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Vishu
The Malayali new year, opening with the sight of the vishukkani and a gift of new clothes in kasavu or colour.
What is worn for Vishu
Vishu is the new year of Malayalis and falls in mid April, on the first day of the month of Medam, when the sun enters Aries in the sidereal reckoning. The day opens with the vishukkani, the first thing one sees: an arrangement of gold, rice, a mirror, fruit, a yellow cassia flower (kani konna), a lit lamp and a cloth set before an image of Krishna. Elders give gifts of money, vishukkaineettam, and new clothes, called kodi. Women wear the cream and gold kasavu saree or set-mundu, or another new saree, and the family eats a feast. The date moves between 14 and 15 April, and in some years falls on 13 April.
The sarees
Written by the EveryPallu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Vishu" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mundum neriyathum: L. Anantha Krishna Iyer (Diwan Bahadur), Public domain, source