Vishu is around the corner and am about to get into a panic driven state. I am one who truly believes that the better the Vishukani, the better the year ahead. And this year, I have no clue about what is in store for me! And the fact that we are in the States does not help either.
I decided to start with a picture/statue of Lord Krishna. And on a rainy(and cold) Sunday evening dragged hubby darling through a bath and set off to ISKCON. It was nothing like what I had imagined(do you remember those rows and rows of shops in ISKCON Bangalore?) except for the kavi-clad 'sayips' and 'madammas'! I was really happy that we had a plan B in place and started off to Bridgewater temple. There, I could see a small store near the entrance and a super-duper-happy me rushed through the Darshan and dashed to the store(without even waiting for the Prasadam, which is otherwise a highlight!). But only to see a 'closed' board hung over it! I was kind of sure then that I will have to make do with the small pic I had carried with me. But hubby had a better plan. During our drive to Philly, he stopped at the temple again and this time we went straight to the store and it was indeed open, much to our delight.
And 'Krishna - Check' says our list :)
The next on the list was even more tricky - yellow flowers. After trying out a couple of stores, and after making 'completely' sure that hubby doesn't plan to stop the car by an interstate where I saw some yellow shrubs looking very much like 'kani-konna', I decided to invest in a disaster recovery plan immediately. Read, an artificial yellow bunch. After that came the real search for yellow flower bonquets. Afterall, nothing can beat the fragrance of fresh flowers, and nothing can beat determination too(talk about oil prices and we may have to rethink about this statement!). We found a dozen yellow roses :)
Flowers-Check
Incense stick(Agarbathi) time! This one wasn't all that difficult. Though selecting between cinnamon/vanilla/chocolate/strawberry flavored incense sticks was a new experience. Should say that I enjoyed it though :) Check.
And now for yellow fruits and veggies. A trip to Indian grocery store covered the whole part, and I even bought a couple of apples and a box of strawberries to liven up the occasion. The sad part was that while in the checkout line, I saw this big piece of jackfruit with this old uncle who was directly in front of me. I couldnt stop myself from asking where he found it. As I rushed to the stand he pointed, got to know that they had run out of it. A sulking me came back to the line and stole another look at the jackfruit this uncle had, wondering how close I had been to having a jackfruit for my kani. What I do not understand is why he immediately took it out of the basket and carried it like I might steal it and run away, or could I have???
Anyways-check.
And then it was time to arrange my precious finds, hoping that the fire alarm will not go off at 3 in the morning for all the incense sticks and the lamp. And lo, we got ready to open our eyes to a new year... One of happiness, prosperity and togetherness...
Wish you all a very happy Vishu...
