Rose with rain drops

Rose in my balcony, taken during a rainy day. Looks great with all the rain drops.

Onappookkalam, The Onam Floral Arrangement

Another Onam has passed by. This year we couldn't celebrate Onam as we had a family marriage on the same day. During childhood days, Onam is the time of the year when all children are enthusiastic about the Onam holidays, pookkalam etc. Particularly in Trivandrum, government used to celebrate Onam by lavishly putting decorative lightings on all buildings in MG Road. The Onam celebrations are culminated by the floats parade through the MG Road. There will also be many traditional events held at many places which are a treat to watch.

This post is about a Onapookkalam (Onam Floral Arrangement) competition I had been to few years back. The Pookkalam (Flower Arrangement) is done throughout the onam season to welcome Mahabali (the erstwhile ruler of Kerala). To know the legend of Onam and why it is celebrated by all Keralites irrespective of religion visit the Wikipedia link here.

Below are some pictures from the competition.

Onapookkalam done by Agila and Team

Visit to nursery

During this long weekend we are spending time organizing our home. The morning of the Independence Day was spend attending flag hoisting at our apartment and some long drive on hosur and sarjapur road. On the way back we went to a Nursery to buy some plants for our home. There are many nurseries available in and around Sarjapur. Below are some of the flower shots I have taken.