Easter Greetings

  The disciples of Jesus waited behind the closed doors of their temporary home in Jerusalem. Their master, the one they loved very much, was arrested and pronounced guilty of sedition and blasphemy by the religious court; the death sentence was approved by the Roman Governor and their master was crucified to death. Before they had the time to understand what is going on, their master was dead and hurriedly buried in a cave tomb. 

They were now waiting for the Sabbath to get over to return to the tomb to complete the anointing of his body which they could not complete on the day He died. On that fateful Friday Sabbath was already upon them when the Romans took the dead bodies down from the crosses and they hardly got the time to prepare Jesus's body for burial before it was placed inside the tomb. Everybody left in a hurry to start the Sabbath hoping to return early on Sunday morning to complete the anointment. 

Our heart goes out to the disciples and the women who were with them, especially Mary of Magdella, when they stood outside the tomb grieving while the lifeless body of their master lay still inside the tomb. The still body of their Master, who was their world and life for nearly three years. 

As their grief grew deep they couldn't help but think about the injustice of it all; their master being accused of a baseless accusation and being killed unlawfully on the day of Pessach. They were simple fishermen and workmen from Galilee with no connections or friends at higher levels of their society to appeal for help. Their helplessness added to their misery. No matter how deep their sighs were and how long their tears ran down, none of them, absolutely no one among them had any idea of what they are going to feel when the day broke after the Sabbath.

Are you ready?

Easter greetings.

Vishu

 

Vishu marks the beginning of the new year of Kerala on the first day of the month of Medam and the Malayalees celebrate that day auspiciously. According to the lunar based local astronomical calendar the sun completes an annual circle and starts afresh by moving on to Aries or the ‘Mesha Raashi’. On the Gregorian calendar the day falls between April-May. The day denotes the beginning of the spring globally; locally the farmers start preparing their fields and lands for the monsoon, on which depends the entire agriculture system of the land which unfailingly arrives on the first of July and continues for the next 3-5 months. Though at present Vishu is considered as a Hindu festival it was and is a universal festival; before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, there was only one local calendar and the day was auspicious to all the communities.

Meaning of Vishu

In Sanskrit Vishu means equal; First day of Medam has equal hours of day and night (Equinox). The day is dedicated to Vishnu and Krishna and they are worshiped on the new year day which symbolises the re-union of Sun and Mesha; hence a family festival. Vishu is not complete with these family rituals; Vishu Kani, Vishu Kaineetam and Vishu Sadya.

Festivities of the day

Vishu Kani: ‘Kani’ is the first sighting of the day. On the eve of Vishu, the prayer room of the house is set ready with the idols of Vishnu or Krishna with all the worship materials like, lamps, flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables, rice, coconuts, beetle leaves, arrack nuts, cucumber, jack fruit, mirror, holy book, cotton mundu (dhoti), Rupees and coins. All these fruits of labour and necessities of life are arranged in big bell bowl and placed neatly and aesthetically nearly the idols or the picture of the Gods by the eldest lady of the family with an oil lamp on the floor (Nila Vilaku). The next day morning, everyone is expected to make the first sighting of these symbols of prosperity and fruits of labour as a blessing and a good start to the new year, praying the new year too would be as or even more bountiful as the preceding one. The Holy scripture, mostly Ramayana, is read on the occasion.

Vishu Kaineetam:  The eldest man in the family gift the younger ones with money. Later, everybody set out to burst fire crackers welcoming the new year. It is followed by a sumptuous lunch which is the famous Vishu Sadya. The celebration will continue to the night and the crackers, a favorite of children and adults alike fondly called as the ‘Vishu Padakam’, will keep bursting without a break all around the neighborhood.