Thumba: The Fading Purity of Onam

Mukkuttipoovum naruthumbapoovum
Kayiyethakonbathu mandarapoovumayi
Ponnonam koodan ee vazhi ni vayo
Chinga Katte poovumkondu ee vazhi ni vayo

(Here blooms mukkutti, thumba and low lying branches of Mandaram
Oh Chingam wind! please come through this path with more flowers to celebrate Onam)

These are the words of my friend Baiju in his new Onam song. I hope I have justified the song with correct translation. The song had a great effect on me as I was celebrating Onam in Kerala after a long gap. And I was planning for a perfect Onam celebration.

A pookalam with the flowers from a garden but lacks thumba.

This Onam morning, my neighbours had an unexpected visitor. I was hunting for the humble 'thumba' flowers (lucas aspera). I know the importance of thumba and I definitely didn't want to upset King Mahabali by not putting his favourite flower on the floral carpet.

This thumba is a common weed found in India. Though it is very common, it is precious for its medicinal and cultural importance. In ayurveda, it is considered as expectorant, stimulant, laxative, and anthelmintic.

I didn't find the weed in my garden, so I approached my generous neighbours. They hid their astonishment by offering me a handful of marigolds that landed from Karanataka state. They were more shocked when I politely declined the offer and insisted on thumba flowers.

Finally, I had to compromise with varieties of marigolds and roses. We should  thank our neighbouring states for helping us by providing almost everything during our festivals. But will the coming generations ever have the fun of searching every nook and corner for the flowers and tackle the challenge of creating floral designs as per the available flowers?

Will the traditional flowers Kakka Poovu, Thechipoovu, Mukkutti (little tree plant), Chemparathy (Hibiscus), Aripoo (Lantana), Hanuman Kireedom (Red pagoda plant) and Chethi (Ixora) slowly vanish from the Malayalee culture?

However, my hunt for thumba plants is on. Probably, by next Onam, I will have a handful of thumba flowers to welcome our King Mahabali.