How to
make an
Onam
Pookalam?
A traditional flower arrangement made during the festival
of ‘Onam’ in Kerela, India.
Instructional Writing • Narrative & Argument 2012 • Shiba Sheikh
What is Onam?
Onam is a festival celebrated by the
Hindu’s in Kerela, India. It celebrates the
rice harvest season and falls in the month
of August- September and lasts for a
period of ten days. It commemorates the
homescoming of the native emperor
‘Mahabali’. Legend has it that it is under
his reign that the people of the kingdom
were most prosperous. It was considered
to be the golden era.
Onam is marked to be the most important
and vibrant festival of the state of Kerela.
The key highlights of the festivals is the
Vallamkali (Snake boat race), Onasadya (
9 course meal on a banana leaf ) and the
Pookalam ( Intricate flower carpet made
in front of the courtyard to welcome the
Mahabali).
*
What is an
Onam Pookalam?
An ‘Onam Pookalam’ is a intricately
designed carpet of flowers that is made
usually in the courtyard of a house or at
the entrance on the final day of the Onam
celebrations. The first day ‘Atham’ is when
the arrangement begins to take shape and
by the tenth day ‘Thiruonam’, it becomes
more complex and detailed.
‘Pookalam’ can be broken into ‘Poov’flower and ‘kalam’- color sketches on
the ground. Tradition has it that young
adolescent girls of the household make the
Onam Pookalam to welcome Mahabali.
Onam Pookalam requires team effort,
technique and kilos of flower petals and
leaves to create. They are usually circular
in shape and vary in size from 2 to 4
meters in diameter. The arrangement
begins to take form on the first day and as
the days of the festival gain momentum,
the grandeur of the Pookalam increases
in size and complexity of design.
Fragrant ‘thumba’ flowers (white) are
predominantly used to create the design
as they radiate the sunlight in the
morning hours.
Creating the Onam Pookalam is the most
auspicious and significant event of the
festivities that surround Onam. But over a
period of time the trends of creating them
have evolved. Earlier, children would wake
up early in the morning and walk around
the neighborhood with baskets collecting
flowers that were naturally found in the
region. But now in cities, people prefer
visiting flower markets the previous day
and preserve the flowers in refrigerators
and then use them.
The Onam Pookalam is wonderful example
of traditions that bring the family together
and represent the growing change in ways
in which the new generations adapts to age
old traditions. Here is a detailed friendly
guide to what will help you make your own
‘Onam Pookalam’.
METHOD
Materials required to create a 2 meter
diameter ‘Onam Pookalam’
500 gm of Yellow Marigold
250 gm of Orange Marigold
100 gm Gromphera/ Adike Hoovu
20 leaves of Gulmohar tree
250 gm Purple Aster
500 gm White Chrysanthamum
1 Brass Lamp
Few Tea Candles
STEP 1 Seperate the petals from the flowers.
Having once acquired the basic ingredients
from the flower market, the first step to take
care of is to gently seperate the petals from
the flowers and place them on either old
newspaper or a sheet of plastic, seperately
without mixing them.
Tip - Take gentle care whilst seperating the petals from the flower. You don’t want them to break
as they will darken faster. Avoid keeping them under direct sunlight and store them in the cooler
reagion of the house preferably. It is a long tedious process hence find family and friends to help!
STEP 2 The Pookalam Design
The Pookalam design is the most integral
bit to tackle. The best way to start is with a
paper and pencil and roughly outline what
is it that you are envisioning. Few design
elements that are commonly used and then
integrated with the circular pattern is of
a leaf, geometric forms and flowers. Draw
them out seperately and then well pull
them right into the design.
Lets begin with a circle that is split in 8
to 16 equal parts. Create further smaller
circles within to create multiple layers.
This will give you the basic grid to work
with. Now play around with the nodes
created at the insection of each arc to make
forms of leaves and flowers as shown above
in the image. Work with one section of
the arc and then repeat the same pattern
all around. The design will automatically
emerge.
