“Won’t you be coming home at least this time?” It was when my mother asked this question that I realized that yet another Vishu was approaching.
Earlier, it was Vishu pakshi (a bird seen during the time of Vishu) that announced the arrival of the festival, I murmured.
“Oh, he has become nostalgic,” commented my friend.
What will Vishu be like, without a bit of nostalgia? But for the nostalgia surrounding the festival, I dread to think how Vishu would have been for Malayalis residing outside Kerala. They would have all gone mad if the nostalgia element was not there.
Meanwhile the new-generation Vishu discussion was in full swing at our place. Though the discussion itself was going nowhere, everyone was of the view that whether we celebrated Vishu or not, we should prepare a Vishu Kani (an auspicious yearly spread of offering consisting of fruits, vegetables, flowers, gold, currency and coins placed in front of the decorated idol of Lord Sree Krishna) without fail.
There were crackers leftover from the Diwali celebrations and thus there was no need to buy anymore for Vishu. Everyone had set of clothes too. Some had even added two branded shirts to their wardrobes as soon as their monthly salaries were credited.
Now, what was remaining to be planned was the Vishu sadya (feast). The sadya should be sumptuous and should include a long list of mouthwatering dishes such as olan, kalan, avail, pulissery and so on. No, we were not talking about preparing all these items ourselves. No need to sweat it out in cooking when readymade Vishu sadya, starting at Rs 150, was available at restaurants.
So, a detailed plan was drawn out for Vishu. Now it was time to start the work for the celebrations.
Setting up the visual feast first
We didn’t have a clue as to what all things we needed to arrange the Vishu Kani (Kani means first sight of the day). Whom do we consult now? I thought for a while and decided to dial home. My mother answered the phone. “Mother, what all do we need to prepare Vishu Kani,” I asked her. There was silence for a few seconds and then came it came in a blast – “Is midnight the time to prepare your Vishu Kani,? That was when I realised that our Vishu discussion had gone on well past midnight and I had rung her up in the dead of night. I apologized, said goodnight, and hung up.
I went straight to Google with my doubt. Google uncle taught me how to prepare the Vishu Kani with all details including pictures of the Kani. Once the Kani part was sorted, I went to sleep. I woke up the next morning with a phone call from my mother. She had called back to clarify my last night’s doubt. She wanted to tell me the list of things needed for the Vishu Kani.
I told her that I learned everything about Vishu Kani the previous night itself from Google.
“Now, who is this Google, she asked, sounding confused. Somehow, I managed to give her an idea about Google, the internet god.
“Still, you listen to me also now,” she said. “Then you decided which one is better and follow that,” she added, and started listing out the things needed for the Kani. “You will need an uruli (a traditional, round open-mouthed shallow bell metal vessel), polished with tamarind. The so-polished uruli should be covered with a silk dhoti that has golden-embroidered borders. A mirror should be kept in the uruli in such a way so that you can see your face in it. Besides the vessel should be a lighted traditional bell-metal lamp. You should also keep seeds, pulses, vegetables and fruits, areca nut and beetle leaves, coins, gold and Kanikonna (flowers of golden shower cassia). Any fruit such as jackfruit or mango can be used in the Kani,” she finished the brief, adding that Lord Krishna’s idol was inevitable in the Vishu Kani.
Sourcing articles for Vishu Kani
The list of things needed for the Kani was now with us. Where to source them from was the next question. There are shops that deliver all the essential ingredients for Vishu Kani. Kshetrakala, a shop in Kodambakkam in Chennai deals in Vishu supplies. I dialed their number. Nandakumar, the shopkeeper told me that there has been a lot of demand for Vishu Kani materials.
One could buy everything required for setting up the Vishu Kani from Kshetrakala but for the gold, currencies and coins kept in the Kani. Last year, some fifty customers had approached the shop for Vishu Kani materials and the figure is expected to go up this year. Around the festival season, such shops become active in all major metro cities of India. These days, the situation is similar back home in Kerala as well.
