Happy Vishu! Here's how the festival is celebrated in Kerala

Image used for representation only (Courtesy: Pixabay)

New Delhi: Vishu is an auspicious festival in Kerala and parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. People celebrate their New Year on the first day of the month of Medam according to the Malayalam calendar. The festival is celebrated as Puttandu in Tamil Nadu, Poila Boisakh in West Bengal, Bohag Bihu in Assam and Baisakhi in Punjab.

The elders and women in the family prepare the Vishu Kani a day before by using edible stuff like rice grains, cucumber, pumpkin, coconut, mangoes, betel leaves, supari, flowers, coins and fruits and a metal vessel called "urali" in front of a mirror that reflects the image of their deity.

On the day of Vishu, people take Kani Darshanam soon after waking up. They also exchange gifts with their loved ones and wear new clothes.

Women wear the traditional Kasavu saree (off white saree with golden border) and jewellery while the men look dapper in white veshti (dhoti) and shirt.

Then they visit a temple to seek blessings of the divine for an auspicious start.

And like all festivals in India, Vishu is incomplete without an elaborate meal. On Vishu, people gorge on delicious meal – Sadya - that consists of 26 different preparations.