Vishu

Medam is the first month of our Malayalam Calendar. It falls on the fourteenth of April of this year. The day is celebrated as Vishu in our state. A happy day to welcome the new year with "Vishu Kani" the first sight of the most auspicious and the most blessed of sight to start the new year with. Usually an image of Krishna decorated with flowers and lights along with the fruits of the land and the season symbolising prosperity and blessings is arranged at homes. The Golden Blossoms of Indian Laburnum is mandatory among the flowers for the Kani. The Golden shower is the bloom of the season and can be seen on every "Konna tree" everywhere. It gives a gleaming gold feel to the sight.

Then there is the "Kai Neetam" the gift of money and silver which usually elders give to the younger ones. At noon, there will be a mouth watering vegetarian feast similar to Onam. In the evening the Vishu Padakam (Fire Crackers) marks the beginning of the new year.

A tradition, a festival. The day is happy and joyful, everyone greets each other wearing new dress. Vishu Kodi.

This year, it coincided with Good Friday. The occasion turned out to be the mark of Kerala's Cultural and religious harmony. The memes and the picture messages that went around on the Social Media speaks for  Kerala's encompassing spiritual and philosophical attitude.

Happy Vishu. May the new year bring the best for everyone.

Vishu

Yellow themed prosperity festival, which marks the beginning of the year, is one of the dearest and favourite festivals in Kerala. Everyone wakes up early and bows before the preset bowl of abundance which has all the summer harvest produce - Mangoes, jackfruit, flowers, kumkum and the idol of lovely Krishna. An auspicious way of starting the new year, Vishu also denotes the summer equinox.

In the 9th Century, the Travancore King convened a meeting of the scholars and set the calendar with few changes and started anew. So in Kerala, unlike the rest of the country, the new year starts in Chingam, the malayalam month, which falls in August - September in the Onam days.

The festival is a great way to connect with the past when life was more nature bound, the typical phrases and the entertainment involved in these days are great nostalgic reminders of the days and the people who went by.