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THE team at The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa celebrated Kerala’s very famous harvest festival, Onam, in style.
Following last year’s successful event organised by the property’s ‘Kerala community’ with more than 600 guests, this year the celebrations extended to an even larger scale attracting around 700 attendees.
The guest of honour was Sushma Swaraj, India’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Hotel manager Ned Capeleris said: “We were delighted to celebrate the Onam Festival with our fellow ladies and gentlemen at the hotel.
“We have a large community from Kerala and we are honoured to enjoy this special occasion with them. The day was marked with a special lunch, entertainment and other activities.”
After the opening ceremony, the guests were treated to a series of cultural activities such as the tiger dance called Puli Kali, the traditional dance Thiruvathira Kali and beautiful flower arrangements known as Pookalam.
One of the Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain members of staff dressed up as legendary King Mahabali and presided over the entire event.
The finale was the traditional Onasadya lunch with dishes such as Sambar (gravy made of vegetables), Aviyal (mixture of vegetables and coconut), Olan (preparation of pumpkin, coconut milk and ginger) and other accompaniments.
Bahrain boasts a large expat community heralding from Kerala.
