When is Onam 2025? Date, significance and how Kerala's harvest festival is celebrated
Onam is a ten-day festival celebrated in the Chingam month of the Malayalam calendar, which typically falls between August and September. The festivities begin on Atham day, when Atham Nakshatra is present, and last for 10 days, culminating on Thiruvonam, the main day. In 2025, Onam celebrations will start on August 26, 2025, and end on Friday, September 5, 2025, according to drikpanchang.com.
The main day, Thiruvonam Nakshathram, commences on September 4 from 11:44 pm and concludes on September 5 at 11:38 pm.
Onam marks the return of the then-King Mahabali or Maveli, who was known as a generous and virtuous ruler, according to Mythology. During his reign, the kingdom thrived so much that the devas grew jealous, partly because King Mahabali was an asura, a member of a clan who were enemies of the devas. As a result, they sent Lord Vishnu, disguised as Vamana (a dwarf), to King Mahabali.
The generous king Mahabali offered Vaman three feet of land. As Vamana measured, he grew so large that he measured all worlds in two steps. With nowhere else to place his third step, Mahabali asked him to place it on his head.
Pleased by his benevolence, Vamana blessed Mahabali by allowing him to visit his subjects once a year, an occasion celebrated as Onam by all Keralites.
Onam celebrations include Vallam Kali (boat races), Pulikali (tiger dances), Pookkalam (flower Rangoli), Onathappan (worship), Onam Kali, Tug of War, Thumbi Thullal (women's dance), Kummattikali (mask dance), Onathallu (martial arts) and more. It is New Year's Day for Malayali Hindus.
Girls and women create intricate designs with flowers on the ground to decorate their houses, courtyards, and temples. Onam 2025
Gifting new clothes to loved ones is a significant part of Onam. This typically includes traditional white and gold Kasavu sarees for women and Mundu for men. Women also adorn their hair with flowers. Onam 2025
Onam Sadhya, a traditional vegetarian feast, is prepared on this day. It features 26 to 28 dishes, including rice, various main dishes, pickles, and Papad, all served on a banana leaf. A sweet treat called 'Payasam' is also made. Onam 2025
Pulikali, or Tiger Dance, is a vibrant folk art from Kerala, India, performed on Onam's fourth day. Artists paint their bodies like tigers with yellow, red, and black stripes and dance to traditional percussion rhythms. Onam 2025
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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
John Abraham at Idea Exchange: ‘In the name of being secular, you can't be making controversial films. But biased films finding an audience is worrisome'
Actor-producer John Abraham on Tehran, his interest in geopolitics, the thin line between patriotism and jingoism and why the best films are coming out of the Malayalam industry. This session was moderated by Devyani Onial, National Features Editor Devyani Onial: You debuted in films in 2003. It has been a long journey… Devyani Onial: Your latest film, Tehran, on Zee5 is topical with all that has played out between Israel and Iran. But you also have a personal connection with Iran — your mother traces her roots to the country. Tehran came to me as a typically good guy India and bad guy Iran, and I said, hey, wait a second. So my father's a Malayali and my mother and my grandfather from my mother's side came from Iran. So obviously I said Iran can't look so bad. There has to be something nice about this country. So we wrote a story about Iran, Israel, India, and how India was affected by the whole Iran-Israel conflict. Of course, you had another player in Palestine, and not topically so, because this film was made way before the war. The war happened later and we said this is a very interesting premise, and how do we project this film? So we kept this film very neutral, we kept this film very true to what actually happened. It's not your typical patriotic film. It shows the good and bad that happened, that exists within this country, which we're very scared today to show in this kind of hyper-political atmosphere. Devyani Onial: There's a very thin line between patriotism and jingoism. Do you worry about crossing that line when you are making a film or acting in one? Yes, totally. What's very worrisome for me is that in the present political climate, when you make films that aren't really true to the grain of what's really secular, and they find a massive audience, that gets you thinking and worried. I'm not saying they're good or