As the first blog entry got exhausted. My second book |
The night before Vishu- the Keralite New Year , the patriarch & matriarch after all have gone to bed, decorate the Pooja room- to set the the ‘kani in Malayalam, . Sri Krishna occupies pride of place among all deities for Vishu as the story a below is about celebrating the rewards of our faith in him. Bowls of gold/ silver coins, loose change, currency bundles and sets of the dresses to be gifted to each member rice grain, lentils, fruit & vegetables. All the good things for life. A mirror is also placed. SRI KRISHNA AND WHY THE GOLDEN YELLOW FLOWERS ARE USED. Kanikonna Flower, or Vishu Kani Konna, is the yellow flower that is used for Kani during the and it symbolically shows the power of devotion. Before daybreak they wake up the members of the family to usher them to the puja room with their eyes closed. They are assisted to sit told to open their eyes to witness in that enclosure/ Vishu kani- their face in the mirror- in the light of the traditional lamp -with all the good things of life for an auspicious start to the New Year. A small boy used to frequent the Krishna temple in his village. He only had one wish that Krishna appear as the Balagopala. Moved by his devotion, Krishna fulfilled his wish to ask him what he wanted.” Nothing.” But, Krishna gifted him his golden waist band . The ecstatic boy wasted no time to show off to his friends as Krishna’s gift. When the priest opened the temple later he found the waistband missing. The boy’s mother beat him up on the village accusing her son of theft. Furious she flung the waistband that got stuck on a tree branch. The tree that had never flowered till date bloomed with golden flowers. Golden Shower Tree or Indian laburnum Cassia. It is the state flower of Kerala State in India. It is the national flower of Thailand. It never ceases to amaze me whether in Ahmedabad, Madras, Delhi or anywhere for that matter I have noticed these trees bare all around the year but come March show signs of the konnu pookal blooming Wishing you all greetings for Puthandu, Bihu, Baisakhi and Vishu. |