Vishu - the Crackers of Sweetness -1

The most attractive thing for us during the Vishu season was not the "kaineettam". ( Kaineettam is the gift - generally in the form of money- given by eledrs to the younger ones on the auspecious day of Vishu. The gift promises all good things to come in the year. Vishu is celebrated as a mark of the begining of a new year in Keralam. Though Chingam is the first month as per the Malayalam Era, New year is considered to start when the sun starts its journey to Meda Raasi. In otherwords, this occassion is the begining of another astronomical year)

 

 

The Vishukkani -The first auspecious thing we have to see
 on the Vishu day

I do not remember to have collected more than ten rupees as "kaineettam" those days. This was usually doled out by my brother in law (my eldest sister's husband) after he settled down in our village post retirement from military. Of course, the grandpa, after the "vishukkani", distributes   a twenty five paisa coin to all we siblings. So, to be precise, the total collection was a maximum of 10 rupees 25 paisa. We never calculated or envisaged any big purchaces from the 'bounty' called vishukkaineettam.

Vishu, for us was never a harbinger of "Lakshmi". Paisa was never a worry anyway. Our needs, like any  other children of a village, were very limited. Probably, the biggest expense ever we faced was when we set out to see our beloved hero Jayan on  Poochakkal Royal Theatre's silver screen.

The other expense was when the ice candy vendor appears on our village road. Suddenly a bell starts ringing. The man carrying a big box on the back of bicycle appears from nowhere. The bell rings continuously that sends the kids scampering for coins. Some of us manage to get ten paisa coins and some don't. An ice candy was the most adored food item those days.
 

The throw-bomb was the most attractive cracker during the Vishu season. A small round chocolate shaped cracker that bursts with a thud while thowing forcefully against a hard surface was very fascinating. The cover of this cracker resembled that of a chocolate. All money that we could manage to channel from the elders were used to buy only these bombs. Of course,  'olappadakkam' the cracker made with dry coconut leaves were essential part of the vishu celebrations. But nothing could charm more than these bombs could

Almost one month before the Vishu day, crackers were seen in the shops. A bursting sound here and a 'bomb blast' there. It was quiet a routine those days. Of late these affable bombs had disappeared from the market. The reason we were told was that improved versions of this bomb were being used by our "learned" elders to kill each other during quarrels between political parties.

Another cracker that caught our imagination those days was "eli vaanam". This small cylindrical shapped piece of joy needed a small stick to be tied to it before being  launched. It was a tricky thing to handle, since, a wrong launch may cause bursting of the cracker on the ground itself, injuring anyone who is nearby. Our friend Bhagavan was an expert in vaanam launching. He tied broom sticks on the vaanams with great dexterity and launched them with good accuracy. After tieing the stick, he places the cracker on his index finger to check the balance between both the sides. Later, we learnt that what he checked was the centre of gravity!

The length of the stick is adjusted to achieve the balance. Then he holds the cracker in his right hand and  touches its bottom with fire. The 'vaanam' leaves like a rocket from his hand and bursts in the sky. We, the less courageous kids, with breaths held back, watch all that unfolds there from a safe distance. As the rocket spits fire and moves away, relieved kids jump for joy....Bhagawan made our days so bright with his "extranatural abilities" like this.

While remembering Sasikumar alias Bhagawan, who left us long time back, I must rember those tiny rockets. Oh dear Sasikumar, you left all of us, without even saying a good bye. I know, after those innocent childhood, we all got into a rat race. No one could look behind. You were left far behind in the race. You gave into the pressure of the survival struggle.



Had someone of us looked back to see where you stood, perhaps, you would have walked in blood and bones among us even in this past Vishu season too. We lost a good friend in you. Who can launch a vaanam like you did? Who can entertain us like you did? Though we called you Bhagavan behind your back, you were really a bhagawan. We failed to admire you when your were with us. We miss you a lot. I am sure you will be laughing at us from Heavens for all the silly things we do down here in the name of amassing money....