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Kerala Hindus celebrate Vishu, usher in New Year
Thiruvananthapuram, April 15
Kerala Hindus
celebrated Vishu, ushering in their New Year, in the traditional style
with the devouts among them making early morning visits to temples on
Wednesday.
Women dressed in Kerala saree and men in conventional
dhoti were seen visiting temples. The maximum rush was witnessed at the
famed temples like Sabarimala, Sree Krishna temple Guruvayoor, and also
Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple in the capital city.
Vishu is believed to mark the arrival of good luck for the coming year and is a public holiday in the state.
The most waited event on Wednesday is to have the 'Vishukani darshan' - the auspicious sight of the favourite deity.
In
Hindu families, preparations for Vishukani starts the night before the
New Year with 'urali' (a special vessel) being cleaned and fresh farm
produces being collected and arranged.
The items that are placed
before the deity include rice, food grain, cucumber, pumpkin, coconut,
plantains, mangoes and arecanut.
All these are arranged in the
worship room of the house that is decorated with the bright yellow konna
flowers (cassia fistula) - also known as the Golden Shower Tree.
Today, readymade kits are available, and this year a kit came at a price of Rs.150, up by Rs.50 compared to last year.
The
first thing that happens is the young and old come blindfold in front
of the Vishukani that is placed in front of their favourite deity and
see this as the day's first sight.
Another important feature on this day is the giving away of 'vishukaineetam', and it is mostly gifted away in the form of coins.
The
general custom is the head of the household gives away coins to other
members and there are some who are very particular to get theirs from
people who are considered as lucky charms.
Another important
event on Vishu day is eating the 26-course Vishu lunch served on a
plantain leaf. While in the central and southern districts of Kerala,
the lunch is purely vegetarian, in northern districts it includes
non-vegetarian dishes.
Also bursting of crackers is a necessary
part of the rituals in the northern parts of the state, while in the
rest of the state, it is not.