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MUMBAI: Onam opens on an auspicious note on Uthradom, with a special episode of Udayamritham, Uthrada Polima at 6.30 am; Thumba Poove Poothirule at 7.30 am shows a glimpse of the multitude of elaborate Ona Kalikal that Kerala boasted of once- upon-a-time, but which are now slipping into oblivion & recreates a handful of them - for old time‘s sake; Uthradavattom at 8.30 am in which 4 doyens from the socio-cultural field Kaithapram, Mathusudhanan Nair, Janardhan Puthusseri and C.J. Kuttappan re-visit the rich traditional folk culture of Kerala that is but memory now; in Ona Sadya at 1.30pm , in order to do full justice to the most delicious part of Onam, the Onam lunch once relished never forgotten; Taste of Kerala approaches veteran traditional cooks from all over Kerala and persuades them to part with their practice- perfected secret recipes that cover the entire menu of the Onam sadya & teaches the ‘art of serving‘ the repast that follows a strict sequence, where each dish has a pre- ordered place ; Interview with Sadhana Sargam at 2.30 pm in which the South Indian Melody Queen discloses what brought her into the playback scene& her indebtedness to A.R.Rehman ; in Harimuraleeravam at 7.00 pm, Hariharan the Trivandrumite who strides the international music scene talks about his childhood Onams spent in Kerala; Movies for Television will bring the day‘s programme to a close.
Amrita TV greets the most important of all Onam days with Thiruvona Thirumathuram at 6.30 followed by Thumba Poove Poothirule at 7.30 am ; in Priyamulla Kazhchakal an interview with Priyadarshan at 9.30 am, the Malayalam film director who conquered Bollywood, holds forth on his directorial achievements and the special relationship he shares with Mohanlal his childhood buddy; in Ona Sadya at 1.30 am, as the whole of Kerala gets ready to tuck into a sumptuous banquet, Ona Sadya too joins in the feasting in the Ezhumatoor palace where Kalesh demonstrates the ‘knack‘ of eating from the plantain leaf; in Virunnu at 2.00pm, Suresh Gopi & family call at the Kavadiyar Palace, where His Royal Highness Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma & Aswathy Thirunal Thampuratti recollect the glorious days when Travancore was still under royal reign and share anecdotes of the Onam of their youth ; followed by Malayalathinte Mahanithi in which one can listen to the reminiscences of megastar Mohanlal at 7.00pm.
Avittom dawns at 6.30 am with Avittaperuma , another Udayamritham Special ;at 9.00 am Onam at Paleri Manikyam. Location, on the location of Renjith‘s latest directorial venture ,this special programme traces the genesis of the movie - from an oral history of the incident that triggered off the novel to its translation into the visual medium; in Interview with Usha Uthup at 9.30am, she opens up on her initiation into the world of music, her early struggle as a singer and establishment as the Queen of Pop; after the strenuous exertions of the 1st and 2nd Onam, to prepare the most elaborate meal for any festival in any country, the women of the house take a break and serve avittakatta -an amalgam formed of mixing some dishes of the sadhya. Ona Sadhya at 1.30pm takes a look at making of the dish; Virunnu at 2.00pm , featuring M. Jayachandran, Priyanka, Manjeri, Sayanora etc is a music packed show, full of traditional melodies Vanchipattu, Onapattu, Kummattipattu, Nadanpattu ; Shobhanayodoppam at 8.00pm, in which the 3 judges of Vanita Ratnam-3 Shobhana, Kalpana & Murali chat informally with the contestants of Vanita Ratnam-3 in an impromptu t?te-?-t?te . They swap tongue twisters that finally leave have them in stitches, chip in to decorate a pookkalam, play referee as the competitors sway for supremacy in a tug-of-war and in the end instead of dishing out marks, serve them with a delectable sadhya.
Chatayam commences with Chataya Charutha at 6.30am; ‘Ullasayatra at 9.30 am in which some of the eliminated contestants of Super Star-1 and Super Star Junior-2, go on a pleasure trip on board a luxury house boat with Soumya Balan, who anchors the show. As they cruise over the placid waters of the Punnamada Kayal , they share their reality show experiences with each other and sing a few of their favourite songs rounding off the outing with a grand Onam feast; in Ona Sadhya at 1.30 pm, ending the 2 week long special series on a sweet note, the show moves to the Sree Krishna College in Guruvayoor, where the students conduct an unique ‘Payasam Mela‘ and gets a taste of the culinary skills of the competitors; Ona Thilakkom at 2.00pm in which t he winners of Amrita Tv‘s 4 musical reality shows , Super Star-1, Super Star Global , Super Star Junior-1 & Super Star Junior-2, share this Onam with young starlet Meera Nandan. They chat breezily about their Onam experiences, sing songs dear to their heart, pool their ideas to make a pookalam, take turns at the swing and end with the traditional banquet ; Ente Ormayile Balyam at 7.30 pm is a programme that travels back in time to the land of Nostalgia, full of pleasant remembrances, fond memories and the recollections from the past of Shasi Tharoor; Shobhanoyodoppam at 8.00pm is the second part of the programme featuring the judges & contestants of Vanita Ratnam-3.
