Floral design competition organised during Onam

Floral carpet designs laid out in most houses in Kerala, India, herald the beginning of Onam festivities in the state.

Groups of women lay the designs, known as pookkalam, part by part so that they get completed at the end of ten days of the festivities. Though traditionally circular in shape, there is no limit on the size of the designs.

A variety of flowers are used to make the designs, reflecting the spirit of joy and celebration. These floral decorations are not limited to individual houses. State-wide competitions are held at various institutions.

Keralite communities all over the Gulf also celebrate Onam in their own way by arranging competitions in a wide range of cultural activities, including pookkalam. However, owing to the scarcity of fresh flowers in the region, most of the carpet designs are done using coloured coconut powder.


The second prize-winning design. @Gulf News
As part of a week-long Onam festivities, Abu Dhabi Malayalee Samajam recently hosted a pookkalam competition for ladies. Seven groups participated and three were declared winners.

The first prize went to the students' team led by 14-year-old Seethal Joy, a grade nine student. Seethal, along with her teammates Silpa Joy and Rohini Manikuttan, designed their pookkalam in the shape of a Kathakali dancer's head.

Sali Raju and her colleagues Silpa Shankar and Zuhra Kunju Mohammed shared the second prize for their floral design.

Twenty-year-old Sarina Lulu Ansar along with Iesha Iftikar and Sheeba Venugopal won the third prize. Their design was a combination of a geometric pattern for the outer circle and of a landscape featuring a hut, boats and coconut trees for the inner circle.

The teams were given a time limit of three hours. All the teams used coconut powder dyed with basic food colours. The only tools allowed were a scale, markers and a rope to draw the circles.

To begin with, the basic design was drawn on the floor with markers and the task of filling the layout was distributed among the members of each group. Each team spent time discussing the theme, deciding on the colour scheme and practising it well before the competition.

Pookkalam competitions are held not only to keep the tradition alive, but also to encourage team spirit, enthusiasm and patience.