I'd got up at a half past 4, lit up the lamps at the puja room and then brought Lekha down to see the 'kani'. Mom'd wanted to sleep for another hour before coming down to the ground floor. I'd to permit her that luxury(?) but quietly urged the gods to keep the lamps lit - on all the wicks - till she saw the 'kani'. Exactly an hour and a half later, she too saw the 'kani' and had handed over the 'kaineettam' of a silver rupee, each, to the both of us.
My mom comes down from her bedroom in the morning and stays on in the ground floor - throughout the day - using the bedroom down below for her television viewing, short snoozes and the afternoon naps before climbing up the stairs - by a quarter to 10 - to go back to her night cabin! I insist on this movement to keep her agility intact!!
So, what's Vishu all about?
It's the Malayalam New Year, the auspicious time when the sun transits from the month of 'Meenam' to the month of 'Medam' - coincides with Aries - on the Malayalam calendar. The name 'Vishu' is derived from the Sanskrit words, Vishuvat Rekha, known to everyone as the equator and 'Vishu' marks the beginning of the 360 degrees' path of the earth around the sun from 'the first point of Aries'!
The theme of this festival, stems from the belief that auspicious beginnings form the foundation of success. 'Kani', in Malayalam, means first sight and being the new year, Vishukkani is an arrangement of goodies like fruits, flowers, wealth etc to be sighted first on the morning of Vishu to trigger positivity and bring good fortune for the rest of the year! The 'kani vellari' or the golden coloured cucumber is an essential item among the list of the goodies.
The symbolisms.
(a) The 'uruli' or the round container that holds the goodies, is an alloy of five metals(panchaloham)
and denotes the elements of the universe viz. earth, fire, water, air and space.
(b) The 'vaal kannadi' or the mirror represents the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. This follows the
concept of 'kannadi bimbam' - the mirror into which one is supposed to look first before looking
at the vishukkani and the reflection it offers is supposed to remind us that god resides within each
one of us and is nothing but a reflection of one's own self!
(c) The vishukkani is dedicated to Lord Krishna and the most recognisable symbol is the Labernum
flower or the 'konnappoovu'. Legend has it that in a contest with the 'gopikas', Sree Krishna's
anklets which were flung away, got caught in a tree and were transformed to the 'konna' flowers!
The flowers bloom only once a year, around Vishu time!
Tailpiece.
And how can one ever forget the fresh currencies and coins that form part of the most exciting part of Vishu viz. the vishukkaineettam? .........Remembering those halcyon days of celebrating Vishu when we stayed in a joint family!
My mom comes down from her bedroom in the morning and stays on in the ground floor - throughout the day - using the bedroom down below for her television viewing, short snoozes and the afternoon naps before climbing up the stairs - by a quarter to 10 - to go back to her night cabin! I insist on this movement to keep her agility intact!!
So, what's Vishu all about?
It's the Malayalam New Year, the auspicious time when the sun transits from the month of 'Meenam' to the month of 'Medam' - coincides with Aries - on the Malayalam calendar. The name 'Vishu' is derived from the Sanskrit words, Vishuvat Rekha, known to everyone as the equator and 'Vishu' marks the beginning of the 360 degrees' path of the earth around the sun from 'the first point of Aries'!
The theme of this festival, stems from the belief that auspicious beginnings form the foundation of success. 'Kani', in Malayalam, means first sight and being the new year, Vishukkani is an arrangement of goodies like fruits, flowers, wealth etc to be sighted first on the morning of Vishu to trigger positivity and bring good fortune for the rest of the year! The 'kani vellari' or the golden coloured cucumber is an essential item among the list of the goodies.
The symbolisms.
(a) The 'uruli' or the round container that holds the goodies, is an alloy of five metals(panchaloham)
and denotes the elements of the universe viz. earth, fire, water, air and space.
(b) The 'vaal kannadi' or the mirror represents the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. This follows the
concept of 'kannadi bimbam' - the mirror into which one is supposed to look first before looking
at the vishukkani and the reflection it offers is supposed to remind us that god resides within each
one of us and is nothing but a reflection of one's own self!
(c) The vishukkani is dedicated to Lord Krishna and the most recognisable symbol is the Labernum
flower or the 'konnappoovu'. Legend has it that in a contest with the 'gopikas', Sree Krishna's
anklets which were flung away, got caught in a tree and were transformed to the 'konna' flowers!
The flowers bloom only once a year, around Vishu time!
Tailpiece.
And how can one ever forget the fresh currencies and coins that form part of the most exciting part of Vishu viz. the vishukkaineettam? .........Remembering those halcyon days of celebrating Vishu when we stayed in a joint family!
No comments:
Post a Comment