Keralites observe low-key Vishu in the UAE

Keralites in the UAE distributed sadhya', a traditional vegetarian feast, to 1,000 people in Dubai on Tuesday as part of Vishu, Malayalam new year, celebrations which were largely low-key due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, according to a media report.

During this difficult time, we don't want anyone to miss the Vishu sadhya'. Keralites or not, anyone who is in need can come and collect the food kit, Shanavas Mohammed, owner of Uppum Mulakum restaurant where the sadhya' food bags were available, told the Gulf News.

Sadhya, which literally translates to banquet in Malayam, is usually served on a banana leaf consisting of about 20 dishes ranging from a variety of dals, vegetable curries and desert items.

Though it is a Hindu festival, we Malayalis celebrate Vishu, just like we celebrate Onam irrespective of our religion, Mohammed said.

He thanked the kind-hearted' people who came forward for the contribution at a time when the world has been rocked by a pandemic.

Apart from the Vishu meal, Mohammed's restaurant is giving food to the needy for the past three weeks.

This year the Vishu celebrations have been low-key in the UAE.

Sandhya Santhosh, a housewife here, told the Gulf News that there were concerns on whether items used in religious rituals, like Konna flower, would be available.

Everyone is home. But nobody is in a mood to celebrate. We will not even keep the Vishukkani (spread of auspicious items). I don't even know if Konna flowers are available in shops now, Santhosh was quoted as saying by the daily.

Usually shops serving Keralites is flush with such prayer items but the coronavirus outbreak has hit operations this year.

Perumal Flower Stores in Bur Dubai said they had few flowers to sell this time when last year they had a stock of about 2 tonnes of flowers, the report said.

However, Indian-owned Lulu Group managed to stock Konna flowers to ensure minimum availability.

These came along with most of the vegetables used in preparing the Kani and Vishu sadhya and the banana leaves on which the feast is served. All these came on the six aircraft we chartered to import vegetables from Kerala in the past two days, V Nandakumar, chief communications officer, Lulu Group, told Gulf News.

He said fears of the coronavirus had hit footfalls massively which reflected in the stocks procured this year.

The coronavirus which originated in China's Wuhan city in December last year has claimed 25 lives and infected 4,521 people in the UAE.

Across the world, the virus has killed over 121,000 people with over 1.9 million positive cases so far.