All the ingredients required for the Kani are brought from Kerala. The Kanikonna trees with loads of blossomed yellow flowers can be seen around this time of the year in all cities of India. But a day before Vishu, all the flowers would be plucked and carried away.
Now that the articles needed for the Vishu Kani were arranged, it was time to start the preparations. Different committees, namely Kani committee, sadya committee, cracker committee etc were formed. That is how festivals celebrations are organized by Malayalis who live outside Kerala. They form committees for anything and everything. But they can’t be blamed for it since the formation of such committees ensures the participation of each and everyone in celebrations. One cannot even imagine how these celebrations would have been without these committees.
The Daybreak
First I thought it was some birds chirping. No, it was a Whatsapp message from a friend.
“Are you joining us today for ….” I could make out the message without even having to go through it completely.
“Since tomorrow is Vishu, all other activities remain suspended until further orders,” I replied.
“Hope there will be an order soon,” he shot back.
This is the problem with Whatsapp. Details, including whether we have read a received message or even the time when we last logged in, are visible to all. Anyway, there was no point blaming Whatsapp for what happened just now. The trend has been so for many years. Whatever is the festival, the first thing that people buy is liquor and chicken. No celebration happens without these two things. Even hartals are celebrated with liquor and chicken back in Kerala. Not too far into the future, there will come a time when chicken shops and beverage outlets will be exempted from hartals in view of public demand.
Setting up Vishu Kani
All articles listed out by mother arrived and a marvelous Kani was prepared. I called my friend, who was in the next room, to come and take a look at the Kani that was just prepared.
“You click it and put it on Whatsapp. I will see it there,” was his reply. This is a menace that has gripped our society ever since online social networking became popular. People won’t interact with those next to them, but will click like on the Facebook photo of someone who is miles away and may also appreciate their new pair of clothes. After finishing the Kani work, I set an alarm on my mobile for 5 in the morning and went to bed. I was celebrating a Vishu like this for the first time since leaving Kerala. The feeling was great and there were bright Kanikonna flowers in my mind as I closed my eyes.
Back home, I never had to bother about the Vishu Kani or its associated responsibilities.
“Unnikkutta, don’t open your eyes,” my mother would come up to my bed at the crack of dawn and whisper. Then with her palms covering my eyes, she would slowly guide me to the place where the Vishu Kani was arranged.
Oh! How I miss the loving warmth of her palms over my eyelids. And then, when she would release her palms, I would open my eyes to a glittery visual treat. The decorated idol of Lord Sri Krishna playing his flute, a variety of fruits and so on, all meticulously arranged. I would look at her and ask innocently -- mother, where did all this come from? She would then say, pointing at the Krishna idol, that the Lord brought them all. “Is the Lord visiting every home and arranging all these stuff there,” I used to wonder.
The alarm goes off
A loud boo woke me up. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Nothing was clear. I rubbed them again and looked harder. There was not one, but five of them. It was the same Kani that Meeshamadhavan had shown Bhagheeradhan Pillai in the movie Meeshamadhavan. “Oh god, my whole year is gone for a toss. Dear Krishna, why did you do this to me? That too, after all the hard work that I put in yesterday in preparing the Kani,” I started weeping. I had never felt so sad and disappointed in any Vishu. I had put in a lot of effort in preparing the Vishu Kani, the first thing I was supposed to see in the morning to welcome a prosperous new year.
Then, there was a loud ring. The mobile alarm had gone off.
Oh, thank god! It was all just a dream. Yes, it was for sure because everyone seemed deep asleep in the house. With closed eyes, I slowly progressed towards the Kani. When I opened my eyes in the dim, morning light I saw the Lord’s decorated idol. I prayed. After freshening up, I came back to the Kani and lighted the traditional bell-metal lamp. With the lighted lamp, it now looked like a complete Vishu Kani. Without wasting much time, I clicked a photo of the Kani and sent it through Whatsapp. I did not forget to add a “Happy Vishu” message.