Hundreds of Keralites living in the city welcomed Onam festival by organising a variety of activities on Sunday. The event 'Onachamayam 2011', was held at Narayangruh Vidyalaya by Ahmedabad Kerala Samajam (AKS).

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The festive ambience was special with women making rangoli of colourful flower petals and men engaged in tug-of-war fight and children enjoying swings.

AKS had organised such an event for the first time on a large scale, including all 15 wards. "Till now, each ward of AKS used to celebrate Onachamayam individually. But this is the first time we planned to celebrate together," said Mohan Nambiar, AKS president.

"We celebrated the event like a huge family. We organised various competitions like best rangoli ('Attappu' in Malayalam), tug-of-war for men. We also had folk dance and song competition in which people participate enthusiastically," said Manoj Kumar, art secretary, AKS.

The traditional folk dance with boys in colourful costumes and attractive paint on their face and dancing with swords was another attraction of the event.

Snacks and food items of Kerala and folk songs played in background added different flavour to the celebration reminiscing Kerala.

Mohandas K, joint secretary of AKS, spoke on the importance of celebration. "We are trying to spread our rich traditions and culture to the next generation like our children who have grown up here," he said.