Malayalees all set for celebrations
abu dhabi — For the last few days, expats from south Indian state of Kerala are in high spirits. Closely following Eid celebrations, Thiruvonam comes calling on Monday.
The 10-day harvest festival of Onam marks the visit of mythical King Mahabali to his subjects on earth. The eve of Onam, called ‘Uthradom’, saw a rush of people making their final purchases for the grand celebrations, which includes the sadya (feast), pookalam (floral carpet), onakoddi (new clothes) and more to welcome the benevolent king.
Hypermarkets were ready for the customers with local produce of vegetables and flowers, and those imported to the UAE from Oman and India. “We have special prices for Onam with discounts on many products,” Madinat Zayed LuLu Hypermarket general manager Reji said on Sunday.
“We have many vegetables from India and banana leaves too. We opened early during Eid and for Onam.”
Outside the hypermarket, a five-metre long model of ‘nalukettu’ — the traditional architectural style of Kerala homes — had swarms of customers taking photos and selfies.
Despite all the pomp and fervour celebrating Onam in the UAE, a few like Saneesh Unnikrishnan felt homesick.
“I am eagerly waiting to return and be with my family for the next Onam and other celebrations. I have friends here but miss the atmosphere back in Kerala,” he said.
However, those who have been in the UAE for long have adjusted to the situation and prefer to mark their traditional festivals here.
“We are celebrating here for the last 20 years. You get everything here from vegetables and flowers for the festival. We also have a lot of friends and our celebrations here carry on for weeks. We enjoy bringing our festivities here,” Reenu Joji, a homemaker, said.
A group of three friends — Krishna Prashant, Adarsh M and Vipin OM — have even taken leave from work for Onam. They stay at a labour accommodation and cannot cook ‘sadya’ there. “We will be eating out at one of the restaurants as we don’t have the facility to cook. We plan to make flower arrangements and other Onamkali (sports) like tug of war,” Prashant said.
The local restaurants have ‘sadya’ orders running into thousands.
“We have 1,500 parcel orders and up to 1,000 guests are expected by Monday afternoon. We had a similar response during Eid with more than 750 guests,” Anil Simon of Calicut Notebook restaurant said.
Monday will see Malayalis mark Onam and herald the start of week-long celebrations. Though the Onam festival has roots in Hindu mythology, Keralites of other communities celebrate the festival with equal zest.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com