Onam is a 10-day annual harvest festival celebrated by Malayalis in and outside Kerala. This year, the festival began on August 22 and today, August 31, marks Thiruvonam, the main day of Onam. The festival will end on September 2, 2020.
Onam celebrations this year have also been tweaked in line with precautionary measures necessary in the times of the coronavirus pandemic. For instance, Ayyappa Temple in Pune celebrated the festival behind closed doors this year. (Express photo by Pavan Khengre)
Traditional Onam festivities were observed at the temple but without any devotees. (Express photo by Pavan Khengre)
At the temple, people celebrated by designing Pookalam, an intricate pattern made with flowers. (Express photo by Pavan Khengre)
People usually design Onam Pookalam at home and public places to welcome King Mahabali. Legend goes that the king, who was sent to netherworld by Lord Vishnu, was granted the boon to visit his kingdom annually during Onam. (Express photo by Pavan Khengre)
Meanwhile, celebrities have also been taking part in Onam celebrations. Malaika Arora enjoyed the festival with sister Amrita Arora, mother Joyce Arora and other family members. The actor posted a picture of her relishing Onam sadhya with her family. (Source: malaikaaroraofficial/Instagram)
Sadhya is a traditional Onam dish comprising a variety of vegetarian dishes that are served on a banana leaf, just how celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar is seen eating it with friends and family members. (Source: rujuta.diwekar/Instagram)
Shilpa Shetty took to Instagram to wish people on the occasion of Onam. (Source: theshilpashetty/Instagram)
Bollywood actor Kay Kay Menon also wished his fans. (Source: kaykaymenon02/Instagram)
Bollywood choreographer Remo Dsouza posted a video in which a girl is seen applying tika on his forehead. (Source: remodsouza/Instagram)