Keralites and Bengali communities celebrates New Year with traditional zeal

Hyderabadi Bengalis and Malayalies communities celebrated their New year Vishu and Pohela Boishakh with traditional zeal. Family togetherness, houses were decorated with flowers, every household were glittering with new shiny calenders and releasing on sumptuous feasts marked the day that heralded the arrival of the spring harvest season.

The celebrations began for most with the viewing of the Vishu Kani, a small cauldron of bell metal and also began our day by seeing an auspicious thing at the crack of dawn on Vishu will bring luck for the whole year and also did plantation in our locality. In the evening, we visited temple and offered prayers," said TS C Parasd, member of the Telangana Malayee association

"Main attraction is Vishu Kani; as per tradition, the elders of the family light a lamp in early in the morning, and this ritual is symbolic for hoping that all these things will be there in the New Year. Then, after indulging a grand feast in the form of a traditional sadhya, we visited the Temple, as per tradition, elders of the family gave us vishukkaineetam, a blessing in the form of money," said Ravi Koshy, Kerala Samajam.

"Our day started by wishing Shubo Noboborsho (Happy New Year) to our near and dear once. After that we began the day with a special puja in the morning at Kali Temple said Amarnath Ghosh, a member of Bengali goldsmith community Later in the evening, a get-together has been organised for members. As on every other occasion, people got chance to savour traditional Bengali cuisine and a lot of sweets."

He added, being a business, I closed my account books for the previous year and opened a new one, in a practice known as haalkhaata, after having the new book blessed by goddess Kali.

Several Bengali committees in the city have organised cultural programmes, adda sessions and grand lunch and dinner for their members on Sunday, considering that many would like to celebrate the festival at home with their families on New Year's day.