Keep calm and Onom-nom! Simple hacks to bring the Onam spirit home away from home

Ask any Malayali in the city, and Onam isn't complete without a little bit of home.

Key points

• Living in a 1, 000-sqft apartment did not stop account manager Aiswarya Ghosh from hosting a 20-person Onam celebration.
• In a city like Bengaluru, those juggling the festive mood of Onam with work may find it easier to share the workload with friends.
• Sandra S, senior analyst recommends simple changes that instantly create a home feel festive.
• Take an old kurti and add a few hand-drawn elements using fabric paints or textile colours.

Ask any Malayali in the city, and Onam isn't complete without a little bit of home. But for those living away from its warmth, celebrating Onam in Bengaluru comes with practical challenges – there may be little room for an elaborate pookalam, little time to prepare a traditional sadhya and, of course, the annual scramble to put together the perfect festive fit. Fret not, a little creativity can go a long way in bringing the festive spirit home.

Sandra S, senior analyst recommends simple changes that instantly create a home feel festive. "Hang marigold garlands throughout the entryway and place a brass nilavilakku in a corner. Instead of a floor pookalam, place an uruli, fill it with water and arrange flowers in circles. Cleaning up will additionally be hassle-free. Lay down a kasavu mundu as a table runner and swap the cushion covers for cream or gold-bordered fabric, " she notes. Athul Krishna, communication manager, agrees, as he adds, "Change the tablecloths, sofa spreads, and pillow covers. It visually and mentally create a sense of festivity. Then bring out festive special (seasonal) snacks on the dining table. It anyone can come and eat, or just seeing them can evoke the festival spirit."

In a city like Bengaluru, those juggling the festive mood of Onam with work may find it easier to share the workload with friends. Homemaker Sheeba Ravindran prefers doing just that. "Instead of stressing over a full spread, a few of us close friends pool our efforts. We stick to the absolute essentials like avial, sambar and payasam so the true essence of Onam isn't lost. For the paal payasam, I employ a simple pressure-cooker shortcut – rice, milk and sugar left on low heat for half an hour makes a dessert with barely five minutes of effort, " she states. Whereas Krishna recommends having a structure in mind for the sadhya. "My must-haves are puli inji, thoran, avial, kalan, sambar, pickle and payasam. Chop your vegetables and refrigerate them first so you save time while cooking, " he notes. And if cooking isn't feasible, Sandra states ordering sadhya is always an option – just serve it on a plantain leaf for that unmistakable festive touch.

Life (and space)-Saving Pookalam.

Living in a 1, 000-sqft apartment did not stop account manager Aiswarya Ghosh from hosting a 20-person Onam celebration. With limited floor space, she changed the traditional floral arrangement. "Who remarked a pookalam has to be round? We applied one corner of the house and created a quarter-shaped pookalam instead. It took up much less space, but still offered us that full Onam feeling, " she states. Ravindran additionally suggests thinking beyond the traditional format. "If flowers are hard to obtain, we apply colour powders. It is simple, but still brings that festive element into the home, " she notes.

DIY: Dress, Improvise & Yay!

If you don't have time to purchase a new outfit but want a new feel, photographer and illustrator Malavika S suggests turning a plain or old kurti or kurta into an Onam canvas. "Take an old kurti and add a few hand-drawn elements using fabric paints or textile colours. Even a border, flowers, coconut trees or little festive motifs can completely transform it, " she says, adding, "You don't have to be an artist either; even finger-painted flowers or dots can look beautiful." For an even quicker fix, Ghosh pairs her grandmother's set mundu with a ready-made blouse. "Just drape the set mundu, add some jewellery, flowers and bangles, and you're pretty much Onam-ready, " she notes. Sandra notes wearing anything white or something with classic kasavu, putting your hair in a low sleek bun or half up pin and wrapping a strand of fresh jasmine flowers will produce a major difference, noting, "Since the outfit is all about kasavu and set-mundu, it doesn't require a perfectly stitched matching blouse and we could easily pair it up with anything from our wardrobe."

For now, keep calm and Onom-nom! Simple hacks to bring the Onam spirit home remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.