Onam festival celebrated at Siddhapudur Ayyappa temple

The Onam festival was celebrated with devotion and cultural fervour at the Ayyappa temple in Siddhapudur, Coimbatore, drawing a large gathering of the Malayali community. 
The festival, which is observed annually from the Astam day of the month of Avani to Thiruvonam, is marked with traditional customs and religious observances.
Families from Kerala, settled in Coimbatore, arrived at the temple dressed in traditional Malayali attire to offer prayers and participate in the festivities. A colourful Athipoo Kolam was laid under the temple flagpole, which drew the attention of devotees and visitors who captured photographs and enjoyed the festive atmosphere.
In keeping with tradition, many families also created Athipoo Kolams at their homes before visiting the temple for darshan. According to belief, King Mahabali, also known as Mahabali Chakravarthy, visits the earth during Onam. 
The ten-day festival is celebrated to welcome him, with Malayalis decorating their houses with floral arrangements and lighting lamps in his honour.
The celebrations extended beyond Kerala, with Onam observed widely across Tamil Nadu in places such as Chennai, Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Kanyakumari, and Nagercoil, reflecting the cultural presence of the Malayali community.
As part of the observance at Siddhapudur Ayyappa temple, a rice-feeding ceremony for children was also held. Parents expressed that it is considered auspicious to feed rice to children for the first time if their birthdays fall on the day of Onam.
The temple premises resonated with joy and festivity as devotees marked the occasion with prayers, traditional rituals, and cultural expressions, reaffirming the spirit of Onam as a festival of unity, prosperity, and devotion.