Ask many Malayalis what they remember about childhood Onam and Onakkodi — the new clothes received for the festival — will probably appear somewhere in the story.
By Chodhi, the third stage in our Onam journey, the festival is beginning to feel closer.
The pookalam is growing, conversations about Thiruvonam are becoming more frequent, and families begin thinking about clothes, gifts, food and the people they hope to celebrate with.
Why Onakkodi feels special
New clothes are a long-established part of Onam celebrations.
Kerala Tourism describes wearing new clothes and gifting Onakkodi to loved ones as an important Onam tradition, connected with dressing well to welcome Mahabali.
But the meaning was never simply about fashion.
For earlier generations, receiving a new mundu, shirt, skirt or settu mundu could feel genuinely special because buying new clothes was far less frequent than it is today. Kerala Tourism’s Malayalam account also recalls how new garments were once closely associated with the arrival of the prosperous Onam season after Karkidakam.
That is probably why so many childhood Onam memories are attached not to an expensive outfit, but to who gave it and how it felt to receive it.
It doesn’t have to become a shopping competition
For families today, particularly in the Gulf, Onam arrives alongside plenty of other expenses.
School costs, flights, rent, household commitments and community programmes do not disappear simply because festival season has begun.
There is no need to turn Onakkodi into financial pressure.
One carefully chosen outfit can be enough.
Traditional clothes from a previous year can be worn again. Children can receive one meaningful gift rather than several. Families can even choose something handmade or connected with Kerala instead of buying purely for the sake of buying.
The tradition is about giving with affection, not comparing price tags.
What will children actually remember?
Probably not how much their clothes cost.
They may remember going shopping with their parents.
They may remember a parcel arriving from Kerala.
They may remember grandparents choosing something for them, getting dressed for an Onam programme or being allowed to select flowers for the next day’s pookalam.
These small experiences are often what turn a festival into a childhood memory.
A good day to start preparing
For Gulf Malayali families, Chodhi can simply become a useful point in the Onam journey to ask:
Have we decided when the family will celebrate?
Do the children need anything for their school programme?
Are we sending something to parents or grandparents?
Are we buying because it is meaningful — or simply because festival advertising tells us to?
There is nothing wrong with shopping for Onam.
It just becomes more meaningful when the people matter more than the purchase.
MalluMetro Take
Onakkodi is special not because the clothes are new.
It is special because someone thought of you when choosing them.
For children growing up in the Gulf, that may be the tradition worth preserving: not an expectation of expensive festival shopping, but the happiness of giving, receiving and preparing for Onam together.
The best Onakkodi is not necessarily the most expensive one. It is the one that becomes part of someone’s Onam memory.