UAE based company is not manufacturing or packaging the Aravana Payasam served at the Sabarimala temple in Kerala

Public Information Officer at Travancore Devaswom Board and the company Al Zahaa confirmed to Fact Crescendo that the viral claim is False. The image does not show the original Aravana Payasam served at the Sabarimala temple.

An image allegedly showing the “Aravana Prasadam” given to devotees at the Sabarimala temple in Kerala is widely circulating on social media. It is being claimed that a Muslim company whose tender has been issued by the Kerala Devaswom Board is packaging this holy offering. The packaging now shows name in Arabic script and has a Halal certificated stamp on it as well. The new packaging shows “Al Zahaa sweets LLC” written on it. The viral claim targets the Kerala government and accusing it of favoring the Muslim community.

The caption of the post mentions, “This is Aravana Payasam – a traditional dessert available only at Sabarimala Sannidan. The Kerala Devaswom Board seems to have issued a tender to a Muslim, at the same time not hesitating to insult the tradition, but not only calling it by its Arabic name but also referring to it as halal. What a shame for Hindus.”

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Similar post can be seen in Hindi above. This image is widely circulated on Facebook. In the screenshot below, we can see multiple posts sharing the image with the false narrative.

Let’s find out whether it is true or not.

Fact Check-

It is important to note that Payasam is offered as Prasad (holy offering) in every temple in Kerala. Aravana Payasam is an offering that is not exclusively available at the Sabarimala temple but this Prasad is also distributed in other temples by the respective Dewaswom Boards. The Kerala government by means of various Dewaswom boards administers the temples in Kerala. The Travancore Dewaswom Board is responsible for the administration of Sabarimala shrine.

Next, Fact Crescendo contacted the Public Information Officer at Travancore Devaswom Board; Mr. T K Ramesh Kumar who confirmed to us that the claim made in the viral viral post is false and baseless. Refuting the allegations he said, “The packing of the Aravana Payasam is completely different from what is shown in the viral image. The original Aravana Payasam is served in a tin can. The original packaging contains the logo of the Devaswom Board and the image of Sabarimala Ayyapa Swami (The presiding deity of Sabarimala Shrine). The contract for packaging of the Aravana Payasam is with one Mr. Omanakuttan. Previously, a company called Panchami Packaging did this. All these people belong to the Hindu community. The Devaswom board has never given the tender to anybody outside the Hindu community.”

Below you can see the comparison between the original Aravana Payasam given at the Sabarimala temple in Kerala and the viral image on social media.

We found that Al Zahaa Sweets LLC is a company based out of Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The company was established in 2020. They are a part of the food sector. 

Fact Crescendo Malayalam contacted Al Zahaa Sweets LLC who told us that the viral image on social media is a product from their company. They told us, “We are aware of the rumor that is circulating on social media. We are an LLC company located in UAE where we manufacture varieties of snacks and sweets including Arabic sweets. The Aravana Payasam is also one such delicacy. We do not have any contract with any temple in Kerala.”

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found that the viral message on social media claiming that the Kerala government has given the tender of the offerings (Aravana Payasam) at Sabarimala temple to a Muslim company is False. The viral image is a confectionery product sold by a UAE based company.