala-congress is X'ian. When i see pakistan, i grow sad 'coz i see our ancestors' failure (in guarding our motherland) in it. If they had held Quazim and Gazni off all those people in Pak would have continued to be hindus and buddhist.

Anyway...there is no use ranting. If some good has to come, we should do something about freeing the temples from Govt controled Dewasom board who pay meager salaries to temple priests. OR abolishing Reservations as it is against the very spirit of secularism. These are open violations of the Constitution. Why dont you do something about it?

BTW..my name is not kashyap, i took to the nickname 'kashyapa gotri' ...'coz iam a brahmin of the naidrupa kashyapa gotram, which would make sense to you if you know anything about the gotram lineage concept which shoots of the original four rishis.

Anyway...hope this brought some sense into you. vande mataram !

Anonymous said...

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=96&page=5

UPA govt. finally recognises the missionary activities as the biggest communal threat. Unbeliveable. shocking expose.

Anonymous said...

Well, I made a post here 5 days back & now when I came back & checked it, looks like I've stirred the proverbial hornet's nest. I still stick to what I said. In Kerala, a vast majority of Xians do celebrate Onam. Yes, with pookkalam, sadya and all that. And I am one of them.

One more thing I noticed here is the amount of generalisation people do. Just because there are some brain dead Xian zealots trying to convert evry other person they see, every Xian is branded a conversionist. That would be like me calling every hindu a fanatic just because Rajeev and his cronies are fanatics.

Anonymous said...

Excellent point JII.
Rajeev and Shankar seem to feel so insecure of the moorings of their religion (whatever that might be), that like jihadists in the true sence, they look out for answers to that insecurity, rather than introspect:ever heard of reformation.Thats what your religion needs,make it more appealing and egalitarian, and you can then give others a run for their money.

Anonymous said...

We Hindus do not practise the art of deception;what is meant by the bilge "....make it more appealing...?".Only cretins add aspartame to honey.

We highlight your predation and thievery;it is not called "insecurity".

Anonymous said...

Kalyani,

Sunday-school(kinda madrasas) educated fanatics can only see the non-believers as 'jehadis' and communal. After doing all kinds of mischief they froth heavily, when the locals react (as in Dangs, Kozhikode-Kerala) and expose them. They will fax sonia, vatican, UN, US(there are many anti-national kerala priests there ..easy to get nun-priest visa for 'serving' the whites) and bark with 'insecurity' to loot the govt. further for reservation benefits/commisions etc. See the pattern how they react to facts..

So these fanatics do not deserve replies, just ignore them. The debate was whether Onam was a hindu festival or not and see how they twisted and manipulated it?

Onam is and will remain as a hindu festival, celebrated by all. even by those - whose ancestors 'converted' for monetory/asset gains from the British or were forcefull converted by Catholic Inquisition terrorists.

Anonymous said...

Sankar and Kalyani, grow up a little and get a life, please.

Anonymous said...

Let me second this comment by Nanda.
Sankar and Kalyani seem to have this habit of laying all the ills of Hinduism at the feet of Christians and others.
Has it ever occurred to them that the problem may be with their own religion instead:
(Casteism, social retrogression and the lack of the will to take control of their destiny themselves, being some, with Kerala the exception of course)

Anonymous said...

For the eyes of 'Converting Predators'---I quote from Sandhya Jain's writeup:-

"There is a growing sense of disquiet in the Hindu community in several parts of the country on the issue of state management of temples, particularly the attitude of certain regimes towards temples well-endowed with land and funds. While sharing the Hindu apprehension that this could cause the closure of hundreds of temples, I would like to first express concern at the virtual derailment of the social reform agenda that has been the distinguishing feature of the Hindu community for the past 200 years.

It is suspected that there is a purpose to this de facto nationalisation of Hindu temples. The strong economic foundations of temples are being bled to support activities inconsistent with the legitimate goals of Hindu dharma, which is what the Haj subsidy, madarsa and church development, must be acknowledged to be. These monotheistic creeds are not only at variance with Hindu dharma, but their very raison d'etre is expansion by the eradication of Hindu dharma and culture. Hence, when the state acts in a blatantly
partisan manner to promote these faiths, the adherents of Hindu dharma certainly have a genuine grievance."

http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?id=1074445590&type=news

Anonymous said...

Santhosh and Nanda,
Will your priests ever utilise the Church money for municipality developments in the state? Well, the money from Sabarimala and Guruvayoor is utilised for the benefit of all creeds. Are you aware of that?

We are, what we are today, just because of the mercy and tolerance of our hindu brothers and sisters. How can we ever forget that, brothers. If your arrogance prevents you from accepting that Onam is a hindu festival, then you are not a true christian. Do not fall for the irresponsible comments by our politicians and some clergymen,especially the RC variety.

Please read the articles by CI Issac to understand the socio-political scenario in Kerala. Casteism is very much in our religion too. Why are some Goans advertising for RCB brides and grooms? RCB is Roman Catholic Brahmins.

