Today is Vishu or the Malayalam New Year for the people of the state of Kerala. Almost every state/culture in India has it’s own new year which their people celebrate in different ways. Ours is normally a very traditional (in this case read it as ‘boring’) manner that has been the same for generations. For the religious minded there is ofcourse the Vishukanni or ‘the first sight seen as soon as you wake up’ which has to be some kind of idol of a god, like Krishna or some crap like that. This is usually done for young kids you know; get them young and brainwash their poopy little head so that they think, dream and fart Krishna and all gods for the rest of their lives.
Anyways (getting off topic), we usually have a vegetarian sadhya (feast) at our home just like all those other Hindu families. Rice, poppadom, sambar, avial (which I hate and never touch), another veggie curry, cabbage thoran followed by the staple dessert of payasam. Delicious semia payasam (milk, sugar with vermicelli, raisins & cashewnuts) slurprpy yum yum. I had a big glass and a half. My sister, bro in law, nephews and niece were also at the apartment for lunch. Belly full everyone goes into a semi-sleep stupor and plonk themselves in front of the tv and watch a movie or two. Some go to sleep and snore off the extra calories that all that food has cemented onto your midriff. I retreated back to my room and watch a old scifi movie that I had recently downloaded and then two episodes of Being Erica. All the while lying on my bed and relaxing, although it was quite hot and sunny.
As it was quite hot, sweaty & muggy the whole day it was a sure sign that the Malayalam New Year would have some rain and showers in the evening. And yes, post a bath for me and some coffee, I heard the distant rumble of thunder get louder and louder as the clouds hovered over the city of Cochin and we got some well needed rain. And it rained for about an hour and gave us some much deserved cool winds, bringing the temperature down. As I type this blog post, a nice breeze is blowing in through the windows and balcony open door from outside and keeping things all cool and relaxed in the apartment. Gonna be a nice night for a deep sleep.