Onam celebrations in Chennai till Sept 7: Details inside

CHENNAI: Onam, Kerala's harvest festival, is all set to be celebrated with full gusto this year in Chennai. The last two years’ celebrations have been limited due to the Covid induced lockdown. Madras Kerala Samaj made arrangements for Onam fair 2022 - a sale of quality essentials through 20 stalls at Samaj hall from Saturday (September 3) till Wednesday (September 7).

There was an inaugural ceremony in the morning where traditional dances of Kerala were performed. And, to welcome the guests, aththapoo kolam was put at the entrance.

As many as 20 stalls are set up, including Handloom Kasavu sarees from Kuthambulli, Kerala nendran, papadam, special tamarind chutney powder. The products are bought from Kerala, and sold at the lowest price.

RK Sridhar, secretary, educational and charitable trust, Madras Kerala Samaj said, "Though the celebration was restricted during the pandemic, we did not arrange for any stalls for Malayalis who celebrate the Onam festival in Chennai. Instead, we introduced a system to deliver 'Onam kit' which contained the required things used for the festival."

On the first day, the fair received a good number of people purchasing the required products for Onam Sadhya. The stall even has exclusive designs of kasavu saree and set mundu, and some normal cotton sarees.

"Many of us couldn't celebrate the annual festival, neither in Chennai nor in Kerala, due to the lockdown. And unable to buy new clothes for Onam. Compared to normal days, the eatery items such as Chakkara varatty, nendran chips, and unniappam are for the lowest prices here, " said V Shanthi, a resident of Purasaiwakkam.

The stalls are expected to receive more customers in the next four days. And based on the demand, more shops are likely to set up on Sunday or Monday.