How celebrating my first Onam in Kerala reminded me of Diwali

I grew up in North India, married a man from the south and now I'm learning the joys of this celebration with his family

Aarti Jhurani, right, and her niece with their pookkalam. Aarti Jhurani / The National

Growing up in Delhi, I was only ever excited about celebrating three festivals every year: Holi, the festival of colours, best enjoyed with coloured powders, water guns and a feast of crispy pakoras; Diwali, the festival of lights, which meant new clothes and plenty of sweets, as well as dining and games with loved ones; and Eid, for all the kebabs, biriyanis and desserts our friends celebrating would invite us to feast on.

However, I don’t think I understood the magnitude a festive feast could reach until I celebrated my first Onam. Seven years ago, I married into a very different culture — my husband is from Kerala. While we are both Hindus, the traditions and celebrations of South India are very different from what I ever experienced living in my little North India bubble.

Celebrated over 10 days, Onam is the biggest festival in Kerala. Essentially a harvest festival, Onam honours the homecoming of the beloved King Mahabali.

A few years ago, I experienced my first Onam celebration in my husband's home town, Kannur.

It felt like Diwali in a lot of ways in terms of the funfairs, mega sales and festive atmosphere, but it was a far more intimate celebration than I am used to. We spent the first few days in the city shopping for clothes, snacks, sweetmeats and flowers, to make the pookkalam (a carpet-like decoration). Pookkalam is similar to the rangoli etched outside homes during Diwali, but this one is only made with fresh flowers and petals, as opposed to coloured powders.

We ate way too many snacks at the fairs, shopped for some knick-knacks for the house and I witnessed my first pulikali (which translates as “play of the tigers”), a dramatic folk dance, which is an intrinsic part of Onam festivities.

Pulikali performers in Thrissur, Kerala. Photo: AFP

The main day of the Onam celebrations started early, as prepping the sadya was an elaborate affair. It is a vegetarian feast served mainly at weddings and on Onam, featuring more than 25 dishes. My mother-in-law makes most of these from scratch, including the various lentil and legume preparations (parippu, sambar, erissery), vegetables (rasam, avial, olan, pulisseri, thoran, koottukari), yoghurt-based sides (pachadi, kaalan), red rice and payasam for dessert. To this we added a selection pickles, sweet and savoury banana chips (with bananas picked from the garden) and deep-fried poppadums.

It was no mean feat and it took three women nearly 12 hours to get everything ready. Before our guests arrived, my sister-in-law, niece and I went out to the veranda to make our little pookkalam, which was the most fun part of the day.

Our guests arrived to enjoy the feast even as we laid out the sadya and set freshly washed banana leaves in lieu of plates. The ladies wore white and gold saris and the men donned bright shirts and mundus, with greetings of “Onam ashamsakal” going around.

The Onam feast typically consists of 25 or more items served on a banana leaf. Jeff Topping / The National

As my family sat down to finally enjoy the fruits of our labour, I realised although I may not fully understand what is being said around me, the joy of celebrating together transcends language.

In the UAE, our Onam celebrations are a bit quieter. While I do not have the culinary ability to take on the mammoth task of making the sadya, my husband and I always put on our traditional best, order classic dishes from one of the many Keralite restaurants in the capital (our top picks include Calicut Notebook, Payyannur Restaurant and Dine Out), and gather close friends — our family here — for a celebratory feast every year.

Scroll through the gallery below to see more from Onam festivities

An Indian Theyyam artist with his face painted waits to perform during the Kummattikali as part of the annual Onam festival celebrations in Thrissur district of Kerala in South India. AFP

A Theyyam artist performs during the Kummattikali. AFP

An artisan prepares face masks resembling various Hindu deities for the Kummattikali, a form of colourful mask dance performed as a part of Onam celebrations in Kerala. AFP

Performers painted as tigers take part in the Pulikkali or tiger dance, in Thrissur. AFP

Students celebrate the Onam festival at a college campus in Chennai, wearing the traditional cream and gold saris. AFP

One of the highlights of the festival for many is the Onam sadya or feast. Vegetarian food is often served en masse in the community, in restaurants or at homes, and is always presented on a banana leaf. Photo: Address Dubai Marina

An Onam sadya feast is served, with mixed vegetables in yoghurt, snake gourd, ash gourd with coconut milk, sweet ripe mango curry, banana and rice chips and other traditional dishes, at a home in Dubai. Jeff Topping / The National

Artists perform a dance during the Onam festival in Thrissur, Kerala. AFP

Dancers in body paint wait to take part in a performance. Reuters

Volunteers prepare food to serve hundreds of people during Onam at the Kerala Social Centre in Abu Dhabi. Andrew Henderson / The National

An Onam feast at the Kerala Social Centre in Abu Dhabi, which hosted more than 2,000 people for a three-course meal. Andrew Henderson / The National

Artists perform a traditional dance during the start of the Onam festival in Cochin, Kerala. AP

A dancer painted to look like a tiger wears a mask backstage before performing during festivities marking the end of Onam. Reuters

An Indian folk artist dressed as the Hindu god Muruga waits to perform during Kummattikali, as a part of Onam. AP

A mahout tightens a rope as he drapes a caparison on to an elephant's head, during Onam in Kerala. Reuters

A mahout sits between elephants participating in Onam festivities, on the outskirts of Kochi. AP

Devotees pray on the occasion of Onam at Astik Samaj Temple, Matunga in Mumbai, India. Getty

A floral pookkalam made on the occasion of Onam at Panvel Railway Station in Mumbai. Getty

A woman puts the finishing touches to a flower pookkalam at Panvel Railway Station in Navi Mumbai. Getty

Women in traditional Kerala saris take a selfie in front of a pookkalam made during Onam, at CST station in Mumbai, India. Getty

Percussion artists playing the thavil, a traditional drum, walk ahead of a caparisoned elephant carrying an idol of a deity during Onam, at the Vamana Hindu temple in Kochi, Kerala. AP

A jockey races a pair of bulls on paddy fields during the annual Kalapoottu bull-running festival, on the occasion of Onam, in the village of Vengannur near Palakkad in Kerala. AFP

Girls in traditional attire dance as their mother shoots a video to mark Onam, outside a Hindu temple in Kochi, Kerala. AP

A flower vendor awaits customers at a temporary stall during Onam festivities in Kochi, Kerala. AP