Tip - To start with, it helps to work with tracing paper or butter paper. You can iterate over and
over your design without having to recreate it every single time. Work on your design a couple of
days before the final day of execution. As it will give you time to revise your design and scale.
STEP 3 Drawing the design on the floor
Once the design is ready on paper, the next
big challenge is to translate it onto the
surface it is going to be created on. The
tools that we use while drawing on paper
is different from the ones we use when we
draw on the floor. Use a chalk or a crayon
to draw on the floor. Begin by filling
in only one section of the arc and then
replicating the same design all around.
Once the pattern is laid out you can begin
to imagine the placement of different
colored flowers. The ones that were listed
in the ingredients section are the basic
traditional set always used. You can try
placing a few petals next to each other to
see what color contrast works for you and
the surface your working with. Once you
have a better idea we can begin with the
next step.
Tip - It helps to wet the chalk before use. It is easier to wipe off while drawing incase of any error.
In the olden days it said that families laid a layer of cow dung on the mud surface before creating
the flower carpet. The cow dung acted as a binder to hold the layer of petals together.
STEP 3 Start from the centre
Once the design is ready its time to fill it
in with our key ingredients. The flower
petals can now be brought out and you can
begin to fill it in. Always begin from the
centre and then work your way outwards.
The same way you drew your pattern on
the floor, fill in one arc at a time and then
make your way around the rest of the
circle.
Always fill the design in two parts. First
lay a very thin layer of petals to guage
the exact amount needed to fill in the
individual sections of the pattern and
then fill the second layer in to add volume
depending on the amount of raw materials
available. Pat the petals gently while
you keep filling in individual sections to
pack them without being too harsh and
crushing them. It also helps maintain clear
boundaries and let the colors mix.
Tip - Once you finish the first arch you will have a better idea of the color pattern working or not.
This is the ideal time to either change or redo in case you feel like it is not working. Avoid disturbing
the arrangement more than once or twice as the petals will begin to darken and shrivel.
STEP 4 Fill it out
Once the first arch is sucessfully filled
out and you are satisfied with the color
contrast and the design fill the rest of the
design out gently. This is when having a
multiple set of hands helps as people can
work simultaneously on the design.
The process is much more effective if
carried out during the early hours of the
day before the suns rays get too harsh. The
flower petals tend to remain much more
fresh and crisp and fill the air with a sweet
fragrance that everyone can wake upto.
Tip - When multiple people are laying out the flower arrangement it is important to maintain the
volume of petals beings filled up in individual sections to get an even layer without visible bumps
and chunks of petals sticking out . The idea is to achieve an even carpet like design. If you do
notice prominent lumps you can scoop them out either with your hands or a spoon gently.
STEP 5 Final touches
Once the design is completely filled in and
finished its time for the finishing touches.
With a sharp object like a knife or even a
slender wooden stick carve out individual
sections once again in order to create
distinct and clear divisions. Sometimes
over the period of filling the design up the
mass of petals tend to collapse or mix. You
can even individually clear and clean out
sections that you might feel are loosing
shape. It helps to gently pat whilst filling
the petals and leaves in, into a slight
bulbous form to keep it intact.
After having finished the design is the
right time to place the brass lamp and tea
lights at points you feel will highlight
the design.
Tip - Some people place the lantern right in the centre and light it first and then begin to fill the
design out. Since the brass lamp is fueled with oil or clarified butter it burns for a very long time
and you can avoid the possibility of breaking the design after finishing it. Even much after the
design is completed and then place the tea lights along the edges.
We are done!
Hope the instructions provided will
sucessfully help you in creating your own
‘Onam Pookalam’ design. The image above
shows a traditional design that is layed
out with flower petals, leaves, a brass lamp
and tea light or diyas. As intricate and
complicated the design may seem, once
you follow the process step by step you
will also be able to achieve the same results
in no time. Why wait for Onam? Instead
try your hand at decorating your home
with your original creation of the
‘Onam Pookalam’!