Grand Vishu celebrations in Kolkata after two Covid pandemic years

KOLKATA: After two years of Covid struggle. the Malayalis celebrated

Vishu

on Friday in a grand way. For the Assamese, it was the second day of celebration on the occasion of Rongali Bihu.

The Guruvayurappan Temple near Kalighat were full of devotees, offering prayers. Secretary of Calcutta Nair Service Society TSS Nair said, "We have a tradition called Vishukkhani where the Malayalam word '

Kani

' means 'which is seen first', so Vishukkani means 'which is seen first on Vishu'. The Malayalis prepare the Vishukkani settings a day before Vishu. This setting is usually prepared by the womenfolk of the house."

He added that according to tradition, in the morning of Vishu the tradition is that as soon as you wake up, you need to walk to the Kani by closing your eyes and open your eyes in front of the Kani. The Kani which is a symbol of prosperity is the first scene that one sees on Vishu, which also is also the beginning of Malayali New Year.

T Ajay Kumar of Kolkata Kairali Samajam added: "The food is purely vegetarian. We make mampazhapulissery, a sweet and sour gravy preparation made of ripe mangoes, cucumber and curd. We eat it with rice. This is one of the special dish of Vishu. Another trademark dish known as Chakka Erusseri is made with

jack

fruit. Apart from this we make rice and sambar, avial, which looks like the Bengali dish shukto but tastes little sour. The colour of the curry is yellow and one must thing in this preparation is grated coconut."He added that the members of the samaj will meet at a get-together in the evening.

Meanwhile, Bihu celebrations in the city continued for the second day. Cultural secretary of Kolkata Assamese Cultural Association said: "Rongali Bihu is all about festivity, music and dance, so the get-together will have a Bihu dance performance because Rongali Bihu is incomplete without it."