Rejoicing in nature's bounty

Festive thoughts come rushing to Keralites spread across the world as they prepare for yet another memorable Onam.

Onam is celebrated wherever there are Keralites — and that is in almost every country in the world. Onam traditions such as the pookkalam or flower carpet, new clothes and the onasadya are a must everywhere but many of the traditional games, dances and songs are not found outside of villages of Kerala.

Older generations remember how Onam was celebrated in Kerala when they were children, even before Kerala came into existence as a state of India. Thankom Janardhanan is 75 years old and lives with her daughter in Thiruvanthapuram. She remembers Onam as a gloriously happy time spent with her seven siblings, parents and a large extended family of uncles, aunts and cousins.

"Our house was a bungalow in a large area full of trees and flowering plants," she recalls. "We children had a great time collecting flowers of different colours for the daily pookkalam, which we started laying out in the front of our house right from Atham, ten days before Onam. We used to have several swings hanging from tree branches for all of us to swing up high to the treetops.

"Every day during the Onam season, groups of men dressed in costumes or painted like tigers used to come visiting and dance at our doorstep adding to the fun. The older women had kaikottikali [traditional clap dance] in the evenings and the men had wrestling and other competitions to entertain them. We also went shopping for new clothes at the market.

"The streets of Trivandrum were cleaned and the palace and other buildings spruced up and the king himself came to see and wish his subjects well. Sometimes our elders took us to see the vallamkali [snake boat race] on the Vembanad Lake," recalls Thankom, her eyes misting over as yet another Onam comes around.

This year she will celebrate Onam with her daughter, grandchildren and one great grandchild and they will have new clothes and the feast — small remnants of the Onam she used to know.

Gopakumar Mukundan owns a provision store in Chingavanam in Kottayam district of Kerala. He is 42 years old and to him Onam is the time sales increase tremendously. People from all over the area come to him to buy everything from rice and pulses to sugar, ghee and flour to make the various dishes for the special Onam feasts.

He says, "Business booms during the Onam season allowing me to make good profit and thereby provide my two daughters and wife with the best in clothes and other things they want for Onam. This year I also hope to complete my new house and have a grand housewarming party after Onam."

In Cochin, six-year-old Aashika Renjit is looking forward to Onam and a week's holidays as is usual in Kerala. She says, "My mother usually buys the latest-style clothes for me to wear on Onam day. My grandma gives me a surprise gift. We have a wonderful feast and lay the pookkalam every day with my grandma to help with its shape and colour."

Sambhu Chandu, a seven-year-old boy in Kottayam, participates in dance competitions and games in his school during Onam. He is excited about having a good time with friends this festive season.

Here in the UAE, Keralites celebrate Onam with feasts and parties taking place every weekend during the season. And the shopping is always plenty and frenetic, consisting of everything from new clothes to jewellry.

Sathy Sekhar, a lead accountant in a multinational company in Dubai, has her Onam plans all charted out. "I usually buy new clothes for my daughter Sandra and we have a feast at home," she says. "We call our parents back home and attend some of the Onam functions if there are any. The next day I usually take some of the goodies to the office for my colleagues."

Venugopal Menon usually spends Onam with family at home in Dubai. He and his wife Chandrika host a big feast for all his extended family members who are in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi and have a family reunion full of fun and laughter and good food. All the usual Onam delicacies made of several vegetables as well as two different payasams for dessert are part of the feast.

Onam is usually celebrated in style by malayali associations in London and other parts of the UK where there are sizeable malayali populations. According to Dhanya Rajendran, an insurance executive based in London, these day-long celebrations attract high attendance and Keralites use Onam as a way to interact and network in addition to getting a taste of Kerala in London.

Satish Nair, an IT Professional based in Phoenix, Arizona, in the US describes how he will celebrate Onam. "Every year Arizona Malayali Association (Arimala) organises a grand Onam function in Phoenix, AZ. The event has grown bigger and bigger, as the Keralite population here has grown tremendously especially in recent years.

"More than 500 people attended last year's celebrations. The event provides an opportunity for local Malayali artists to showcase their talents through several cultural programmes that are held as part of the function. In addition, a grand onasadya is prepared and served by the Arimala. This year the event is scheduled for September 14 at the Indo American Cultural Centre in Phoenix."

The celebrations continue on a personal level for Satish too. "We also get together with family and friends to celebrate Onam at someone's residence. We create a pookkalam and have a sadya with all the dishes served in banana leaves in traditional Kerala style.

"Women, men and children come dressed in traditional Kerala attire. Every family prepares and brings one or more dishes for the sadya, which makes it a team effort. Although we live several thousand miles away from home, we try our best to relive the memories of Onam in Kerala through our celebrations here."

So it seems that no matter where you are in the world, and no matter your age, Onam is always a time to celebrate being a Keralite.

Onam in the UAE: What's on when

Due to Ramadan, Onam celebrations organised by the UAE-based Indian clubs and associations have been postponed.

To find out what festivities will happen in your area to mark Onam, you can contact the numbers below.

• Dubai: Indian Association : +971 4 3536106
• Sharjah: Indian Association +971 6 5610845
• Abu Dhabi: Malayali Association +971 2 6422433
• Kerala Social Centre: +971 2 6314455
• Indian Social Centre: +971 2 6772225
• Fujairah: Indian Social Club: +971 9 2020621