Malayalees go all out to celebrate Vishu festival

Dubai - Many Malayalee restaurants reported that they were at full capacity, as thousands flocked to take advantage of attractive deals on the sadhya feast.

Thousands of Malayalee expatriates and their families across the UAE celebrated Vishu - a harvest festival that marks the beginning of the new year - on Thursday.
For most, the day began with the Vishukkani - which consists of a ritual arrangement of auspicious articles intended to signify prosperity, including gold, rice, fruits and vegetables, betel leaves, metal mirror, yellow flowers called konna (Cassia fistula), holy texts and coins, all arranged around dieties in an ambience lit by the nilavilakku. This is arranged by the elders of the family the night before and is the first thing seen by the younger generation on Vishu morning.
Later in the day, most people headed to the traditional feast, known as Sadhya.
"Vishu is mostly a family affair... After the morning formalities, my wife and I prepared sadya and celebrated it with our two sons and some other family members," said Dubai resident Sunil Ashok. "I usually always take the day off for Vishu because I'm very keen on our kids understanding our culture and where we come from."
Many Malayalee restaurants reported that they were at full capacity, as thousands flocked to take advantage of attractive deals on the sadhya feast.
Biju Nair, the marketing manager of the Calicut Notebook restaurant chain, said that the restaurants six locations collectively sold 7,000 sadhya meals. "This was maximum capacity. We expect the same on Friday," he said.
Sowmya Venugopal, a school teacher residing in Sharjah said: "After the morning prayers, my husband and I left for work and the kids went to school. We usually prepare Vishu sadhya, but since today is a working day, we ordered the food from a restaurant."
Venugopal added: "I miss the celebrations back in India because it is so much more vibrant and the entire family gets together. We try to educate our kids about our culture as much as we can."
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

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