THOUSANDS of people in Bahrain are expected to take part in a series of cultural programmes, musical performances and a feast as part of this year’s Onam celebrations.
The Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam (BKS) will be hosting a range of activities and programmes at its premises in Segaya until September 30.
The two-month long festival, Sraavanam 2023, which kicked off earlier this month, marks the harvest festival of Kerala – Onam.
Onam is a festival which celebrates the homecoming of the legendary and generous demon-king Mahabali.
“This year, we have organised a wide range of musical and cultural events featuring artists and bands from India,” said BKS president P V Radhakrishna Pillai.
“Special installations and art work at the Samajam premises reflect this year’s Onam celebrations.”
A four-hour-long Grand Onam Procession featuring floats from different cities and towns in Kerala will be held from 4pm on Friday.
Participants will be dressed in traditional attires and costumes.
An instrumental fusion featuring Subash Cherthala (flute), Sreekumar Kalabhavan (keyboard) and P S Narendran (violin) will be held starting 8pm on September 7.
Indian music band Masala Coffee, which is known to perform across various genres such as Indian folk, blues, pop and rock, will take to the stage the following day starting at 7.30pm.
Other activities from September 9 to 13 include traditional group dance of women in Kerala, folk music performance by Aaravam Maram Band, Onam melodies and a traditional dress competition.
“We will be presenting the M P Raghu Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to the field of cinema to renowned lyricist Sreekumaran Thampi, 84, who has written several famous songs.”
The ceremony, on September 14, starts at 8pm and will feature different singers who will perform songs written by the lyricist.
Mr Pillai said a Bollywood night featuring popular playback singer K S Chithra and other singers will be held on September 15 starting at 7.30pm.
“More than 200 performers will take part in a folk dance programme highlighting different Indian dance forms on September 16 starting at 7pm.”
The headline event of the festival is the Onam traditional feast, Kerala Sadhya (Kerala Feast), that will be held on September 22 starting at 11am, prepared by Kerala’s celebrity chef Pazhayidom Namboothiri.”
Mr Pillai said the mega feast will feature more than 30 traditional vegetarian dishes served on a banana leaf.
A typical sadhya can have up to 28 dishes served as a single course, while during Onam or weddings more items can be added, even as many as 64.
During a traditional feast, people are seated cross-legged on mats and food is eaten with the right hand, without cutlery.
The main dish features rice, various curries, pickles, dessert and buttermilk.
Mr Pillai said they have brought large quantities of vegetables from Kerala for the occasion.
“We have imported 600kg of rice and three tonnes of spices and vegetables.
“We expect about 5,000 people to enjoy the feast, and we will be inviting Bahraini officials and our friends.”
He added that, for the first time, a special recreational street folk art (leopard dance) featuring about 150 performers will be held on September 29 at 7pm.
The festival ends with a grand finale on September 29.
All events are open to the public and will be held at the BKS. However, registration is required for the Onam feast and individuals can contact 32258697.
&uuid=(email))