Last week we had celebrations like Independence Day, Muharram, Varamahalakshmi, Onam and Raksha Bandhan. I am sure all of us must have had a good time with family and friends.

Talking of festivals, India is one of most popular country in the world with many religions, cultures, languages and customs. Hence, India is truly a multi-cultural country and it’s reflected in our festivals.

In India festivals are classified based on social, religious and national celebrations. We have national holidays and state holidays and others too. We are blessed with many celebrations as all faiths are embraced in this land. 

If you would have noticed…….. A majority of festivals across the country are common among all communities. Festivals are celebrated differently in various parts of India depending on the place, faith and other factors.

On that note, I would like to focus on Onam here, because it is termed as the annual harvest festival celebrated for 10 days by all the people in the State of Kerala irrespective of the religion.

Even though its roots are based on the story of King Mahabali who was a great ruler, who chose to give up his rule and life to protect his people. However, he was allowed by Vamana to return to visit his beloved people once a year. That day is celebrated as Onam.

The ground for me to speak about Onam here is that over the years it has been re-positioned as a culturally inclusive festival. It is an excellent way of moving forward with joy and splendor by everyone in the whole state and not only in the country, but across the world too.

And the reason worth admiring about our festivals are, its culturally inclusive celebrations. It surely is a great feeling when people come together to enjoy the festivities and embrace each other’s customs and traditions and connect with one another positively.