Vishu is one of the few Malayalee festivals that is celebrated based on the Solar Calendar. It falls on the first day of the month of Medam (April 14^th). The day marks the Sun’s arrival in the zodiac of Mesha and signals the start of the New Year. There are 60 years in the Hindu cyclic calendar, with the first being Prabhava. The Hindu year that would be born on the 14^th of April this year is Sarvadhari. The highlight of Vishu celebrations is the Vishukani. As I prepare for this year’s Vishu, my mind winds back to the Vishu celebrations from my childhood.

Though we lived several hundred miles away from our native land, Amma always made sure that we followed all our festivals in their true spirit. Traditionally, the Vishukani is arranged in an Uruli on the previous night. The uruli is a shallow circular vessel made out of bell metal. Since it’s a very fragile metal, it was used only sparingly for special occasions like these. On the night before Vishu, Amma would bring down the Uruli from the attic, give it a scrupulous scrubbing and make it shine like new. The place selected for the kani would also be cleaned and made ready with kolam (rangoli).

The arrangement used to be an elaborate affair that would take an hour or so. She would place Lord Guruvayurappan’s photo first on a wooden platform. In front of the photo, a mirror would be placed. She would decorate the photo and the mirror with flowers. The uruli would then be placed in front of the mirror. She would fill the base with paccharisi (raw rice), followed by a white silk cloth, usually Appa’s angavastram. The kani items would then follow one by one: yellow cucumber, golden ripe bananas, ripe mangoes, jackfruit, fruits, vazhappoo (banana flower), pudavalangai (snake gourd), halved coconuts, pumpkin and konnappoo (cassia fistula). The halved coconuts would be filled with gold ornaments and coins. Crisp rupee notes were kept in a separate plate. All of this would be covered by another silk cloth and left overnight. Lastly, she would place a nilavilakku (bell metal lamp), complete with oil and wick and a ready matchbox.

That night Amma would sleep near the kani. She would be the first one to be up before the crack of dawn. With closed eyes, she would light the lamp. She would then prayerfully open her eyes and take in the beauty of the Lord. Appa would be the next one to awake. After their respective kanikanals, it would be the kids’ turn for the kanikanal. His hands firmly over our eyes to prevent any mischievous peeking, Appa would lead us kids one by one to the kani. Two drops of water to rub our eyes with and we would be asked to open our eyes to behold the beauty and grace of the auspicious arrangement. Being the first day of the New Year, it’s only appropriate that we look at auspicious things first when we woke up.

The next big ritual was the Vishu Kaineettam given by Appa and Amma. Getting a rupee note and a few coins gave us so much joy that we eagerly looked forward to with anticipation. The kaineettam was our own money, to be spent on anything we wanted! Even during difficult times, Appa and Amma made sure they gave us generous kaineettams. The next few days after Vishu would see us cousins counting our moneys and seeing who got the most.

I remember a Vishu that I spent at my paternal grandfather’s home in Kerala when I was little. So instead of Appa and Amma, it was ammoommai who showed us the Vishukani that year. The house was full with all the cousins. After the kani, we cousins pooled our money and bought firecrackers. While the rest of the country bursts firecrackers for Diwali, Kerala has firecrackers during Vishu.

Talking of konnappoo, it was a rarity in our city and difficult to procure. Only a few shops would have them. There have been a few years when we had to miss the konnappoo because it wasn’t available. Mercifully, Vishu day used to be holiday for offices and schools, so we could really celebrate the day. Unlike Onam, there is no elaborate feast for Vishu, but Amma used to prepare a mini-feast anyway.

Now living thousands of miles away from motherland, we continue to celebrate Vishu.

I prepare the Vishukani the previous night; complete with the mirror, gold, fruits and Lord Guruvayurappan’s photo. I don’t get all the ingredients for the kani and make do with whatever I can get. Instead of konnappoo, I have chrysanthemums. Some years, I have been lucky to get vazhappoo (banana flower) The jackfruit is one fruit I miss.

I, as the eldest lady (!) of the house, wake up before the crack of dawn just like amma used to. I behold the graceful beauty of the Lord before waking up husband and daughter. Daughter gets her kaineettam, but in dollar bills. Since most of the time it would be a working day, we rush to the school and office afterward. We have a watered down feast at dinnertime. But most importantly, we have seen the kani. And having seen the Kani, we look forward to a year filled with prosperity and happiness.

 The fervour might have diminished due to time and space constraints, but the spirit continues.

  (Picture is from the Internet at http://www.zonkerala.com. Copyrights acknowledged)

 
WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS VISHU. 



Featured by Sulekha