New Year Celebrations
K S S Pillai
As another New Year is around the corner, my mind goes back to the past when we used to celebrate the day as children.
My home state of Kerala officially considers that the new year begins on the first day of the Malayalam month of Chingam, falling in the middle of August. For the people, however, it is Vishu, the first day of Medam. It falls in the middle of April and coincides with similar New Year festivities in several parts of the country.
On that day, the elders would get up early and we, the children, would be woken up before sunrise. Asking us to keep our eyes closed, we would be guided to the puja room, where Vishukkani would be kept ready for the first auspicious viewing.
Objects like bunches of flowers of the Golden Shower tree (Kani Konna), money, silver or gold items, silk cloth, mirror, rice, coconut, cucumbers, fruits, and other harvest products would be included. We visited the village temple after taking a bath and smeared our foreheads with sandalwood paste dropped into our outstretched palms by the priest.
We were more interested in the ‘kaineetam’ from the elders. Along with their blessings, they would give each child a small amount of money, usually coins. After getting our share from the elders of our home, we would hurry to our relatives in the village, who would also give similar amounts of money. We would be allowed to use the money to see matinee movies on Sunday at the only cinema house in the village. The movies were usually in Tamil and of a religious nature. Hardly a couple of Malayalam films were produced in a year back then.
All newspapers and magazines would prominently publish the Vishu Phalam by famous astrologers, predicting what was in store for the whole year for people born under different stars. Those who get favourable predictions would be elated, while others would seek remedies from local astrologers.
Years later, after settling in Gujarat, we started celebrating the Gujarati new year also. It falls on the day after Diwali. It is celebrated by all Gujaratis with enthusiasm and spirituality. On this day, people pray to the goddess Lakshmi for prosperity and peace in their endeavors. Businessmen would start using new account books called Chopda. All, wearing new dresses, would visit friends and relatives to exchange “Saal Mubarak”. If someone was out of the station, greetings would be exchanged on the phone. The process would continue for days after the New Year.
As we were residents of staff quarters of the university where I worked, children would form separate groups, visit each quarters, and seek the blessings of the elders by touching their feet after greeting them with “Saal Mubarak.” They would be offered generous helpings of dishes prepared for Diwali, and the head of the family would give a small amount to each youngster. By the end of the day, they would have collected quite a sum of money.
On the first day of the new year, everyone is expected to tip the postman, newspaper boy, sweepers, housemaid, security guards, and others who would visit all quarters to exchange “Saal Mubarak.”
We also used to celebrate the international new year on January 1st. Since there were no mobile phones, greeting cards would be sent well in advance to all friends and relatives. Late in the evening, television channels would broadcast a special New Year’s Eve programme that would last past midnight. Popular figures used to appear in the show that would include a variety of entertainment programmes.
Friends would gather with their families in one location, watch the programme, and loudly greet one another with “Happy New Year” as the clock struck twelve, waking up the neighbours. My friend Abraham, while leaving with his wife and children on his scooter, would sing the greetings all the way home, waking up many on the way, including street dogs that would bark and chase him angrily.
(The author is a retired professor of English. A regular contributor to The Kashmir Vision, his articles and short stories have appeared in various national and international publications)
