Where Onam arrives twelve times a year: Inside this Kottayam temple’s rare tradition

In Kerala, the story of Onam is tied to a season. Thiruvonam in the month of Chingam is when homes come alive with pookkalams, sadyas, and reunions. The festival lingers for a few days, then passes into memory until the next year. But in Vembinkulangara, a small village tucked between the Meenachil and Meenanthara rivers near Nattassery in Kottayam, the rhythm of Onam does not wait for the calendar to turn. Here, in the courtyard of the Sri Mahavishnu Temple, the festival returns twelve times a year.

A village that gathers like one family
On the morning of Thiruvonam, the temple yard stirs to life long before dawn. Men and women chop sacks of vegetables, grate and grind coconuts, prep the temple dining hall; and children run errands with small hands eager to help. Fires are lit in rows of hearths, their smoke curling above the tiled temple roofs. The sound of chopping, the fragrance of frying coconut oil, the splash of water as banana leaves are washed; these are the heralds of the feast to come.

By noon, the oottupura fills with rows of villagers seated on the floor, banana leaves spread before them. Pickles, curries, thorans, and payasams arrive in quick succession, served by neighbours and friends. There are no strangers here. Every person is part of the rhythm, whether in cooking, serving, or sharing the sadya. When the meal ends, the same hands that served take up washing vessels, and the courtyard hums with laughter and the clatter of pots.

A custom bound by devotion
The Thiruvonam-oottu is not an occasional gesture. It is held every single month of the Malayalam calendar, on Thiruvonam day. Families take turns sponsoring the sadya, often as an offering or thanksgiving. The demand is so strong that sponsorship slots are already booked for the next eleven years, a sign of how deeply this custom is tied to the identity of the village.

In Chingam, when Thiruvonam arrives in its full glory, the celebration grows even larger. The Unniyoottu, a special feast for children, is held with equal splendour. Food kits are distributed to the elderly, the bedridden, and even to nearby households who cannot attend. For those who have moved away, this day becomes a reason to return home, to sit once again in the oottupura and eat alongside neighbours.

Legend and ritual
The temple itself is steeped in legend. The deity is worshipped as Vishwaroopam, the cosmic form of Lord Vishnu that was revealed to Prahlada after the Narasimha avatar. Local belief also links the temple to the Vamana incarnation, which comes right after the Narasimha avatar, said to have been born under the auspicious Abhijith muhurat. At this sacred moment, the temple conducts Unniyoottu—a symbolic offering of food to children, made as a prayer for childbirth and fertility. Only after this ritual is the grand sadya for devotees served.

The spirit of Mahabali’s time
Across Kerala, Onam is often a family affair, celebrated within the intimacy of the household. In Vembinkulangara, it unfolds as a village-wide act of belonging. The feast is not confined to the dining hall; it extends to doorsteps, to the sickbed, and to those unable to reach the temple. The celebration here recalls the central promise of the Mahabali legend: that prosperity must be shared and no one should remain outside its circle.

In this small temple near Nattassery, Onam is not a festival to be awaited. It is a recurring presence, arriving month after month, binding the community in food, ritual, and memory.