- Banana leaves laid and traditional Onam sadya served to monkeys at Kerala temple
- Monkeys patiently wait before eating, led by the senior troop member Murivaalan
- The feast tradition started 53 years ago to feed hungry temple monkeys during Onam
Pachadi, payasam and a full traditional Onam sadya. The banana leaves are laid out, the dishes carefully served and the guests wait patiently for their feast. But at the Sasthamkotta Sree Dharma Sastha Temple in Kerala's Kollam district, these special Onam guests are not humans - they are monkeys.
Every year on Uthradam and Thiruvonam (ninth and tenth days of Onam festival), the temple's resident monkeys are treated to a traditional Onam sadya, continuing a practice that began more than five decades ago.
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At the dining hall on the northern side of the temple, banana leaves were laid out in rows and the dishes were served one after another.
Watching from tree branches, walls and rooftops nearby, the monkeys waited as the feast was prepared. They did not rush towards the food. They stayed back until the rice and the last of the dishes were served and the people moved away.
Then came the first guest.
The senior member of the troop, known locally as Murivaalan, was the first to approach the leaves and taste the sadya. Once he began eating, the others climbed down from the trees and walls, taking their places in front of the banana leaves.
Within moments, the dining hall turned into one of Kerala's most unusual Onam scenes - an entire troop of monkeys enjoying a traditional feast.
The monkeys have long been closely associated with Sasthamkotta and the Dharma Sastha Temple. Local tradition links their presence here to the time of Lord Rama.
Aravindakshan Nair, who started the Uthradam feast 53 years ago, says the idea came to him after seeing the monkeys struggle to find food.
"When we celebrate Onam with a grand sadya, it is painful to think that these animals, who have lived alongside us for so long, should remain hungry," he said.
What began as an effort to make sure the monkeys did not go hungry has since become an enduring Onam tradition at Sasthamkotta - a feast where humans do the cooking and serving, and then quietly step aside for the temple's oldest residents.
