It’s clear that Malavika Mohanan loves everything about Onam and its festivities be it sadya (Onam lunch) or making the vibrant flower rangoli called pookalam or dressing up in festive attire.
As the 10-day festival kicks off, the actor reflects on Onam celebrations at home, the actor shares, “My mum enjoys preparing sadya every year. We decorate the house with flowers and make pookalam,” she shares, adding that these traditions keep her connected to her roots.
“My parents are very Malayali and what I mean is that even though they have been living in Mumbai for 35 years, our house is like a mini Kerala. From the food to the way my mum has done the interiors of the house, you’ll feel tuned into the cultural nuances of the state when you enter the house.”
Often in Mumbai during Onam, during her growing up years, she “enjoyed shopping for flowers”. “Planning what design to make, choosing the right colours and decorating the house for the festival was fun. We found our own little traditions. I had Maharashtrian and Gujarati friends who would get excited about Onam and we shared an insight about the festival. It was, in a sense, coming together and celebrating. Making the pookalam was one of the highlights of the festival.”
With sadya being another highlight of Onam, Malavika shares an insight, saying, “The best part of sadya is that we do not eat non-vegetarian and I always tell my friends that if they’re on some diet or nutrition plan, that it is one of the few cuisines in India which has so many healthy and tasty vegetarian options. The dishes are yummy, protein rich, healthy, steamed options. Taste is important as what you eat has to be sustainable in the long run.”
Excitedly, she shares that her mum not only has her own secret sambar recipe but one that she got from a chef in the Malabar region. “It is nothing like any sambar you might have had in a restaurant. My mum makes this creamy, thick sambar which tastes divine. The recipe is like an heirloom in our house. She tells me, even if you don’t learn anything else, at least learn how to make this sambar. No one will be able to recreate it and I have not had that taste in sambar anywhere else, even a fellow Mallu household. You learn how to get it right only with experience.”
While Malavika could not enjoy Onam in Kerala growing up due to school etc, “but I was in Kerala for Onam a few years back”. She says, “The festivities there are another level, especially in Trivandrum. They have many folk shows, live performances, dance and plays. The entire city is celebrating and it’s so colorful like a carnival. But on Onam, after all the festivities and food basically everyone’s in a food coma. Everyone’s had too much food and payasam.”
Currently, she has had a hectic schedule especially since the past few weeks as she is “shooting every day”. With her shoots, she “might not be home this Onam but will ensure to not miss sadya”. She adds, “I have been shuttle shooting with two days in Chennai and three days in Hyderabad, and have been taking odd hour flights to make it on time for shoots. I am shooting for my Telugu debut with Prabhas and also working on this huge Tamil franchise Sardar 2. Then there’s my Hindi film Yudhra up for release too.”
