Third
day of the ten-day-long carnival of Onam is called Chothi or Chodi. The day
is marked by buzz and lot of activities. Frenzied shopping can be witnessed
in the market place all over the state as everybody buys new clothes and
accompanying accessories for the grand festival of Onam. Gifts are also
procured for everyone in the house including the servants. Some shopping is
also done for closed relatives. With the increasing hype for the festival,
thanks to the media, shopkeepers too come up with innovative incentives to
lure the customers who are in the mood to spend. These days even electronic
good keepers offer attractive discounts to cash in on the bullish mood of
the festivities. Well, there are no set rituals for Chothi. Specific flowers are added to Pookalam on this day too. It may be noted that different types of flowers are added to Pookalam on each day as each flower is devoted to a particular deity. As a result Pookalam increases in diameter on this day and gets a refreshing new design.
