A subdued Sadhya
Delhi is one of the oldest cities in the world, having been permanently settled some four-and-a-half millennia ago. Through the rise and fall of empires, sultanates, Raj, and republics, it has somehow survived, as have the people who come to call it home. Among the more recent settlers is the Kerala community, having carved its own niche into the Capital through the things they do best: commerce and cuisine.
While ‘mallus’, as they are affectionately called, have established themselves in the historiography of the Capital since 1947, there is no place this is more apparent than a tiny enclave with INA Market. In a crumbling courtyard that abuts the main market are scattered a handful of stores with a trove of foods, goods, and moods from Kerala.
On the eve of Onam in 2021, though, things are not as they usually seem in the normally bustling nook. I myself have had to wait in line for my preferred meat cooked with chilli. It takes a while. “We have experienced a loss of footfall, much like everywhere else, due to the pandemic. A lot of our people have gone home and so are not here to celebrate the festival as they usually do. Regardless, we’ll have all the offerings we always do for our Onam Sadhya,” says the representative of a restaurant, which still eschews publicity, but wishes to remains anonymous.
“People are scared due to the pandemic, it’s natural. I would say that more than half of the Keralites who used to live here have gone back home. Out of those who remain, some still don’t want to venture out,” says Shaji, whose Appus Hotel thankfully caters to both. “We always have a big Onam feast here, come here on Saturday (August 21) and you will see how many people come out to celebrate.”
That does not mean it is a failed cause. “We are a Christian store. People still come here for all their home’s flavours, regardless. Of course, we celebrate the festival in our own way, but it’s not something you’d want to write about,” is all that ML (‘Chippy’) Thomas divulges, despite much prodding.
And people do flock out to celebrate. “I am far away from home, and this is the closest I get to celebrating Onam over here. We go out the whole week but on Onam itself, each of us pick up a dish and bring to our PG to make a meal. It’s a lot of fun,” says Lakshmi R, a nurse in training, and part of a small cheerful group that had come to swell what is now a lacklustre market, chattering excitedly about presumably food and more.
The footfall has gone down everywhere, yet Lord Mahabali’s appetite, and his people’s, has not diminished. “A lot of the people are celebrating indoors rather with the community at large; and so we have prepared entire kits, which include all the vegetables (given that Sadhya is a vegetarian feast) and the whole banana leaf that the meal is served on,” shares Shaji. Do these enterprises serve more meat-based delicacies? Of course.
Onam 101
Onam is an annual harvest festival celebrated in the southern Indian state of Kerala. A major annual event for Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. Drawing from Hindu mythology, Onam commemorates King Mahabali.