Innu Onam annu - Today is Onam

We live a good part of our life based on our memories that we have gathered in yester years. How old should a child be to remember things in his/her adulthood?

My first memory was when was 3 or 4 years old. I was in Kindergarten, and Didi was in 3rd or 4th grade. It was a Monday and I was wearing this white frock that had red strings to tie it over the shoulder. Dad had taken the day off and Didi was off from school. We went to different schools so I had no chutti. As never before dad came during lunch and asked my teacher and took me home. I still today remember standing in front of this scooter excited about getting out of school.

We got home and mom had Vayzha ella (bananna leaves) laid out on the table and lots of dishes. She said monne, Innu Onam annu and we all had a sumptuous Ona sadhya.

After 22 years now, when Onam comes, this memory is still fresh. Since then Onam is not just about Maveli coming, but to me it is about family. Being with loved ones, letting loved ones know you are there for each other.

After all these years, this Onam was the first time I was away from my parents but was with Shekar. I made the Ona sadhya this time and Shekar and I had our first Onam together and that is when I realized that we do have great memories from our past, but we are just moments away from creating new great memories.