bad films. They're impactful films, which is why they worked. But then you wonder what your responsibilities are as a producer, as a filmmaker, as an actor. And I've chosen to take the path that's probably very real. I'm not right-wing. I'm not left-wing. I am apolitical in my views. I'll probably call myself a socialist capitalist. So I want to stick to the path that actually is true. Shubhra Gupta: You started with Jism and then you did Kabul Express, two completely different kinds of films. So my idea of looking at you as an actor was that you were actually looking at a spectrum from one to the other. And as a producer, you seem to have been an outlier. What are the things that you look for when you are looking to back a movie and when you're looking at acting? I think my career is defined more by my failures than my successes. I believe the films that have stood out for me are the ones that have failed, be it Water, Kabul Express, No Smoking (2007), Madras Cafe, even The Diplomat. I have understood that where I have a voice is when I'm an outlier, when I make the kind of stuff I want to. In fact, Vicky Donor was a film that no one wanted to touch but we made it with a lot of conviction. So that's one part of me. The other part of what you said was, yes, I do films that have a lot of action, that have a lot of testosterone. You fight, you break, you bang. You have a large audience for that. But what I am hoping for through my films is to marry craft with content. Right now, they're parallel streets. Shubhra Gupta: Not too many people will remember a film that you'd done, Viruddh (2005). There was a very interesting texture to your part. So would you look at those kinds of very specific, not so much action, but more emotional kind of roles now, going forward, given the fact that you are now being associated with this muscular, macho hero kind of films? I think it's the other way around where I was always associated with the muscular, macho image. I'll tell you where I get my feedback from. I get my feedback from when I travel on flights, because as an actor I am very insulated from people. So when I travel, the impression I get from an audience that sits next to me generally is that, we love the films that you're doing now, the stuff that you're doing now makes a lot more sense. So when we see a John Abraham film, we expect something different. So there's an honest attempt to… like I said, geopolitical stuff is something that's very close to my heart. Do I want to make films that are more thought-provoking? Yes, that's the idea. But does that mean I alienate and give up what has also worked for me? No, I won't. I would never be apologetic about it. So you have to draw that balance and do both. But in the process of doing both, you shouldn't end up making a mess. Divya A: I heard you once say that you have geopolitical anxiety. I think in this Trump era we all have it, maybe to some degree. But for you personally, where did this interest in geopolitics start from and how did it become an anxiety or something that consumed you because all your films are coming out of that space now? From childhood, we were always drawn to watching the news. With the advent of the internet, my interest in the geopolitical space kept growing. In fact, recently I did an interview with Oksana Boyko of Russia Today on the whole Russia-Ukraine conflict and then the bureau called me and said, 'How do you know so much about Russia?' So I think it's my Mallu roots of having something about a Marxist, politically. But I think it just adds to whatever I kind of enjoy indulging in. So, I have developed this fondness for space has always excited me. Rinku Ghosh: OTT came up as an alternative platform for content-driven films but now we see the same bigness of commercial cinema on it. Do you feel there has been a blurring of lines between OTT and the big screen? Second, you are championing causes like the wildlife reserve in Telangana. You have also taken up the Northeast United FC, promoting football. Do these pursuits keep you grounded or are you carving out a new path for yourself? The lines are blurred a bit. But if you ask me if there should be a demarcation, I don't think so. On the animal front, I campaign for the cause of animals across this country and I am going to continue to do so because I think they're voiceless and they need a voice and some of us are doing it. Some of us mean well for the cause and whether it's writing letters to chief ministers or whatever it takes, I will do in my capacity because if there's a