Celebrating Vishu

It was Vishu or the Malayali New Year on April 15th. I sat and wondered what I would do this year to celebrate. Only my kids and I were at home. My husband was away as usual. My mother wanted to spend the day elsewhere. My in-laws invited me to Kerala but I didn’t relish the idea of going that far in the heat with two children who would constantly complain of boredom along the way. So, there we were — all the units of my family, scattered and otherwise occupied. It didn’t seem like Vishu would be a good day this time. I was rather depressed just thinking about it.

Normally on this day, we get up at dawn with our eyes shut and open them to view the beautiful collection of specially chosen objects placed around a statue of Lord Krishna or photos of any god of your choice. Items like jackfruit, a special kind of cucumber, coconuts, bunches of young green mangoes, rice, money and gold are arranged aesthetically together with the lovely golden-yellow ‘konna’ flowers. A mirror is also placed to reflect the bounty so that the first sight that greets you on Vishu day is the beautiful ‘kani’. This sight along with the ‘kaineetam’ or gift of money that the elders give each younger member of the family ensures that the year ahead is blessed with prosperity.

I didn’t want to prepare the traditional feast which meant a large number of dishes, when there was no one to eat anything. It was then that two of my best friends told me to cheer up — we could always go out for lunch that day. I didn’t want to eat out — I suddenly felt it would be great if my two friends and their kids could join us for the ‘sadhya’. I would have people to share the special day and more importantly I would keep up the tradition so my children would not have to make do with a half-hearted Vishu.

So the kids rallied and helped me clean up and arrange everything. They woke up early and saw the ‘kani’ and promptly went back to sleep. They got up a bit later full of excitement at having friends over for lunch. I set to cooking up a small feast and readied the banana leaves on which the sadhya was served. The children loved the idea of eating off a leaf — not everyone had tried it before and it was something completely new to them. They chatted, laughed and ate with gusto. My friends and I served the kids together and then had our lunch as well. There was something so warm and loving about serving each other food and then eating leisurely. Dessert was payasam for the adults and ice-cream with chocolate sauce for the children. All in all, it was a big hit.

And thus the presence of good friends transformed this Vishu into a wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable experience when all I had expected was a lonely day.