And just like that, VMA Onam 2026 arrived! Two days flew by in the blink of an eye. Even today, my son asked for yellow ice cream and strawberry ice cream—he genuinely believes every single day is a celebration.
Morning Star stepped up for the tug-of-war expecting to easily bag the first prize, but stumbled hard. They held their ground for a bit, but the hulks on the other side pulled with all their might. The women's match ended in a brawl—turns out someone had tied the rope behind them! Who on earth investigates and exposes these things? Playing CID even in the middle of Onam!
Left staring at the sky without even a single banana—let alone the prize plantain bunch—the Morning Star crew took to blaming the powerhouses.
Saw quite a variety of characters during the DJ session... folks who walked behind the stage on two legs returned on all fours to deliver full-blown 'Nagin dance' performances. There were plenty of champions jumping around in the crowd without knowing a single step. Some spotted me and ducked away, fearing I'd write about it and roast them. But the rascals with cameras spared no one, capturing everything and dropping it straight into group chats. That's true friendship for you—completely useless, but exceptionally destructive!
Carried away by the vibe, I hopped on stage to dance a bit, only for someone to tell me on the way down: 'Never realized you were such a great dancer!' Did they really have to roast me like that? It only struck me later that it was just a polite slap in the face—their diplomatic way of asking, 'Could you please just get off the stage?'
The lack of non-veg items at the food stalls caused quite a bit of distress. I even spotted someone mistaking the kadala (chickpea) curry and asking to 'pour some of that beef gravy.' I also saw someone who needed the assistance of four people just to finish a single Fulljar Soda.
Aside from the payasam and tapioca at the Onam sadya, nobody found fault with anything. Whether it was to stop people from sneaking in for a second round or not, there were volunteers posted every 10 meters. The ground report, however, is that these exact same volunteers were spotted feasting across multiple serving rounds!
I also saw people famished and stranded in front of the stage after losing their spot in the queue. There was an unusual crowd for the musical show (Ganamela)—and fair enough, when you've eaten up to your neck, you need a place to sit back and digest!
My better half, eager to savor her sambar, laid down the law right away: 'Don't come to me about the kids until I finish eating.' In the face of pure hunger, what kids, what father, what mother? Then came the decree: 'Don't bother going to any Onam event next time without first learning how to drape a saree!' Why chase after AI when someone could package all this into an essential life course? Isn't this what's actually needed to survive life, rather than AI? Surprising that no one has launched a ₹9,49,99 masterclass on family peace yet.
Those who went to collect trophies during lunch hour were caught in a fix. Even the anchor was so starved that they announced over the mic: 'Names will be called only once. If you want it, come and get it!' Having rushed like mad from home at 11 AM, I sat there looking completely foolish. Anyone expecting their name to be called to roaring applause was dead wrong. By the time it was over, the orchestra was setting up, and the vast majority were in the food queue. Either way, I walked away with two trophies in the end. A cash prize would've been nice considering how much I sweated—both during the game and in the queue for the trophy—though that might be wishful thinking.
When I proudly showed the hard-earned trophy to my son, he went: 'Is that all the trophy is? I was thinking I deserve listening to these dialogues.
Finally, I pulled out the magazine from the souvenir kit and flipped through it back and forth to see if anything of mine got published. Just when I thought my luck was running true to form, I checked the final page—and there it was! The editor didn't let me down.
Once the musical show started, it became clear there were plenty of singers around—almost everyone was lip-syncing along to every track! The jamming sessions from last time definitely need dusting off and reviving. The members who performed this time were each better than the last. The dance numbers and the fashion show were simply splendid.
Every year brings Onam celebrations, but an Onam that gets consistently better with each passing year seems to be a hallmark unique to VMA.
By evening, I saw the organizers fast asleep on the sofas... A heartfelt salute to them for toiling for days to pull this off!
See you all when the lamps are lit for the next event!
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