In Kerala, you would have seen certain advertisements, in Malayala Manorama mentioning clearly that - ONLY Christians or Muslims need to apply for jobs in Gulf. We should also be totally ashamed of how we even fight over the dead bodies, remember the egos of our Jacobite-Orthodox clergy. So let's fix our issues first, before making thoughtless comments.

Thanks,
Swena George

Anonymous said...

Prakash, your childish prattle is disgusting, if only for it's inaccuracies.
Western nations hire Indian nurses not because of their religion, but their worth as nurses.
Unlike people like you who look at others through a genetically endowed religious/caste prism, westerners, and I speak for Americans, give two hoots about the religion of who they hire as nurses. All they want are people who work hard and are reliable.
I say this because I have first hand knowledge of this, being an American.
Let me also add, that casteism is a Hindu concept in the blood of all who inhabit India,and regardless of what religion they may convert to, they carry that trait (with some dilution)
Before you appeal to Christians to do this and that, spare a thought and a hand for your lower caste 'brethren'.

Anonymous said...

Prakash, you seem to revel in wallowing in your ignorance.This mindless drivel seems to be your forte.
-I speak only for the US.
Why don't you ask your hindu 'brethren'to apply for for such jobs. It is my hunch,that provided they are qualified,speak and write english at least better than you (which should not that tall an order),they WILL get that job,as the demand for such professionals here in the US is very robust.

Just for your information, these jobs are very well paying. And unlike the the hindu society you so very loudly sing praises of, there is complete social and economic moblity here.

And please do not compare the tokenism of Indian democracy to that of America's. Any citizen of this country has far more rights and protection than an Indian citizen of your hindu India. (to paraphrase George Orwell:'some are more Indian than others')

And pray, educate me on how talking about casteism became 'an expired weapon'? Boy,oh boy, you must have your head truly burried in your ass....sorry sand.

Casteism is the CURRENT REALITY of hinduism. It is very much alive and thriving,and underlies every aspect of society in India. 60 odd years after Independence,people still vote on a caste basis.Social intercourse is largely caste based,personal identity is so stongly rooted in caste. Now go ahead and deny this.

Talking about the treatment of converted dalits,do you remember a prominent event in north India a couple years ago, where 5 or so harijans were lynched by a mob of caste hindus on the suspicion of having slaughtered a COW?...A COW??!!

So Prakash, my friend, why don't you do something for the dalits you are trying to speak for. Start by being honest......and treat them better than you would Lakshmi, your cow.

VA-ra tay.

Anonymous said...

santhosh,

You are talking just like some recently converted 'shudra' NRI christian priest having many complexes. By accusing a religion alone, you just exposed your immaturity and intolerance.

Casteism is a reality in all Indian religions. Why dont you visit your ancestral country at least once and see it yourself in any church especially in Central travancore. We should be ashamed on how the Church even discriminate the dead, who had questioned the authority of Church. In Kerala there are many churches which has separate cemetry for Dalits!!!! Live in a realistic world and grow-up, brother. You do not deserve further replies.

Thanks,
Swena G

Anonymous said...

Well;
This is an interesting debate so far. I myself come form a staunch christian family, and foremost I am a malayali. I have read a few commnets by the so called "original hindus" and the so called 'liberals', and the so called 'christians' How ever Hinduism is not a religion, it is more of a culture, or a way of living, that is what I understand of Hinduism. And those who dispute the origin of christians in kerala, let me put it this way, way before Christ , there was a jewish settlement in ancient Kochi-Kodungaloor area, and the legend is that Saint Thomas came here to preach christianity, and converted a few families during his tenture in Kerala, before he went to Madras , where he was killed, due to some reasons. And the issue of certaiun christians claiming their 'brahmin' ancestry.. well I would like to dispute any person who has a good knowledge of puranas and especially upnishads.. there is a concept of Prajapathi.. and if any of these radicals who might want to do more research on that, you might be in for a surprise.. the Prajapathi mentioned in the upnishads have a very close similarity of that of Jesus Christ.. who took birth years after the upanishads were conceived by Veda Vyasa and the ancient Rishis. So there could be a link , ie the staunch of the brahmins who had in-depth knowledge of Vedas, might have got converted.. seeing the similarities of the prajapathi's incarnation on earth , and that of Jesus christ's,and there are no proof or records to prove otherwise.

My point is however, A person becomes a brahmin not by his birth.. but through his knowledge of the supreme ie 'brahman', and if some one think they become a brahmin in the true sense just by mere birth.. you are mistaken.. no matter which gothra one belong, you become a brahmin through attaining supreme knowledge.. nothing less..

And finally I am very happy in my hindu roots, where at my family every child starts his education through vidyarambha, where he sits in the lap of a teacher, and writes "Hari Sree Ganapathaye Namah" on a bed of rice. These were also my very first written words ..

