In Kerala, the celebration lasts for 10 days, but here in Doha they do an abbreviated version, spending one day in games, music and dancing, and eating the traditional feast. We arrived not long before dinner (of course we had to get there in time to eat!), just in time to see the parade of King Maveli and Vashtu, with a troupe of drummers, lions, and young ladies holding baskets of flower petals. Some of the spectators danced along with the lions, the music was deafening loud, the room was hot like a sauna, but the disco balls twirled cheerfully from the ceiling, and people laughed and chatted in keeping with the occasion.
I noticed that there was some activity outside, so stepped out into the blinding sun for a breath of "fresh" air (as fresh as it can be in 40 temperatures!) and to see what was going on. Men were setting up to have a tug of war. It was very serious business as they would not start until they were guaranteed that the rope had been properly centered. Young women stood around in their vividly colored saris and salwar kameez waiting for the action to start.
The meal, called Onasadya, was served on banana leaf and consisted of rice (of course), vegetable curries, a cabbage dish and a variety of pickles. I was actually hoping that I would miss the meal because the only utensils available were my own fingers, and I wasn't sure that I could handle eating with my hands. But I decided to dive in like everyone else. It was an absolutely delicious meal, hands or not, and I'm glad that I gave it a try. Sheila Chick would have been proud!
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