The official Onam celebration in Attingal was on September 8, 2009. It was conducted by Attingal Municipality and modeled on the well-known celebration in Thiruvananthapuram city, with lights, colorful floats, and all that. This venture was started four years ago. The function has been improving after each year. This year's celebration was traffic stopper, literally. The procession (Ghoshayathra) started from ITI junction and culminated at Municipal Town Hall, Attingal. Needless to say, the traffic was paralyzed for close to two hours. But then it was fun time for those who participated in the procession and those who were not in a hurry. Several individuals and organizations displayed their floats. It was generally fun time for Attingalites, however, commuters from other places would have cursed the organizers for delaying their journey.
Following are some photographs of the celebration, taken by Shiju Attingal.
A float by water authority officials, which paradoxically urges people to not depend on them. The plot shows an abandoned well and a lady taking water from the tap.
All these photos are taken by Shiju Attingal. Many thanks to him for sharing the photos with this blog and its readers.
Following are some photographs of the celebration, taken by Shiju Attingal.
Among the prominent people leading the procession are Adv. C.J. Rajesh Kumar, Attingal Municipal Chairman (second from right in the front row), Kadannappalli Ramachandran, Transport Minister of Kerala (third from right), and Anathalavattam Anandan, Attingal MLA (fourth from right).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The crowd near municipal bus stand, Attingal. Rarely does the town witness a crowd of this proportion. But spare thought for the folks trapped inside those vehicles.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A person riding a bike blindfold. May be symbolic of the way some people drive motor bikes these days.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A float arranged by Beverages Corporation. It was supposedly for spreading awareness about the ill-effects of alcohol. Rumor has it that the participants of the float were merrily enjoying real alcohol (no kattan chaya or black coffee for them). By the time the float reached Town Hall, they had been in a real inebriated state. They had to be carried away from the vehicle. Perhaps, that is what the Beverages Corporation intended. If you consume alcohol too much, you will have to be carried to your home.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A tug of war (the good old vadamvali) between an elephant and a group of humans, watched enthusiastically by other human beings and passively by another elephant.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A float against ASEAN Free Trade Agreement. Just to prove that even amidst the festivities of Onam, we do not forget our social commitment.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A float by water authority officials, which paradoxically urges people to not depend on them. The plot shows an abandoned well and a lady taking water from the tap.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A float depicting Tsunami and its victims, arranged by an LIC agent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Woman power in percussion instruments. Though not an all-woman troupe, these women played a major part in this Singarimelam program.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paddy fields are disappearing from our land. But one field found a way to the procession. A float portraying a stage of rice cultivation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All these photos are taken by Shiju Attingal. Many thanks to him for sharing the photos with this blog and its readers.
Comments
Well said. The state of Attingal bus stand is a classic example of how a few influential people with vested interests can hijack the development of a whole town.
Now Mamam market is the official private bus stand. You can even see the board ("Municipal Bus Stand of Attingal") in front of Mamam market. The shifting of bus stand would have somewhat eased (though not by much) the traffic hemorrhage in Attingal town during peak hours.
That is, we have an easy solution to the problem. But allegedly a few bus owners and business owners will not permit the shift.
BTW, have you guys walked through the bus stand or crossed the road in front of bus stand recently? It is nothing short of adventure. It is purely a miracle that not many accidents happen there.
But it is not confined to Attingal. It's a whole-Kerala phenomenon.
When Is Onam