Onashamsakal

Here’s wishing all our Keralite friends a very happy Onam! May this, the harvest festival, herald a harvest of fortune and felicity in your lives.

Desi friends and relatives who have lived abroad for many years tell me that Indian festivals used to be rather difficult to celebrate outside India. Barring a few major north Indian festivals (Navrathri, Diwali, Eid, etc.), people and the authorities in many Western cities knew little about India’s diverse communities and their many festivals. Fortunately, this is not the case any more. Other Indian festivals are gradually getting their due. Yet, much remains to be done on the front of inter-community festive celebrations by NRIs and their host communities.

The significant numbers of Keralite expatriates in the Middle East has meant that Onam has been celebrated with some fanfare for a few years now. But other expatriate Keralites are catching up with their Gulf cousins. I came across a report of Onam being celebrated in Malvern, England! If a small town (not to diss Malvern) can put up such a show, the possibilities are endless in other bigger cities. How about a snake boat race on the Thames, or a Pookalam contest in Central Park? Come on, Mallus. Swing your weight. Give Onam the bling it deserves!

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