Kerala tourism dept lines up Onam bonanza

Seeing Onam, the harvest festival season, as an opportunity, the department of tourism in the state has lined up a bonanza for domestic as well as the foreign tourists.

A senior official of the tourism directorate said that the Onam Week celebrations would get underway in the state capital on September 3 at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium.

The most important day of the Onam season "� Thiruvonam "� falls on September 5. Chief minister V S Achuthanandan will officially declare open the mega festival week, according to him.

Following this, the celebrations will be on at nine venues across the capital till September 8. All that is related to Kerala and the Malayalee tradition and lifestyle will be showcased at the week-long event. The closing ceremony is scheduled to be held on September 9 at the Poojappura Grounds.

Meanwhile, the capital city has already logged on to the celebration mode. While retailers, big and small, are busy lining up festival offers, Thiruvananthapuram is being spruced up on an emergency basis. Roads and government offices sport a fresh look, getting ready for the annual event.

With the government announcing festival bonus for state government employees, Onam shopping too has gained momentum. The government has said that employees whose total salary does not exceed Rs 5,500 would be given a bonus of Rs 2,500.

Though there are complaints that prices have started going up with the festival season getting closer, the street-side vendors have begun reaping good profits with almost the entire household out on the streets picking up all that is on sale.

With schools too closing for Onam holidays after their first quarter examinations by the end of this week, students are all set to join in the fun.

Adding to the fun, as usual, the Malayalam film industry too has chipped in with a slew of superstar movies. While the Mammootty-starrer Bhargava Charitham Moonnam Khandam and Mohanlal's Keertichakra have already hit the screen setting cash registers ringing, the other Onam releases too hold much promise for the box office.

Prominent among them are Suresh Gopi's Pathaaka, Mohanlal's Mahasamudram, Dileep's The Don and the Prithviraj-Kavaya Madhavan-starrer Classmates.