CATEGORY : HERITAGE TOURISM , FESTIVALS
Omallur is a small
town, about 4 km south of Pathanamthitta District headquarters, in Kerala.
Omallur is famous for Vayal Vanibham which is an annual cattle fair held in the
month of Meenam (Malayalam Year). People from both within and outside the state
participate in the fair.
In olden days
farmers’ products and agricultural goods were brought to Omalloor for sale from
the neighbouring places like Pathanamthitta, Konni and from
places on the valleys of Western Ghats, and also from
Tamil Nadu through Aryankavu Pass. Traders collected
and transported these goods through the ferry at Kaippattoor in the
river Achencovil and then through River Pamba toNiranam Harbour.
When Kochi became prominent in trade and commerce, the importance
of Kollam, Niranam and Kodungalloor has diminished.
This resulted for a fall in Trade in Omalloor. 
There existed a
shopping festival in Omalloor from the ancient days onwards for one month during Meenam (March
15th - April 15th). The cattle Trade Fair lasted for
one week starting from 1st ofMeenam. The dry paddy field
and the land property on its sides were all filled with cattle brought from all
parts of Kerala and also from Tamil Nadu. During the month of Meenam,
goods like farmers’ products, farmers’ goods and tools, seeds and saplings of
plants, products made out of bamboo and cane, wooden and steel furniture,
variety of vessels made of steel, copper and brass, earthen pots, kitchen
wares, cutlery, grocery, stationary, cosmetics etc were available for sale in
large scale in Omalloor. People from far and near arrived then to buy goods
they required for one year. To attract people to Omalloor, there conducted
shows like circus, magic, dance programmes, martial art display,
exhibition and a variety of entertainment programmes in temporary
auditoriums built in the dry paddy field, to give the colour of a
large festival in Omalloor. Though the new trend in business management of the
modern age casts a shadow over the Omalloor Trade Fair, the effort of
the Panchayat and the local people to regain the old prestige
resulted to arise a spark of hope among the people of Omalloor.Attractions
Traditional
Trade Fair