Close to 7000 individuals gathered at the mall, dressed in traditional attires as sarees and mundu to celebrate the festival

Dubai, September 16, 2019:  Celebrating the rituals and traditions of the Kerala harvest festival Onam, Arabian Center was once again lit up with festivities to commemorate the joyous occasion. The mega-event was attended by a huge crowd of Indian Keralite community, with close to 7000 individuals, including the young and old being present at the event for the entire celebration, which lasted for more than seven hours.

While the social revelry witnessed a phenomenal crowd of the Indian Keralite community, other Indian expats also joined the festivity. The Indian community in the city was in a festive mood. For an Arabian Center regular, Onam is his favourite celebration at the mall. “Onam is a very special occasion for us. The festivities start at home and conclude at the mall. We commend Arabian’s efforts to host such a bright and colourful gathering.”

The festive occasion witnessed the performance of professional dancers who displayed artistic skills of the Indian state of Kerala through dances as Theyyam thira, Kathakali, Thiruvathirakali, Mohiniyattam and Singari melam. In addition, a variety of live characters dressed as Onapottan, Pulikkali, Theyyam, and many others performed cultural acts to add illumination to the mega-fest. Traditional games such as pillow fight was also a part of the grand revelries, which made the event super successful. Men and women dressed in conventional attires as sarees and mundu were the highlight of the event. However, it was the opportunity to relive the authentic experience of the festival back home that made the evening a super success.

Commenting on the event, Mr. Tim Jones, COO of Arabian Center said, “It was a pleasure to host Onam at Arabian Center. The commemoration is a perfect reflection of a unified celebration irrespective of caste and religion. This was our sixth get-together, and with each event, the festivities have only got better. The phenomenal gathering would not have been possible without the support of the local governing authorities, and we’d like to take this as an opportunity and extend our heartfelt gratitude to Dubai Police and Traffic Police for helping us run the events smoothly always.”

While Onam has been a hallmark of Arabian Center, this year the festivities were brighter and bigger, with around half of Indian population present at the mall to celebrate the rituals.