calling in my life, it's for animals. Without offending any human beings, animals are very important to me. I am very passionate about football. I'm opening a 15-acre academy in Shillong, where we want to get kids aged eight to 10. We can get one Messi or Ronaldo in this world from India and that's my aim. Owning a team for the sake of vanity doesn't exist in my scheme of things. But again, I'm not that actor who's going to sit with black glasses in a stadium and just look around. I want to see results. Devyani Onial: Aamir Khan recently launched his film Sitaare Zameen Par on YouTube. What do you think of that model? I think Aamir is a flag-bearer for some of us. That said, films need to be on screen for a longer period of time. I understand that YouTube is a great disruptor, so that's great. But I question the window, I'm confused. I've just been hit by a truck. So I guess I'll wait and think about it. But I think it's a disruptor and I think he's done something very differently. So kudos to him. I think you've got another platform that people would be buying for tomorrow saying, if not XYZ, then you have another option, it's fantastic. Shiny Varghese: Your mom is from Iran. It has such a different history from what we see in Iran today. So do you have stories of that time that your mom has told you about? My mom has 21 cousins in Iran—in Yazd, in Shiraz. It has always been my dream to take mom there. Unfortunately, she has dementia now. She can speak Farsi and I think the most beautiful thing that I did was to learn the language for Tehran. Also, I think Iran is probably the most misrepresented country in the world. Culturally, artistically, they're so fantastically rich. You get some of the most beautiful films out of Iran. Shiny Varghese: There's a dialogue in Madras Cafe where the journalist says that just because I criticise what's happening around, it doesn't make me anti-national. Is that a statement the film was trying to make? If you see, in The Diplomat also, we've shown the good and the bad there (in Pakistan). You've got to be honest to your process, which is why I said what's really dangerous is that certain radical views are finding a massive audience. It's really scary. So it's important for us as filmmakers to get the right message across. I want to believe that India is a secular country, that we're a fantastic democracy, and I want us to stay that way. Devyani Onial: Addressing the media in 2023 after Pathaan's release, Shah Rukh Khan said that Deepika Padukone was Amar, he was Akbar and you were Anthony. That perhaps sums up the film industry and India in one line. But do you sometimes feel that idea is under assault? I don't think there's a secret about the fact that we're making our views very clear as actors and directors. So, yes, a lot of us pretend to be secular. That's very good. And as long as we pretend, it's also very good. And people who don't get the fact that we pretend, it's even better. So that's the way I put it. But, everybody is entitled to their view. And so do filmmakers, and if they have a particular view, then so be it. In the name of being secular, you can't just be making films that could possibly be controversial. But there are films that are openly biased that are finding an audience. That's what is worrying. That's all. So there's a difference between the two. Ivinder Gill: You said India is not really the good guy in Tehran. So did you face any regulatory hurdles because of that? Do you think that is the reason why the film did not get a theatrical release? I give all credit to the Ministry of External Affairs for viewing this film and for passing it because they've been fantastic. This is the kind of film you get into with your eyes open. And when you see the film, you won't find anything particularly controversial except for what's really happening in the world. So yes, we did face a lot of hurdles. But that's the idea, right? When you do something creative, when you want to make a statement, when you want to do something that you believe is different, you are going to face some amount of restriction. It goes with the territory. I'm not wearing it on my sleeve. I'm not complaining. It's absolutely fine. Devyani Onial: You have produced a Malayalam film (Mike, 2022) and you also have a writer's room in Kerala. Is this an exciting space for you? At least as of today, I think the best films in this country come from the Malayalam film industry. If you ask me who my favourite actor is I will say Mohanlal, by light years — I love Meryl Streep also! The