Keralite expats celebrated Onam across the UAE with traditional dances, food festivals, and community events reflecting cultural pride.
DUBAI: The spirit of Onam swept across the United Arab Emirates this week, as the Malayalee community turned shopping centres, cultural venues, and homes into vibrant spaces of celebration. With Chenda Melam drumming, Pulikali tiger dances, and traditional Kerala attire, the UAE’s Keralite diaspora united to mark the iconic harvest festival.
While Onam traditionally spans ten days in Kerala, the celebrations in the UAE extend over several weeks, allowing for broader participation across the community. Events were held in various emirates, with family-friendly shows, fashion parades, and music performances filling the festive calendar. The heart of the celebrations centred around Thiruvonam, which fell on September 5, with homes and restaurants serving the iconic Onam Sadhya — a vegetarian feast made up of nearly two dozen dishes.
Supermarkets, particularly LuLu Hypermarket, joined the festivities by setting up Onam-themed aisles, selling essentials like banana chips, Kerala rice, spices, and pre-packed meal kits. LuLu also hosted a ‘Payasam Mela’, offering 30 types of payasam, including innovative millet-based versions, celebrating traditional flavours with modern twists.
The UAE’s Malayalee population plays a vital role in various sectors such as healthcare, hospitality, business, and education. Their contributions are especially visible during cultural moments like Onam, where their commitment to heritage and integration within the UAE is on full display.
These celebrations have gone beyond regional origins, embracing wider UAE society — with Emiratis, Filipinos, Egyptians, and others joining in. This reflects the UAE’s multicultural ethos, strengthened by government support and Keralite leadership across sectors.
Onam in the UAE is no longer just a community event — it’s a symbol of cultural harmony and unity, celebrated with joy and pride.
Onam is a traditional harvest festival from Kerala, India, celebrated mostly in August or September. It marks the return of the kind and generous King Mahabali, who is loved by the people. The festival lasts ten days and includes colourful flower decorations, music, dances, games, and a big vegetarian feast called Onam Sadhya. It is a time for families and communities to come together, wear traditional clothes, and enjoy Kerala’s rich culture and traditions.
