Onasadya is the most important custom of Thiruvonam. In the past, the relevance of an Onasadya lay in its preparation and serving, as it was important that the feast be held at one’s home. Houses would be bustling as Onam came around the corner. The main concern would be getting everything organized to prepare the sadya. Groceries, vegetables, ingredients for the payasam, all would need to be bought. The various types of upperi made for another section. There are houses where at least four kinds of upperi are prepared. All such chores are finished before Uthradom. Families embraced these initiatives with fervour for the annual coming of Onam. What mattered was that an Onasadya brought together children, grandchildren and extended families.
Times have changed though. Onasadyas are celebrated as nuclear families instead. Preparing a grand feast in such a short time became a practical challenge for many over time. Responsibilities at the workplace and a lack of time became issues. The new generations also suffered from the absence of people who knew how to prepare the various dishes of a sadya. That is how hotels made an entry with ‘parcel’ sadyas. The appeal of having enough time to enjoy the Onam specials on television also increased takers for the Onasadya.
Hotel sadyas first appeared in Kochi. Many hotels began to offer Onasadya on a pre-booked basis. The kitchens of many famous traditional cooks also became a space for ‘readymade’ Onasadya. This trend began with the sale of payasam first. Restaurants and hotels focused on getting the sadya to people in as little time as possible. There were hotels that opened only to serve sadya. Now people have the option of making bookings up to the day before Thiruvonam. Online booking, which was started as an option during Covid, has now become the norm. Hotels deliver sadya packed in containers and packets. Food-delivery companies have made apps all the rage now.
The question now is ‘Which hotel serves the best sadya?’ Such is the fate of the Onasadya which ought to be prepared in people’s homes. Onasadya belongs to catering services more than hotels now. Social media is flooded with advertisements of catering services offering Onasadya as they look forward to a sellout of orders. If one needs a sadya from a good catering service, orders need to be placed weeks in advance. The market price of an Onasadya is anywhere between Rs 200 and Rs 500. Anyone can book it from anywhere with ‘readymade Onasadya’ making an entry into rural areas too.