VISHU:a glorious festival of kerala

VISHU: one of my personal favorite,vishu is a celebration held in kerala announcing the arising of a new year.Vishu is celebrated with much fanfare and vigour in all parts of Kerala. It is considered a festival of light and fireworks,and decorating lights and bursting of firecrackers is part of the celebration. Other elements of Vishu include buying of new clothes (onakkodi) for the occasion, the tradition of giving money called kaineetam, and the Vishu feast or sadya, which consist of equal proportions of salty, sweet, sour and bitter items. Feast items include adapradaman, Mampazhappulissery, Vishu kanji and Vishu katta .

The most important event in Vishu is the vishukani, which literally means "the first thing seen on the day of Vishu after waking up". The Vishukkani consists of a ritual arrangement of auspicious articles intended to signify prosperity, including rice, fruits and vegetables, betel leaves, arecanut, metal mirror, yellow flowers called konna, holy texts and coins, usually in the prayer room of the house. This is arranged the night before Vishu and is the first sight seen on Vishu. On Vishu, devotees often visit temples like sabarimala Temple or guruvayoor temple to have a 'Vishukkani Kazhcha' (viewing) in the early hours of the day.

                                                                              For a malayali,vishu is the deciding factor of his/her next 1 year.Its a belief more than the custom,which qualifies it 2 be 1 of the most awaited celebration on malayalam stage.No words can define the effect of vishu in a malayali except for someone whjich has the knowledge of almighty himself.