By Sajeev K Peter

KUWAIT: The Malayali community in Kuwait celebrated ‘Onam’, the harvest festival of the southern Indian state of Kerala, on Tuesday with family feasts, social events and cultural programs. Although the festivities reached their zenith on Tuesday, the auspicious day of ‘Thiruvonam’, the celebration will continue until October with cultural activities and sumptuous Onam feasts taking place on weekends.

“I am delighted to extend my warm greetings and good wishes to members of Indian community in Kuwait on the auspicious occasion of Onam festival,” Indian Ambassador Dr Adarsh Swaika said in a message on Monday. The Onam festival brings together a multitude of colors and flavors from around Kerala. The highlight of the celebration is the multicourse vegetarian feast ‘Onasadya’ that consists of more than 20 traditional dishes prepared and served during the 10-day of Onam festival starting from ‘Atham’ day.

“Onam is a celebration of unity in diversity and serves as a poignant reminder of the timeless values of benevolence, compassion and sacrifice. It is also an occasion to remember and honor the tremendous efforts of our farming community and to express gratitude to nature for the harvest. The ‘Onam sadya’ is full of fresh food items harvested from the farms and presents the diversity of our traditional food basket. May the spirit of Onam bring joy and prosperity to all,” the ambassador added. Since ‘Thiruvonam’ fell on a working day in Kuwait, most Malayali households relied on Indian restaurants for attractive meal kits.

Cashing in on the seasonal demand, many Indian restaurants in Kuwait are dishing out package meals at competitive rates. “Usually, we prepare ‘Onasadya’ at home. The preparation of the feast demands a lot of time and energy. We are required to make a spread of curries, fried vegetables, fried snacks, pickles and a variety of sweet dishes alongside red rice.

But this year, we ordered the Onam meal kit from a restaurant in Salmiya and they delivered it to our doorstep before lunchtime, making our feast a hassle-free affair,” said Balachandran, a Salmiya resident. The festivity is not just confined to the sheer variety of food and desserts prepared and served, as the spirit of Onam is also experienced in the form of a range of cultural events, tug-of-war contests and musical and dance performances organized under the auspices of different social groups and associations in Kuwait.

“We celebrate Onam as a festival of joy and harmony that epitomizes the unity of our culture and heritage,” said Divakaran, president of Amma Kuwait, a cultural organization. Amma Kuwait has planned a day-long event to celebrate Onam on Sept 1 at a chalet in Kabd. “We will cherish the glorious past, embrace the present moment and look forward to the future with optimism,” Divakaran said.