It has been quite a long time since
my last post and here is one on Vishu :D
Vishu aka the Malayalam New Year,falls usually on April
14 or 15th every year.It is celebrated with the usual exuberance of any festival, it is also a harvest
festival which is a reminder of the days of our forefathers. Vishu also means
equal as it is the day during the
equinox, when there is equal number of hours of daylight and darkness.
Now I shall stop
providing Wikipedia like info on my blog and write what I wanted to about Vishu
:P . Definitely my readers would by now know the fact that it is not that Vishu is a
harvest festival nor that it has equal day and night hours that makes me feel so
happy about the festival! *duuh* It is the festival where you get Kaineetam (Tradition
where elders give money to the younger ones),Vishu Kani (the first sight in the
morning), then the epic Sadhya ( feast) it is the elaborate meal on a big
banana leaf where you will be treated to almost 25 dishes with rice ( a buffet
where you needn't move around – everything comes to you in a specific order) then
crackers and new clothes.
Vishu Kani arrangement is a fun thing to do in
India, because the yellow golden Laburnum flowers are an integral part of the
Kani and since we did not have these flowers at our house,we invariably plucked
them from the trees in our neighbors’
houses ,and in houses where they act like they can’t share a few flowers we
take it without their consent *yeaah steal :P I am pretty sure that the people
from whose backyards I “borrowed” some flowers without consent from them will not read my blog, even if they do
for the greater good they will forgive me :P*, and in case it’s on the higher branches all the monkey acts to get
some so that the Vishu kani is perfect for the next day morning .Then setting
it with Vegetables, fruits, mirrors, pictures and idols of God, Money, Gold and
lot more things which depending on each household varies. And the even
beautiful part is the view you have in the morning, usually my mother wakes me
up and leads me to the place where the Kani is set and it is the first view
that you have once you open your eyes. An auspicious Kani at dawn on the Vishu
day is considered lucky for the entire year. It’s not every day that you
get to see such a beautifully set view in the morning.
As a person who has
spent only few Vishu’s in India with my relatives, the times I have are
cherished memories. Especially watching my grandfather read the Ramayana and
listening to him narrate the stories for me, also our conversations where he reminisces
about his young days,then visiting the temple with him . Followed by, pestering
everyone who comes home that day for Kaineetam. We used to literally visit *in
reality,raid * every house in the neighborhood acting like kids spreading the
joy of Vishu but there, just to get our money :D. Being the youngest one was
good and bad then, because as the youngest some of my kind elders would give me
more money and others would just be like’ you’re a kid what do you need money
for !’ and give me less than my sister * What do they know about the financial
needs of a ten year old! Hmph*.I also had to deal with extra” smart”
brothers who would give coins and get away with it and their supposedly valid
reasoning for it is that for Vishu Kaineetam it should be given only in coins
and not notes! *Can’t blame them, coz I do it now :P*
The sumptuous lunch
which is like a half an hour ritual *actually the time is variable, based on
how much you hog*. After which there will be games and conversation and the
usual laziness after a heavy meal! *burp :P*
Even in my 4years of
hostel life, I used to set up Kani with great fervor , it was the only festival
I religiously made sure to take the pain to celebrate. Though I don’t really
believe in the auspiciousness of the Kani,the entire joy of setting it up and
waking up in the morning to view it gives a sense of happiness that I cherish.
For those of my
readers who could relate,I am sure you might have had a good time reminiscing old
memories and for those of you who are getting to know Vishu for the first time-
it is today and if you have Keralite friends around bug them to treat you with
a Sadhya :) *fully vegetarian deliciouss meal! *
I would love to hear your favorite memories of the festival and for my readers who are wondering
about Vishu it is a festival like Ugadi, Tamil New Year and Lohri *that’s all I
can think of now* .
So dear readers, Vishu all a Happy Vishu ;D *pun intended* Hope all of you have a brilliant year
ahead :)