Celebrating Vishu

Apr 10
2 min read

Updated: Apr 14

Savitha Venugopal - Writer and content creator

Come April and Malayalis across the globe start prepping to celebrate Vishu, the new year festival. The very flora of Kerala starts transforming in preparation – on roadsides and in backyards across the state, you will see trees laden with cascading bunches of golden yellow flowers, the Indian laburnum. Locally known as kani konna, they are a key item in the celebrations.

The day is filled with activities, literally from the crack of dawn. The morning starts with the family gathering before the Vishukkani – a collection of symbols of bounty and plentitude that herald the coming of a prosperous year.

Traditionally, the Vishukkani has bunches of kani konna flowers, vegetables, fruits and grains, gold, coins, new clothes, a traditional brass lamp, and the most unique of them all, a mirror called the Aranmula Kannadi.

Made in the town of Aranmula in Kerala, this is not your usual glass mirror. It is made of a special metal alloy and polished for days until it is perfectly reflective, which means it has none of the distortions of a regular mirror. The components of the alloy itself is a closely guarded secret, believed to be known only to a few artisans in Aranmula. Catching your reflection in this mirror on Vishu morning is considered auspicious.

Vishu is also a day when the younger folk in the household can build up their pocket money thanks to Vishukaineettam. This is the practice in which elders in the family give children and young people money, a kickstart to the prosperity they wish for in the coming year.

When it is lunchtime, fresh banana leaves are laid out in preparation for the sadya, an elaborate feast with at least a dozen different dishes served around a generous helping of steaming rice. The day’s festivities wind up with fireworks and crackers in the evening, with the bangs echoing on in the neighbourhood for hours into the dark. .