industry is very brave. Look at Mammootty playing a politician, and then you find out in the film (Kaathal) that he's gay. I mean, it's brave for that man to do a film like that. So I thought that maybe I could borrow from some of their ideas. I set up a writer's room in Kerala and I said, listen, let's generate ideas out of there and see films that could be made nationally or only in Malayalam. I want to make all kinds of films but it's the right time to make good Malayalam films. Shubhra Gupta: When you are talking about films, in the last few years, and they have been solidly backed by propaganda, I'm just wondering whether filmmakers like you or other people, the pretend-secularists or actual serious secularists, can take that space that has been ceded? Absolutely. I know the industry. There's hope. There are very good people in this industry. There are very secular, fantastic people here that want the best for films, that want the best for society, that want the best for the country. So I have a lot of hope and a lot of faith. And we'll see it coming in the next few years, mark my words. Rinku Ghosh: You are a fitness icon. Everybody is looking for some tips from you. Can the 40-plus also start on a fitness journey? I'll start by saying this — the lady who trains with me in the gym is a 74-year-old woman with stage two cancer who has had chemotherapy. The point I'm trying to make is that there is no age to get fit. It's a mindset. A lot of women who feel post menopause life is over, please throw that out of your head. You can get fit at any point of time in your lives. Most of the people I train with or I train or I give advice to are women. Contrary to the image I have that I hang around with only dudes, I don't. I just speak about living a good life. If you want longevity, quality of life, you've got to eat the right things, think about the right things and be very, very disciplined.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Don't reduce grandfather to a Muslim-hating kasai, says Gopal Pattha's kin; sends notice to Agnihotri
1 2 Kolkata: Vivek Agnihotri 's 'The Bengal Files' has met with opposition from unexpected quarters. Santanu Mukherjee, the grandson of Gopal Mukherjee — the legendary 'Gopal Pattha' — who was a key defender of central Calcutta's Hindu neighbourhoods during the Direct Action Day communal clashes of Aug 1946, has sent a legal notice to Agnihotri, claiming the movie "belittles, dehumanises and demonises an important figure from the history of India's independence struggle. " On Saturday, the film's trailer was screened at ITC Royal Bengal, triggering a war of words between Agnihotri and Trinamool, with the former accusing Bengal administration of "anarchy and dictatorship". TMC said the film "was a political video made as part of a pre-election political assignment". You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Gold Rates Today in Kolkata | Silver Rates Today in Kolkata The Mukherjee family does not want to be a part of the politics but has firm ideas about its most famous forebear, Gopal Pattha. Santanu had filed an FIR against the movie on July 14, apprehending "denigration of not only his (Gopal's) words or deeds but his ideological conviction along with historic struggle". "Listening to interviews and reading previews of the film, I was apprehensive about how my grandfather would be portrayed. The trailer has confirmed those suspicions," Santanu told TOI, sitting at the family's 200-year-old ancestral home in central Kolkata's Malanga Lane near Wellington Square. The family's biggest issue with the film is its apparent portrayal of the Kolkata strongman as "a rabble-rousing Muslim-hating butcher". "Grandfather also protected Muslim families in our neighbourhood during the communal clashes of 1946," Santanu said. Pointing to the house opposite, his sister Niharika added: "He sheltered members of that Muslim family on our terrace. Grandfather also protected the family of a rickshaw-puller... we called him Rafique Chacha. Even today, families who own the Islamia medicine shop or Mullickbazar's Haji meat shop respect our family. " This Aug 16 marked 80 years of the communal clashes that unfolded on Malanga Lane. Ahead of the 1946 riots, Muslim League volunteers had started gathering in different parts of Kolkata, Santanu said. On Aug 16, at a public meeting at Shaheed Minar, a call went out that before India's Independence, the League must be given Pakistan. After that, looting started at the arms shops around Esplanade. Killings and plunder followed. The "action" then spread to Narkeldanga and Colootola. The film, Santanu fears, will negate Gopal Pattha's message to his followers: "Don't kill the innocent. Protect children and women, whether Hindus or Muslims." He said: "To resist the riots, my grandfather organised his followers and took up arms. He had declared, 'if League rioters kill one, you must kill 10. But no harm must come to any innocent Muslim'." "The trailer crystallises my grandfather's persona in a single phrase — 'Ek tha kasai'. We think Gopal Pattha was much more than a mere butcher. He was a freedom fighter and social worker," Santanu added. The "Pattha" term, too, leaves a lot of scope for misinterpretation, feels Santanu. "Local Biharis started calling my grandfather 'Gopal Pattha' because of his bravery... from the Bengali phrase 'buker paata'. 'Pattha' never referred to 'pnatha' or goat. The film, I apprehend, is ill-researched and do my grandfather's reputation more harm than good," he said, adding that Gopal Pattha was "a known follower of both Mahatma Gandhi and Netaji". Highlighting a part of the trailer where actor Sourav Das (who plays the character of Gopal Pattha) is seen saying, "Bharat Hinduon ka rashtra hai... is yudh me Hindu haar rahe hain... Jeet kaun raha hain? Jinnah... Hum sab nashe mein chur hain aur is nashe ka naam hain Gandhi ki ahimsa", Santanu said: "My grandfather had started as a follower of Gandhi. Then, like Netaji, he felt there had to be an armed struggle. To reduce him to a hater of Muslims and Gandhi is just not on. The trailer shows Gopal Pattha running with a sword with saffron flags in background. That's absolutely wrong." Gopal Mukherjee opened his meat shop on Premchand Boral Street in 1935, with the family's primary earner — Gopal's uncle freedom-fighter Anukul — in jail, said Santanu's elder sister Neeta. The shop closed in 2015. The family, however, has another meat shop in Jadubabur Baazaar. "My grandfather used to buy goats from Muslim traders — before and after Direct Action day," said Santanu. Gopal died in 2005 at 92. Santanu wrote in the police complaint and legal notice: "These nefarious activities of Vivek Agnihotri are willfully, wantonly and maliciously besmirching the reputation of grandfather, stereotyping him as a communal thug and is aimed at flaring up communal tensions based on baseless depictions of my late grandfather's historic actions." Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Mint
8 hours ago
- Mint
Mahavatar Narsimha Box Office Collection Day 24: Ashwin Kumar's film earnings rise, mints THIS amount on Sunday
Mahavatar Narsimha Box Office Collection Day 24: Released on July 25, the animated mythological epic Mahavatar Narsimha is still attracting an audience and earning money at the box office. According to trade industry tracker Sacnilk, Mahavatar Narsimha minted an estimated ₹ 7.31 crore India net on its twenty-fourth day for all languages. Mahavatar Narsimha had an overall 60.38% Hindi (2D) occupancy on Sunday, 75.40% Telugu (2D) occupancy and 71.64% Hindi occupancy in 3D. Sacnilk reported that Mahavatar Narsimha earned a total of ₹ 257 crore worldwide till Saturday, Day 23. This includes ₹ 202.35 crore India net and ₹ 16.25 crore worldwide. Language-wise, Mahavatar Narsimha earned a total of ₹ 6.44 crore in Tamil, ₹ 40.05 crore in Telegu, ₹ 152.85 in Hindi, ₹ 2.51 crore in Tamil, and ₹ 50 lakh in Malayalam. On 11 August itself, Mahavatar Narsimha raced past the $1 million gross mark in just 10 days in North America, reported Times of India. According to the details, the movie earned about $585000 on Friday, collected $250000-300000 on Saturday and close to $250000 on Sunday in North America. Mahavatar Narsimha marks the directorial debut of Ashwin Kumar. It is produced by Hombale Films and Kleem Productions. The film is the first instalment in the planned animated seven-part Mahavatar Cinematic Universe, based on the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu, as per Hindu mythology. According to film trade analyst Rohit Jaiswal, it is probable that Mahavatar Narasimha will release on streaming giant JioHotstar in Hindi, India Times reported. The speculation is based on previous collaborations between the platform and the production house. Previously, Hindi-dubbed versions of big titles such as 'Salaar' and 'Raajakumara' were released on the same platform. The Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada versions of the Sandalwood film, 'Mahavatar Narasimha', might be released on different regional platforms, according to sources.
