Goa-based Keralite families celebrate Onam after two years

After Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, Keralite-Goans gear up to celebrate Kerala’s most loved festival – Onam. Owing to the two-year COVID restrictions, many were forced to restrain themselves of grand celebrations. This year, however, they are not thinking twice, says Krishna Mohan, who has purchased several items from Kerala for the occasion like banana chips, tapioca chips, appalams and much more.


Families in Goa come together
“We have not celebrated Onam with the entire family for two years, so we decided to celebrate it here in Goa. Most of the family is busy with work, and since it’s also a long weekend, we thought of coming here. We have brought most of the eatables and other Puja items from Kerala. Some of our relatives had reached Goa yesterday especially for the celebrations and will leave soon,” says Prasanna Das, from Panaji.

The long weekend has also enticed Varun Krrishna to celebrate the festival in Goa with his family. “My family is in Goa; and I asked them to celebrate it here as we could take a break from Kerala. I also plan on going to the beach and chilling at some cafes in Anjuna,” says Varun.

Guest relish traditional Onam Sadhya
Every year, Mohan would get some traditional items in Goan stores to complete the Onam Sadhya, but COVID-19 played spoilsport and there was not much available over the last two years. “In fact, over the last two years we didn’t do anything. Our friends are now asking me to party and thus, we are cooking around 29 dishes for around 5-7 people,” says Mohan.

While Mustafa, who owns a store in Panaji, sells only Onam products and has been extremely busy. He says, “The last two days were extremely chaotic. There were a lot of Malayalis purchasing raw materials, some of which are not easily available in Goa. The sales have been surely catching up. We have sent WhatsApp messages to all our customers about the items available this year. In fact, we open very early and close only after 10pm these days.”

Sneha Rahul who has been celebrating this festival with her husband and his family says, “I’ve been very excited to celebrate the festival this year. We will have around 20 guests at our house, but we will be making fewer dishes (around 20-25). The excitement at our place is just amazing.”


Get real-time updates on Budget 2025 and Income Tax Slabs on Times of India. Check out the latest income tax slabs FY 2025-26.