'Pookalam' ushers in Onam season

The Uttara Guruvayurappan Temple wore a festive look here today as a gathering of non-resident Malayalees from across the national capital region ushered in Onam through 'pookalams' or floral rangolis.
A corner of the sprawling temple complex, located at Mayur Vihar Phase I in east Delhi, was carpeted with petals of varieties of flowers, some flown in from Kerala, woven in intricate patterns.
The designs were part of a contest organised by the Malayala Manorama Group which saw the participation of around 27 teams from Delhi and neighbouring Noida and Gurgaon in its 12th year.
A striking spherical pattern where petals of contrasting hues were carefully juxtaposed, fetched Kavya, a student of class 11 of Mayur Vihar Phase I, the first prize.

"Around 10 varieties of flowers including roses and carnations were used to create it. The petals in the middle of the pattern are from Kerala," she explained.
The enthusiasm surrounding the traditional festival, that marks the homecoming of the mythical king Mahabali, cuts across age groups, going by the child-like excitement of Ramachandran, who teaches science at a school in Safdarjung.
"My students have helped me create this design. The speciality of our pattern is the minimal use of chopped flowers. And the design is completely natural and not a copy of computer generated graphics," he said.
Kavya bagged a cash prize of Rs 20,001 for her creation 'Sopanam' (sacred steps of a shrine) while the second and third prizes went to Guest House team of Mayur Vihar Phase III and All India Malayalee Association respectively.