Dubai: There is an international flavour to the Onasadhya, the traditional Onam festival feast of expats from the south Indian state of Kerala, when it is served in the cultural melting pot called Dubai.
That was palpable in several restaurants and offices across the city on Wednesday when people of different nationalities joined the Malayali community here to celebrate Thiruvonam, the most important day of their 10-day-long harvest festival, with the elaborate vegetarian feast served on banana leaves.
“This is the second time that I am wearing sari,” said Marian Bartolome, who came to have Onasadhya at Calicut Notebook restaurant in LuLu Hypermarket, Al Barsha.
Onam: say it with flowers, food, festivities
Bartolome, a Filipina, was accompanied by her colleagues from Network International, a payment solutions company. “Most of my colleagues are Indians. We celebrate Diwali and other Indian festivals. I wore a sari for Diwali last time. Today I am in the traditional Kerala sari gifted by our CEO’s secretary, Bindu Thomas, who is also a Malayali. She gave me this jewellery set that I am wearing. This is a very special feeling,” said Bartolome.
Rana Finianos from Syria had come with some 20 of her colleagues from the corporate office of GEMS Education to savour Onasadhya.
“We are all from different countries. It is very important that we celebrate with people of other cultures,” said Finianos.
“We have celebrated Diwali earlier and I had worn a sari then. This is the first time I am celebrating Onam. I didn’t know about it this time or else I would have worn a sari. Anyway, I enjoyed the food…it is very yummy,” she said.
Her colleague, Peter S. from England, said Dubai is a fantastic melting pot. “I have lived here for 20 years. It is fantastic to get together and experience different cultures and traditions. Whether it is Eid, Diwali, Onam or Christmas, it brings us all together and helps people understand each other better,” he said.
Satheesh Kumar, managing director of the restaurant, said Onam day is the busiest day of the year for most Malayali restaurants here.
“Almost all of them are in the fray to offer the best Onasadhya in town. Hundreds of people queued up to have our Onasadhya today.”
Silgy Varghese, a manager at Calicut Paragon restaurant in Al Karama, said he has been seeing several foreigners joining their Malayali friends and colleagues for Onasadhya for over 10 years. “That is the speciality here. Many non-Malayalis, including foreigners and Emiratis, come to have Onasadhya with their friends. Some of them, especially ladies, come dressed in the Kerala sari.”
Vinod Nambiar, head of Business Associations and Events, UAE Exchange, said the money exchange celebrated Onam with the participation of its employees of different nationalities.
“Some of our staff from different countries wore the ethnic dress of Keralites and took part in the celebrations. We had the pookalam (flower decoration on the ground), chendamelam (traditional drum beats), pulikkali (tiger folk dance) and a Mahabali to give the traditional fervour to the celebration.”
Mahabali is the mythical king whose homecoming is celebrated during the harvest festival. In some companies in Dubai, there are non-Malayalis who dress up as Mahabali during their Onam celebrations. It is believed that during Mahabali’s reign, people were united without any discrimination, a message the Onam celebrations in Dubai continue to showcase.
