happy vishu on april 14th; also baisakhi

no, this is not the malayalam new year. it is the spring festival: our holi and may day rolled into one, the celebration of the spring equinox. (as usual, 3 weeks off from the astronomical date due to the precession of the axes).

yes, it is the tamil new year. (despite karunanidhi's hare-brained idea to move that to pongal).

in kerala, it involves the vishu-kani, resplendent with the beautiful golden flowers of the indian laburnum (kani-konna), images of krishna, a mirror, coins, a cucumber, a mango and leaf, a gold-bordered mundu (dhoti), rice and a lit oil lamp, all in a platter.

the children are woken up, told to not open their eyes, ushered into the pooja-room at dawn, when they will open their eyes to see the vishu-kani (or the sight of the platter).

then all the elders give gifts of money (a shiny silver rupee in the old days, now more like 100 rupees) to those younger than them; all put on festive clothes.

this is the spring festival for kerala hindus, celebrated with the fresh produce of the fields.

http://www.indiavideo.org/greetings/vishu/view.php?id=8

let us not forget that baisakhi, april 13th, is also jallianwallah bagh day. april 13, 1919.