I had been to the temple today, today being Vishu, and that helped me walk down the memory lane. As I was watching ‘Kalyanasougandhikam Ottam Thullal’, I thought about the Vishu of my yester-years.
I used to wake up to my mother calling me with love, and my father gently guiding me to the Pooja room, where ‘Kani’ will be waiting for me and my sister. My mother never used to let me see the ‘Kani’, the night before when she arranged it, so that the sight will be all the more thrilling for me the next day. And when I sit in front of the blooming Kani flowers, and open my eyes, the next day, I see Lord Krishna smiling at me, and a reflection of myself in the mirror. Everything will be yellow and so very beautiful that it rejuvenates oneself (Am sure whoever said ‘Yellow yellow, dirty fellow’ had never seen this very beautiful sight, else he would never have said that).
Then comes the most exciting part, which I used to look forward to, the most, ‘kaineettam’, where people elder to you give you money. I remember days and days of calculating how much of a ‘collection’ I can make that year, and how to spend it. (And being the miser I was then, I used to save the cash for long, much to the envy of my sister :).
After that we run to the open space in front of our house, to light fireworks and burst crackers. It was always more of light and less of noise, probably because we were two girls. But it was always like that unless we had some cousins visiting us for Vishu. And after a bath, it meant time for temple to see the ‘Kani’ arranged there. I loved this part, especially because there will be so many elders around there, and we kids had quite a lot of collection (Now I will soon start dreading this. You see, the difference between debit and credit!!!)
Back home, people dressed in a lot of stuff comes for money and interrupts in between all those TV programmes. And a scrumptious lunch follows, mind-blowing Kerala-sadhya at its best. Mmmmm… it’s lip-smacking.
Wow man, wish I could go back to those old family days. Now that my sis is in US, and my mom, no more, its just me, my father, and grandmother at home. But still, we have a Vishu-Kani all ready for tomorrow, and will celebrate it together. There aren’t any crackers, ‘coz bursting them alone is no fun, but I have made up my mind to have a Gala-time, visiting friends and relatives. There are people around me who love me. And after all, its family-time…
I used to wake up to my mother calling me with love, and my father gently guiding me to the Pooja room, where ‘Kani’ will be waiting for me and my sister. My mother never used to let me see the ‘Kani’, the night before when she arranged it, so that the sight will be all the more thrilling for me the next day. And when I sit in front of the blooming Kani flowers, and open my eyes, the next day, I see Lord Krishna smiling at me, and a reflection of myself in the mirror. Everything will be yellow and so very beautiful that it rejuvenates oneself (Am sure whoever said ‘Yellow yellow, dirty fellow’ had never seen this very beautiful sight, else he would never have said that).
Then comes the most exciting part, which I used to look forward to, the most, ‘kaineettam’, where people elder to you give you money. I remember days and days of calculating how much of a ‘collection’ I can make that year, and how to spend it. (And being the miser I was then, I used to save the cash for long, much to the envy of my sister :).
After that we run to the open space in front of our house, to light fireworks and burst crackers. It was always more of light and less of noise, probably because we were two girls. But it was always like that unless we had some cousins visiting us for Vishu. And after a bath, it meant time for temple to see the ‘Kani’ arranged there. I loved this part, especially because there will be so many elders around there, and we kids had quite a lot of collection (Now I will soon start dreading this. You see, the difference between debit and credit!!!)
Back home, people dressed in a lot of stuff comes for money and interrupts in between all those TV programmes. And a scrumptious lunch follows, mind-blowing Kerala-sadhya at its best. Mmmmm… it’s lip-smacking.
Wow man, wish I could go back to those old family days. Now that my sis is in US, and my mom, no more, its just me, my father, and grandmother at home. But still, we have a Vishu-Kani all ready for tomorrow, and will celebrate it together. There aren’t any crackers, ‘coz bursting them alone is no fun, but I have made up my mind to have a Gala-time, visiting friends and relatives. There are people around me who love me. And after all, its family-time…
