Onam in Kochi, 2022–2025: How Each Year Was Different

Why look back at recent Onams

For newcomers, our Onam guide for Kalamassery explains the ten days from Atham to Thiruvonam, the holidays and the sadya. This archive page is different: it records what actually happened in Kochi in each recent year. The point is not nostalgia. Public celebrations in Kerala have been cancelled, shrunk or reshaped several times in the past decade because of disasters and the pandemic, and knowing that history helps you read each year’s announcements.

Timeline

2022: the first Onam after the pandemic years

Thiruvonam fell on 8 September 2022. It was the first Onam after the two pandemic-affected seasons of 2020 and 2021, which we cover in our pandemic archive. Markets, college celebrations and office sadyas returned in Kochi, though we have not found a single reliable source that measures the scale of that return.

There is a gap in the record for Athachamayam that year. Onmanorama later described the 2023 procession as coming back “after a solid break of three years”. We could not find a contemporary report that settles what form, if any, the 2022 procession took, so we leave the question open rather than guess.

2023: Athachamayam goes green

On Sunday 20 August 2023 Thrippunithura held a full Athachamayam, the procession that marks Atham, the first day of Onam, and recalls the processions once led by the rulers of Kochi. According to Onmanorama, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated it at 9 am, actor Mammootty flagged it off, and thousands lined the route. The organisers ran it as a plastic-free event under the green protocol, which fits the wider shift we describe in our single-use plastic ban history.

The state’s official Onam week programmes began on 27 August, and Thiruvonam fell on 29 August 2023. For a hostel resident, this was the year Onam felt most like the pre-2020 festival: big public events, crowded markets and full trains out of Kochi.

2024: a muted Onam after Wayanad

On 30 July 2024 landslides struck the villages of Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Meppadi panchayat, Wayanad. Reports put the death toll at over 200, and many homes were destroyed. On 8 August 2024, The South First reported, the Kerala Tourism Department cancelled the state-level Onam celebrations, including the week-long festival usually held in Thiruvananthapuram and district and office-level events; Tourism Minister P. A. Mohamed Riyas said the focus would be on search and rehabilitation. In Thrissur, the mayor said Pulikali would not be held, though troupes objected and a final decision was still pending when that report was published.

Community events were not all called off. The Athachamayam went ahead on 6 September 2024. Onmanorama reported that Assembly Speaker A. N. Shamseer hoisted the Atham flag and spoke about the villages lost in Wayanad, urging unity. Traffic restrictions applied in Thrippunithura from 7 am to 4 pm that day, and Thiruvonam followed on 15 September 2024.

Sources differ on how far the 2024 cancellations reached. Official state and district events were clearly cancelled; many local and community celebrations continued in a quieter form.

2025 and what this page does not cover

Thiruvonam fell on 5 September 2025. As of October 2026 we had not verified a detailed account of that year’s Athachamayam or state programme from the sources we checked, so we have not described them. We also do not give Onam price comparisons here. Grocery and vegetable prices swing with the season and the weather, and we found no consistent published series for Kochi. For the ration and kit side of Onam, see our ration and Onam kit history.

What the four years teach

• Official and community events are separate. In 2024 the government cancelled its own programme, but Athachamayam and local events still took place.
• Announcements come late. The 2024 cancellation came about five weeks before Thiruvonam.
• Athachamayam has a date of its own. It falls on Atham, about ten days before Thiruvonam. Our Athachamayam 2027 page looks ahead.
• Travel is the constant. In every normal year trains and buses out of Kochi fill up; see beating the Onam travel rush.

Onam from the NAD signal

North Kalamassery is close to the Thrikkakara temple linked to Onam and about an hour from Thrippunithura. If you are staying at Ashraf Gents Hostel over the festival, remember that no meals are provided, so plan your sadya early. Our page on where hostel men get an Onam sadya can help. More local history is in the Kalamassery history archive.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Onam for Newcomers in Kalamassery: What to Expect
• Thrikkakara Temple and the Onam Connection
• Kerala’s Free Food Kits and Ration Changes since 2020
• Kalamassery Archive: Events, Projects and Changes since 2016
• Adani Logistics Park Land: From HMT to Blue Star to Adani (2006–2025)
• Aluva’s History: Temple Town, Rail Junction, Metro Terminus

Sources

• Onmanorama: Atham day experiences ‘Harithachamayam’ in Tripunithura (20 Aug 2023)
• Onmanorama: Onam celebrations begin with Athachamayam at Tripunithura (6 Sep 2024)
• The South First: Kerala’s Pulikkali artistes feel the aftershocks of Wayanad landslides (14 Aug 2024)
• All India Radio News: Kerala’s 10-day Onam festivities started with Atham (6 Sep 2024)
• Kerala Tourism: Athachamayam event listing (6 Sep 2024)
• Wikipedia: Onam

Facts about Ashraf Gents Hostel come from the hostel’s own profile and photos; rates are indicative and confirmed on the call. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. How we write these guides: editorial notes. Map embeds © Google.

Cite this guide: Ashraf Gents Hostel. “Onam in Kochi, 2022–2025: How Each Year Was Different.” Published 8 October 2026. https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/onam-in-kochi-2022-2025-archive/ Plain-text (Markdown) version · quoting with a link back is welcome.