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Keralites flock to UAE markets for Vishu preparation

Dubai - Around 1 to 1.5 tonnes of the beautiful 'golden rain' blooms are sold in the UAE during Vishu, due to its ritual importance on the day.

As the large Keralite community prepares to celebrate Vishu, the Hindu New Year, this Friday, expatriate families are in search of the yellow 'konna' flowers (Cassia Fistula), fruits and vegetables that are an essential part of the rituals.
Around 1 to 1.5 tonnes of the beautiful 'golden rain' blooms are sold in the UAE during Vishu, due to its ritual importance on the day. Malayalees celebrate the New Year by starting the day with all things yellow - gold coins, the traditional kasavu mundu attire, bananas and other vegetables, followed by making rice preparations to mark a bountiful year ahead. However, in spite of the demand, vegetable vendors said only the price of perishable items go up and some vegetables are actually cheaper in Dubai than back home in Kerala.
"We've got a stock of konna flowers, sourced from Coimbatore and other parts of Tamil Nadu state. Even though the Tamil and Malayalee communities celebrate its new year on the same day, only the latter use the flower. Last year, we sold more than one tonne of blooms. This year, we've placed orders for more than a tonne," said V Perumal of Natural Flowers, Bur Dubai.
Many regular customers want the konna poovu - sold for Dh35 per kg - during Vishu. "Earlier, the flower used to come in normal cartons, but now we are packing it in iced thermocol packets, which raises the price to Dh50 per kg," he said. All the retail chains and vegetable vendors source the unique flower from Perumal.
Preparations are on in full swing for the Vishu sadhya (celebratory feast) as well. "As Vishu falls on Good Friday this year, business may be dull because Christians will be fasting. Normally, all Malayalees irrespective of religion, observe the festival," said Shilji Varghese, regional general manager of Calicut Paragon, a leading chain of restaurants. "This year, we completed all our procurement a few days before Vishu, because on the day itself, all the customers flooding the market causes a shortage of stock and skyrocketing prices. Last year, we sold about 5,000 packets of the Vishu feast in our six branches. This year, the quantity is likely to be a bit less, because Vishu coincides with Good Friday when Christians will be fasting," added Varghese.
A feast with 25 dishes
Several thousand meals are sold on Vishu day, as many bachelors flock to the restaurants for their special feast and many families prefer to do so too, sparing themselves the heavy cooking. Some restaurants even fly in chefs from India specially for the festival.
"We have started taking orders for Vishu sadhya, offering 25 items for the Dh35 takeaway. "We've made calculations for the demand in all our outlets, and sales are likely to be less than in Onam."
Another restaurant, Malabar
Express, said they are offering 26 items for a Dh38 takeaway parcel and Dh35 for dine-in. "This year, we are waiting and watching because the Good Friday and Vishu comes together. Normally, people celebrate Vishu and Onam irrespective of religious beliefs. Bitter gourd, beans and other items are expensive and we have brought some directly from Kerala. We have only two types of payasam, and we expect about 1,500 customers on Friday," said Shibu Jose, partner at Malabar Express.
Vegetables coming from Kerala have also become expensive: a bag of  25 coconuts is now Dh8 to 10 more, costing Dh 35 per bag. Bitter gourd has doubled to Dh5 per kg, said Shijith Das, procurement manager of a leading chain of restaurants.
Going bananas over food
"We have 30 items and 3 payasams, which will cost Dh40 per packet. We've had big Vishu feasts 2013 onwards. This season, it's been difficult to get jaggery, ban-anas and banana leaves. Elephant yam and green bananas have become expensive and we have to keep all these stocked in advance. Even though there is a shortage and prices will go up, we have already advertised our Dh40 meal and cannot back out," said Vivek Joji of Nadumuttam Restaurant, Karama. "About 2,000 vishu feasts are served in our restaurant on Vishu. Especially since it's Good Friday the same day, Christian customers will prefer eating vegetarian meals," he added.
But all the plans and meals hinge on the availability of the precious vegetables around which the Vishu feast centres. "The demand for
banana leaves and small bananas are high as well, making them expensive. Now, vegetables and fruits are coming in from Mumbai by ship, taking the pressure off the prices. In the past, some vegetables were coming in only via air cargo, which is expensive," said Mohammed Fadhil of Gold Fruit International.
"It takes only four days transit-time for vegetables by sea. Highly perishable items like banana leaves and konna flowers are expensive during the season. We don't increase prices during Vishu because most of customers are regular ones, and we don't like to charge them more just for the festival."
Demand for flowers, food during the festival
> 1 to 1.5 tonnes - Cassia Fistula blooms sold in the UAE during Vishu
> Dh35 to Dh50 per kg - price of Cassia Fistula flowers per kg
> Dh8 to 10 - bag of 25 coconuts
> Dh5 per kg - Bitter gourd
> Dh35 to 40 - Average price of Vishu feast per person at most restaurants
> 25 to 30 items - served in each Vishu meal at restaurants
sathish@khaleejtimes.com