I grew up in a small locality in Kollam. When I think of the Onam of my childhood, the first memory that comes to my mind is the music that flowed from the loudspeakers; I would call it a collage of music coming from the various arts clubs.

The next memory is the smell of the new clothes we got from our parents, Onakodi. I feel today's new clothes do not have that smell, the smell of the starch they applied, and I miss that smell today. As we stayed in the ancestral home, all our uncles and aunts used to visit us for Onam, and we used to get Onakodi from all of them.

Another thing I cannot forget about the Onam of my childhood is swinging wildly on the swing. What is Onam without a huge swing in one of the trees!

How can I forget the sadya which my mother used to prepare on that special day? Ever since I started my family, we'd go to my mother's place the previous day, have a sadya made by her that day. But we celebrate Onam at my home, and my parents and my brothers come and join us here.

I make it a point that I am at home and I don't shoot for any films on Thiruvonam because it is a very important day for all of us Keralites, and I want to spend it with my entire family. I also do not desert my home on festival days because I feel our home also has feelings.

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