Onasamsakal !!!
Like every year, this year also the brothers from Kerala region decided to celebrate the festival of Onam. It all began with the special evening prayer with audio visuals the previous evening. It was Friday. Bros. Sijo Chungath, Liby and others gave a brief introduction to the background of the celebration of Onam, while bro. Kiran controlled the power point presentation. In the introduction it was said, onam is the celebration in the memory of the great king Mahabali who was so kind that he went to the extent of giving his whole kingdom and even his head, to the crooked and jealous Vishnu in the disguise of a dwarf Vaamna. Mahabali was sent to the worlds below but he was given the concession to return once a year to pay a visit to his people and his kingdom. Onam is that day of Mahabali’s return and people celebrate this joyous occasion. On this occasion people decorate their houses and organize various sports and other activities. Brothers also prepared a rangoli known as Pookkalam or Attapookkalam.
Next day began with great devotion and prayers. It was solemn mass celebrated by Fr. Tommy the parish priest of the local parish. It was all accompanied by choir led by brothers from the region of Kerala in Malayalam. There was a beautiful and sermon reminding us of our curiosity and fun. He narrated a short incident which happened with him. After the mass we had wishing the festival to everyone.
After the breakfast the brothers were grouped into small groups and were given a special responsibility to carry out. Some arranged the refectory, some helped in the food preparation while others kept themselves in one or the other work. In the afternoon there was sumptuous meal known as Ona Sadhya with a number of vegetarian dishes. The fathers from the neighboring communities were also invited. The brothers thanked each other for making the celebrations the most memorable one.In the evening there was a Malayalam Movie on the big screen.
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