Let me come to the main point, Onam is traditionally a Hindu festival, but the concept of Onam is more universal, which applies to all Keralites irrespectieve of caste or creed. It is the symbolic rememberence of the reign of asura king Mahabali.. during whose period.. the world was peacefull and righteous and just. So let us Keralites not make a fuss upon onam, had Mahabali been alive, or if he decides to make a comeback in real from Paathalam, he would've beem only able to give a judgment yet an opinion about , whether Onam belongs , or is a religios festival..

lkumar said...

ONAM IS NOT A HINDU FESTIVAL.

I am a Hindu. It is so sad to see the above comments by fellow Hindus of literate Kerala.

Hinduism was never a religion or way of living in Kerala or any Dravidian regions in South India. Hinduism or Brahminism ( to be precise ) was forced up on Dravidians. Mahabali was Dravidian King; and every one was EQUAL during his rule. Vamanan sent him to Paathaalam ( or killed ) the great king to establish ,probably hinduism. Note that , there is nothing like equality in Hinduism due to caste system. It is not Mahabali who comes to Kerala on Onam. It is the day, Keralites as a whole remember their old king. It doesn't matter whether they are divided as Christians, Hindus or Muslims now.

Onam is NOT A RELIGIOUS festival at all. In fact, it is against a religion called Hinduism !!!

Still I am a Hindu and I worship Lord Vishnu / Krishnan( Vamanan ). But truth is truth.

Unknown said...

Its interesting. I know a lot of christian people in kerala pretending to celebrate Onam. Not really knowing what they are trying to accomplish, I have been confused all this while. The so called marakkan Onam sadya stressed me out once. Ofcourse there was rice, but other items that I saw on the banana leaf were fairly reprehensible. Two fried chicken thighs, beef fry, pork and fish curry, pulisheri, cabbage thoran and pickles. But at the end, they had a delicious Semiya Payasam. It was so ANTI ONAM. Nonetheless, they wished me a wonderful Onam. So, no complaints as such! Since then, my impression about such folks remained as some pinko leftie hand-wringing human-rights ignoramuses

Anonymous said...

deyvu cheythu ee charcha avasaanippikkanam...Onam ella Malayalikalkkum vendi ulla ulsavam aanu...njan christian aanu...But, never thought of Onam as a Hindu festival...njangalkku venamengil athu celebrate cheyyaathe irikkaam...aarum njangale nirbandhichilla...But, still we do to show our culture and unity...nammal athu bangaloril njangalde churchil vare grand aayi celebrate cheyyum...


pls stop dividing Malayalees...Atleast nammude Keralathil engilum vargeeyatha valaraan anuvadikkan paadilla..like that of other states

Unknown said...

sorry, I disagree. First of all, Onam is not a middle eastern or Vatican festival. Therefore it shouldn't be part of your culture. I would rather see you not making superfluous efforts to celebrate something that you are ignorant about than just demoralising the sacred customs of millions of native Indians. Perhaps you should concentrate those efforts for a more merriment Xmas next time.

nizhal yoddha said...

the problem is that christists steal culture. for instance, hindu architecture, hindu temple flagposts, hindu temple granite and brass lamps, even hindu cuisine.

there are a bunch of books on 'syrian christist cuisine'. i read through them, and the recipes are all basically ezhava recipes.

not surprising because most of the syrian christists are ezhavas converted after 1819. but all syrian christists claim they are descendants of non-existent nambudiris converted by the non-existent 'saint' thomas.

and recently christists started swiping vidyarambham as well! soon they will say the hoax thomas brought it with him from the arab desert.

this is the problem: not having any civilization, christist swipe others' civilization. you stole the mitrotsava and call it xmas. you stole lots from the greeks and call it yours. now you are trying to steal yoga from hindus.

why, one of these days, you will claim that onam is a celebration of the arrival of the fraud 'saint' thomas, and that instead of mahabali, it is 'saint' thomas' arrival (the guy who has two skeletons, one as a young man and the other as an old man) that onam is celebrating.

can't let thieves like you anywhere near any culture.

and stop farting around here in malayalam. your malayala manorama is now claiming that malayalam was also invented by you guys.

Unknown said...

Outstanding discussion indeed and I totally understand Nizhal's concern. I don't think christians celebrate Onam. In case they do (those exceptional folks), its purely based on ignorance and indoctrination. However, they pompously celebrate Xmas. Onam is purely a festival recognized by the Native keralaites

Tijo Joseph said...

I'm a Syrian Nazarani Christian (Catholic)and I'm proud to call myself that. St. Thomas Christians were among the first Christian communities in the world. So much ignorance in these comments. I personally do not celebrate Onam, but I always thought Onam was one of those few festivals that united people of every religion. Christians stealing culture?!? What nonsense? btw.. Who cares if my ancestors were Jews, Brahmins, Arabs, Ezhavas? Maybe we're a mix of all these castes. Stop being so narrow minded. Most Malayali Christians are proud of their Malayali identity. Christians promoting Jihadi culture??? Where did that come from. Please get your facts straight.