Covid dampens Onam celebrations this year too

Nagpur: Onam, the 10-day annual harvest festival of Kerala, is celebrated by Malayalis worldwide in the month of Chingam to honour the return of King Mahabali as well as the Vaman avatar of Lord Vishnu.
The festival is ushered in amidst much fanfare with people practising a variety of traditional rituals like decorating their courtyards with ‘Pookalam’, a rangoli made of flowers, preparing feasts known as ‘onasadya’ and staging performances like traditional dance and music called ‘onakalikal’.
However, much like in 2020, this year the celebratory plans will remain subdued due to the Covid pandemic. People have opted to spend time with their families and close friends.
Past president of Keralayee Samajam, Manoj PV, said a few families will be heading to a farmhouse to ring in the festival. “People will dress in traditional clothes and families will prepare onasadya together. Last year there were more restrictions and so we were not able to revel in all the festivities,” added Manoj.
City president of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Pavithran Karat said, “Earlier, various organizations used to celebrate Onam with the entire community. Due to the lockdown, we will be observing the festive occasion at home with our family rather than participating in huge public functions. Relishing traditional Onam cuisine will be an important part of this auspicious day.”
Ancie Wilfred, a homemaker, said, “Every year, the highlight of Onam has been the grand sadya at our family friend Kurup Uncle’s house. We are joined by two other families and we feast on the irresistible food which Kurup Uncle serves us with a lot of love. These things are now just another sweet memory to cherish since the lockdown has denied us the opportunity to indulge our hearts and tastebuds for two consecutive years.” Revealing her Onam plans, she said, “We will get select items from Kerala Store, put together a few Kerala dishes and have it with just our immediate family.”
For principal of Essence International School Beena Menon, too, the celebrations will be low-key. “Since we are not in a position to go out and meet relatives, I will be spending time with my husband and mother-in-law watching Onam special programmes which are telecast on Malayalam TV channels. We will be designing the Pookalam at the entrance of our house and gifting new clothes to family members,” she said.
Menon believes the festival need not be a grand celebration always. “The delicacies are an important aspect of the festival. We plan to prepare 4-5 key dishes with ‘payasam’ or kheer being the highlight. We try to get papadams and banana chips from the nearby Kerala Store,” she said.
“Since my parents are with me this time around, I have decided to spend the day with them and organize the Onam feast,” said Rekha Nair, principal of School of Scholars, Atrey Layout.
“Lockdown posed certain restrictions on going out and purchasing items required for the festival but thanks to e-commerce sites, hassle-free online shopping is taken care of,” she said.