‘Anna, thenkai first classaa odanchuthu,’ my brother Vicha tells me when I call him to greet on the dawn of Vishu, every year. ‘The coconut for Vishukkani broke into identical halves,’- that is what he says and it is a great news for him.
‘This year, things will go smoothly. Nothing to worry till next Vishu’ – that is his belief, trust.
He has inherited that belief from my father who, though lenient in my traditional practices, was a firm believer in the way coconuts get cut for poojas and auspicious occasions. That gave him indications for the good or bad happenings in the family. If the coconut for the Vishukkani got cut uniformly into two halves, it is a sign for the auspiciousness for the whole year.
We all know, my brother knows, my father too knew the impracticality of only good events happening throughout the year. But, it gives a momentary satisfaction that things are going to be good. And that satisfaction is a great thing on the dawn of a new year. Unfortunately, the reverse too is true. So, what I do is, if the coconut breaks well, I feel happy. If it doesn’t, I don’t worry. I take refuge under the wise escape root devised by our elders, ‘whatever has to happen will happen’. Swamy Saranam!
The coconut cracks give hope for some thoughts.
With a prayer on our lips, we throw a coconut on the granite slab before the Chathapuram or Pazhavangadi (TVM) or any Mahaganapathy temple . It cracks into several peaces. We feel happiness. It is that momentary happiness and satisfaction which is important. After all, life is sewn with so many moments and if we could bring happiness and satisfaction by such small, small acts, what is harm in it?
But, as I said above, what happens, if the coconut doesn’t crack into multi pieces? Chances are almost nil. Our ancestors wisely selected coconut, not banana or brinjal!
Generally, I feel that we should not take the signs and signals too seriously. I have an article on this topic and I shall share with you in due course.