Onam Weekend – A Photo Diary

Onam weekend was so hectic I didn’t know whether I was coming or going. We had so many things planned for the day, we just about managed to squeeze everything.

First up was Snubnose’s art class, which is usual. However, this saturday was also the Kids for Change Carnival, and she badly wanted to attend it as many of her friends were going, some were even manning the stalls.

The carnival was just starting up when we reached at 11, I think that was great because we got a chance at so many stalls before the crowds started pouring in.

There were tons of arty-crafty stalls and Snubnose had a whale of a time doing the various activities.

There were children’s authors making their book pitches, science – oriented stuff, bharatnatyam dance performances all that and more but we were really pressed for time. We could only spare an hour and so we stuck to only a few select booths.

One of the most popular booths was the Rainbow Loom where Snubnose spent a huge chunk of her time discussing loom techniques with the girls behind the counter and dithering on which loom band to buy.

After much discussion, a Rainbow Loom band was purchased. A totally unnecessary buy if you ask me as Snubnose was definitely capable of making these bands at home herself, but it was all in the name of charity so I ponied up the cash for it happily.

All that art activity made us ravenously hungry and we checked out the snack stall to see what was on offer.

We picked up some seriously delicious brownies that the kids had prepared (just kicking myself that I didn’t ask for the recipe) and a big bag of popcorn and continued our stroll around the carnival saving the best for the last.

The photobooth stall was empty when we walked towards it, and we took the opportunity to try on a few props and get our pictures clicked.

The kids had so much fun they drew a huge crowd to the stall and soon the previously empty stall had long queues of kids waiting for their turn.

It was getting really late so as soon as the photos from the photobooth were processed, we waved our goodbyes and sped on.

So why were we in such a tearing hurry?

Well, there was an Onam celebration in our neighborhood and Snubnose was one of the dancers participating in a group dance. As part of the dance, we needed to buy all the accessories she needed, and be in for rehearsals and hair and make-up almost three hours before the actual performance.

Poor Snubnose. She barely had a few minutes to wolf down her lunch before I got to work draping her in the traditional Malayali saree and dropping her off for hair and make-up.

Piglet accompanied us and waited it out patiently in the green room while all the girls awaited their turn for the make-up. He even gallantly offered them biscuits and water (only to snatch them away when anyone expressed interest 🙁 ).

We spent the tedious hours wandering around the auditorium looking at all the fabulous pookollam (design made of flowers) that many of the women had done.

Here is my absolute favorite one.

Soon, it was time for the function to start and we battled our way through the crowds to get a front-row seat.

Snubnose was a little worried about how she”ll do. Her saree was uncomfortably tight, and she’d had very less practice as she was a last-minute addition to the team. However, when the moment arrived she was so luminous and graceful, we were all beaming with pride. It wasn’t just family, tons of people complimented her on how well she danced 🙂 .

Here she is in her make-up and costume just before the performance.

Here are some photos of the dance. The lighting wasn’t the greatest.

Phew! Snubnose slept like a rock that night, she was so darn tired.

Btw, I came to know of this carnival through Snubnose but it was also well-publicized by the people behind I love Indiranagar. Follow their Facebook page if you want to know about special events, unusual shops, and discount offers. It’s a great resource for unusual things to do in the Indra Nagar area.