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Keralites in UAE usher in Onam

Today marks Thiruvonam, the last of the 10-day festival

Malayalis in the UAE are imbued with the spirit of Onam, the biggest festival of the south Indian state of Kerala, which is being celebrated today. Non-Malayali expatriates also joined in to celebrate the harvest festival of Kerala over the weekend.

“Though Onam is officially being celebrated today, a closely-knit group of our family and friends decided to celebrate it on Saturday. One of the main reasons that we get together with other Keralites is so that the younger generation understands the value of tradition,” said Biju Santosh, a software engineer in Dubai.

Many Malayalis in the UAE began preparations for Onam from as early as Thursday evening. This included the preparation of the Onam sadhya, a 26-dish feast served on a banana leaf. Since Thiru Onam this year falls on Sunday, a working day in the UAE, most Keralite families made plans to gather for the feast on Friday or Saturday.

Santosh and his family enjoyed their feast yesterday. “We all join the preparations like cutting vegetables one day before,” said Santosh.

Though advertisements for Onam sadhya, traditional clothing, and flowers began sprouting up in various retail outlets across the city several days before the festival, Keralites said the celebrations here can never match the festive atmosphere back home in Kerala.

A few residents told Khaleej Times that the celebrations will continue for several months from now. “In Kerala, Onam is a 10-day affair. In the UAE, cultural organisations, restaurants, and families will continue celebrating for another five to six months,” said Mohan N (32), a resident of Dubai.

Several restaurants serving Indian cuisine, especially South Indian dishes, have collaborated with some other hotels in Dubai and acquired permission from the authorities to supply the Onam sadhya. Some restaurants are also providing take-away Onam sadhya meals for bachelors who’re staying away from their families.

In addition, some private groups are set to celebrate Onam next Friday. Restaurants like Calicut Notebook, and Salkara in Karama and Al Qusais are serving the Onam sadhya meal; and supermarket chains like Nesto Supermarket and LuLu Hypermarket are selling goodies, including payasam (pudding) to their customers. Mohan said: “Every year, the celebrations are getting better and bigger. I also think that the Malayali diaspora in the UAE is just getting bigger in terms of numbers.”

Onam signifies the start of Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam calendar, and is marked by intricately-designed flower carpets (pookalam), elaborate lunches and boat races. Mohan said: “My generation of people grew up seeing the rituals of Onam first-hand. I want my children to experience the same.”

Navya Sajeev (25), a resident of Sharjah, said: “We as kids experienced a very different kind of Onam when we were back in India. But kids who grow up here in the UAE grow up not knowing many of our traditional values. The main festivities of Onam are buying new clothes or Onam-kodi (traditional clothing), Onam sadhya, and pookalam. The most important part of the festival is the Onam sadhya. People spend days cooking the meal, which includes pickles, curries, and other sweet dishes.”

Jayashree Kishore, a housewife, said: “We usually start the day very early in the morning by drawing a pookalam outside the house, after which, cooking for Onam sadhya begins. The most complicated and tedious bit about the Onam sadhya is the cutting of vegetables and that takes the longest time.”

Sajeev added that most men and women put in a lot of effort to cook a good Onam meal comprising 26-30 dishes.