The magic of Vishu…
It is nice to snuggle under a sheet, half awake and in keen anticipation of that gentle call, the soft touch of mother, testing if I am still sleeping.. no, I am not sleeping... in fact, I am waiting for quite a while…. waiting for her to come and call.. but yes, my eyes are firmly closed and determined not to take a peek either. Excitement mounts as the call comes.. gently, mother comes and guides me from the bed, covering my eyes to make sure even by chance they do not open, to the puja room, a good 40 plus steps away, where the wonderful Vishukani is arranged in all its glory…I open my eyes only when I am seated before the Kani, my gaze then falls at the various items, but the first sight is invariably into the mirror seeing my own reflection visible clearly by the fully lit sparkling lamps and the numerous candles placed along the outer border of a Kolam, within which the Kani is placed.
(The Vishukkani or Vishu Kani has many items that represents prosperity and is auspicious. The idea is to wake up to view the auspicious items to ensure the rest of the year brings good luck and prosperity).
The thrills of the Vishu day to me and all at home, from my Primary school days well into the High School stage are laden with very happy memories of being woken up by mother, about two hours before sunrise, my somnolent gaze coming alive with the glitter of Kani, followed by Kaineetam (the traditional gift of a coin or money from father, signifying preservation of Dharmic values from one generation to the next). We children will sit before the Kani, long after everyone at home has seen it. Mother will bring each of my brothers and sisters, one by one, into the prayer room to view the Kani, tightly closing the eyes... and it will be a hilarious sight to see how each of them will stumble and take the first glance.
Bursting of crackers is the next highlight and our front yard will be littered with the burnt paper pieces from various types of crackers. Among all the houses in the vicinity, our house will have the maximum fireworks, much to the wonderment of our neighbors.
Vishu Kaineetam, is the Hansel given to children by elders and is an important ritual during Vishu festival. The earliest real Kaineetam, (apart from one single coin usually of a quarter of a rupee), that I can remember, was Rs.2.00 from father, when I was in V standard. To add to that, we kids would go house to house in the neighborhood, picking up a Kaineetam from every elder, who were tradition-bound to give a coin to every kid who came along. Each of us would compare the collections and wonder who else we could target to increase our total…. and this was great fun.
We were free to spend it the way we wanted to and we could go out anywhere as well, which was one great break from routine. I can clearly recall with that Rs.2.00 plus a few more 25 paise coins, I indulged in a self-treat at India Coffee House, digging into hot samosas and a biriyani, which was a luxury I had always dreamt of ; with the balance money, I shopped for a belt – a shining golden belt (the one I was eyeing a lot with another boy in class) and closed the celebration with a good movie; back home and late into the night, we brothers would narrate what each of us did. The wait for the next Vishu would begin from the very next day, each adding precious memories. From year to year, our Kaineetam would see a gradual increase, keeping in pace with the time.
Parents retired into our native village and we bachelor brothers were far away from the warmth of our mother’s deft touch to the magic of Vishu, that was gradually losing its luster, with her touch no more in our lives, as Vishu became just another day, in the calendar of rat race.
One great lady’s gradual fading away from my life as a mentor, was slowly swapped by another that entered as a life partner.
The first Vishukani, that my wife kept was simple, without the elaborateness of Mother’s kolam, yet her maiden teen-age attempt was enough to assure that the magic of Vishu would be kept alive in future years. Today my memory is filled with small and big thrills that I can recollect, while bringing up a son and a daughter to the magic of Vishu shared with their several cousins, all through their school life. The kids did exactly what we did and probably the feelings of excitement were also the same as I felt. I could see how thrilled they were comparing the Kaineetam collections each received.. and the clamor for that one bit more to top the collections.
With Time rolling by, it was not too long before Lalit brought home his newly married non-keralite bride who took upon the challenge, just a month into their married life, to set up a wonderful Vishukani in a very proper manner. Furthermore, she prepared a grand Sadhya (festive meal) with all recipes downloaded from net. The ‘cyber’ Sadhya equaled the traditional even to the discerning palate.
Past few years, Madhvi too has picked up all the cues necessary to set up her own VishuKani with her non-keralite husband partaking in every Kerala custom with equal panache as a local.
Today, 14th April is yet another Vishu. I am playing my father’s part. My grand-daughters will experience the very same excitement as my daughter felt on this day in her childhood, the same as I felt in mine. The only subtle difference is that I was overjoyed to receive Rs.2.00 then, while it was Rs.100 to our kids.. who now has the liberty to specify what the Kaineetam must be…..all in good spirit as long as we can laugh together as a family. This is the spirit of Vishu.
The specialty for the day is of course the Sadhya, the traditional Kerala lunch, which has changed very little from my mother’s kitchen to the present. The menu & recipe have remained the same while our taste buds can recall the occasions Sadhya went down with perfection. The grand finale is the traditional double treat of payasams (typical Kerala sweet dish), without which the Sadhya is incomplete. We make it a point to invite few non-keralites to savor the atmosphere of Vishu.
The eagerness with which my grand-daughters will wait for the next Vishu would depend on my daughter, how memorable she can make it for them today, as they will carry fond memories from now on.
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Have a safe week-end and a pleasant week ahead..
BEST WISHES TO ALL MY FRIENDS CELEBRATING EASTER ON 16th APRIL.
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