Vishu-the childhood memory.....

Vishu-the childhood memory.....

Vishu Kani

‘Vishu’ is a festival of nostalgic memories and it is associated with my childhood. It reminds me of the sights, sounds and smells of my soil.Those memories are as golden as the smile of ‘KaniKonna flower' (flower of cassia fistula tree).

 The ‘Kani Konna’ with its glorious  yellow colour can be seen on the streets which is the first sight first that announces that ‘Vishu’ is around the corner. The beautiful nature suddenly bursts with the all yellow. Even we choose the  available marigold, mangoes, yellow pods of jackfruit, yellow cucumber, yellow pumpkin and yellow banana as the best bounties for a visual relish (‘Kani’) on a ‘Vishu’ dawn.

Vishukaineettom'

'Vishu' is one  occasion when children's aspirations to become rich are richly rewarded. The 'Vishukaineettom' (token money given as a blessing by elders to all younger ones in the family) literally portrays prosperity that this festival rightly proclaims. Children feel honored everywhere and for once, in money matters, the elders are at the giving end on this day.

As children our preparations for Vishu used to start a month before the festival. I open my piggy bank on the eve of 'Vishu'. If there is a shortfall in my Vishu budget, my strategy had been to beg, borrow or steal. The main objective was to find resources to muster enough fire power by acquiring the maximum 'padakkam' (Crackers). The more the crackers that you can gather, the more prosperous your Vishu is. The testing of samplers starts on the Vishu eve when the dusk sets in and it progresses till 10 PM reserving the fiery ones for launch at 5 AM on the Vishu dawn after the auspicious ritual of 'Vishu Kani ' (The ritual of seeing items that symbolize prosperity as the first thing in the morning).

  'Vishu' in Sanskrit means 'equal' or when day becomes equal to night.The Malayalam New year as per solar calendar is celebrated around 14th or 15th of April every year.