Onion Tomato Chutney

Ingredients

For grinding

3 onions chopped
2 tomatos chopped
1 small piece garlic
3 red chillies
2 green chillies
One strip curry leaves
One small round tamarind or small spoon tamarind paste
Salt

One small spoon Mustard
One small spoon Urad dhal
One small spoon Dhania
One small spoon Jeera
One small spoon Channa dhal

For seasoning

One spoon mustard
One spoon Urad dhal
Curry leaves one strip

Oil for frying and seasoning

Procedure

1. Take a kadai and pour 3 spoons oil ans once it boils add the spices to be ground and once it gets fried add the other items like onion tomato and let it fry.
2. Allow it to cool
3. Once cool, grind this mixture in the mixie to a fine paste

4. Transfer this to the kadai again and add little oil to fry it.
5. In a fry pan add the mustard Urad dhal and curry leaves and once it crackles add this to the chutney in the kadai.

Serve hot with idlies or dosai or rice.
Next time will take pics and post along.

Aishwarya Rai Bachan to act with Thalaivar !!!

It is almost certain that India’s most sought after actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has signed the mega movie ‘Robot' directed by Shankar. Aishwarya Rai will play the lead role as the pair to India’s biggest superstar Rajinikanth.
Sources from Mumbai say that the deal was struck by yesterday (January 23) noon. It is said that Aishwarya would be paid a whopping amount of Rs 1.5 crore for the film. The amount, it confirmed, will be the highest salary received by an actress in India.
As we have mentioned earlier, Rajinikanth has been trying to cast the beauty queen in his film right from the days of ‘Padayappa’. His dream to cast her has finally come true in the biggest movie of his career.

Courtesy : India Glitz

JalliKattu

I was happy to hear the news that there was a ban on Jallikattu. Though it is associated with tradition and culture and stuff, i dont think its a good sport to play. Hitting the animal and infuriating it, and then fighting with it doesnt make much sense, but our folks thought different and the ban was removed this year with some conditions. Similar bans should be imposed on the bali kudukkara concept as well. How ever such things take lots of time to change.

Vijay TV is different !

Vijay TV has and is being different always in the small screen. It has broken the tag associated with TV soaps and serials. Right from Salanam, Idhu Oru Kadhal Kadhai, they have captured the attention of youth and once the youngsters at home start seeing stuff, other folks are forced to initially and slowly they start liking the same ;)

Some interesting programmes
1. Neeya Naana - This one is really kewl (most of the time ;)) esp with Gopinath anchoring the show in a brilliant manner.
2. Kana Kaanum Kalangal - All the children at school are a big fan of this !
3. Idhu Oru Kaadhal Kadhai - Youngsters and Office goers come on time to check this one out is wat i hear these days..
3. Super Singer , Super Singer Junior - This one did bring out so many young talents (though i didnt like the melodrama and hype that they created with the kids crying etc.)
4. Jodi No 1, 2, 3, 4, ,... personally i dont like this much except for the first episode.
5. Paadum Office.
6. English movies dubbed in tamil (they are fun to watch at times ;))
7. Cofee with Anu .. this one is also pretty interesting though it was better with Suchi's peppy questions .
8. Swami Iyyappan and Sai baba - No other channel has this bakthi stuff now !
9. EQ 2 - a college group event
10. Thirundidu Sesame !!
11. Grand master
12. Reel Padhi Real Padhi - this one is really kewl
13. Madan's Thirai Paarvai - madan's thirai vimarsanam
14. Cinema Kaaram Coffee - this is not that great i wud say.
15. Kalakka Poovadhu Yaaru - a comedy galatta
16. The world famous Lollu Sabha !!!! - I dont have to say a word about that i guess ;)

Though Vj TV re makes the stuff from the parent tv Star, its far better than what other satellite channels are trying to do , by just imitating what Vj TV does (including the sets and rules !!!). I would say almost each and every program has been remade in some form or other in other channels.. But still Long Live Vijay TV !!!

Pongal Rangoli !

Paneer Butter Masala

Ingredients :
1. Paneer - 200 gms
2. Onions - 3
3. Tomato - 3
4. Masala spices - Cinnamon, Cloves, Elachi - little
5. Cashew - Few.

6. Butter - 3 tbl spns

Method of preparation :

1.Cut the onions, tomatoes to fine pieces.
2.Grind the cut onions, tomatoes, cashew nuts with the masala spices(Cinnamon, Cloves, Elachi) to a fine gravy/paste (The cashewnuts will give more thickness and taste to the gravy).
3.Fry the cut panner pieces in a kadai with oil till it turns golden in colour and put in warm water till u add it to the gravy.
4.Simultaneously put the gravy in a kadai and cook the same with butter till the raw smell of onion and tomato is gone and the gravy comes to a red/brown colour .
5.To this , add chilly powder and salt, panner and some more butter and allow it to boil , keep it on stove till u get a good flavor.
6.Garnish with cut corrainder and serve hot with cut lemons and onions.

Can be used with phulkas, naans, or with rice also.
Happy Eating !!!

Hanuman Chalisa

My own fabric painting on my salwar !!!

Roses !!! - Glass Painting

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Flower bouquet !!! - Glass Painting

Peace !!! - Glass Painting

Merger !!!

I have merged the 4 different blogs to one for easy maintenance and tracking !

Carrot Kheer

Ingredients :
Carrots - 2
Milk - 3 Cups.
Ghee, Cashewnuts- little.
Sugar - as appropriate.

Method of Prep :
1. Cut the carrots into slices.
2. Cook the carrot slices in milk till they become soft and the raw smell is gone completely.
3. Grind this in mixie or juicer with enough sugar and more milk, till carrot disappears completely!!
4. Fry cashews in ghee and mix with the kheer.
5. Serve chilled.
This is a very easy to prep kheer. Tastes very nice and has very less fat :)

Jeera Rice

Ingredients :
Jeeraga Samba Rice - 1 Cup. - We can get this rice in the market. This has a nice flavour and is used for this rice. If its not available, we can use normal rice also.
Cumin(Jeera) - 1 tbl sp
Ghee - 3 tbl sp
Coriander leaves - 1/2 bunch.
Salt - as appropriate

Method of Preparation :
1. Cook rice seperately with enough water.
2. Heat ghee in a kadai and add the jeera and fry till it becomes just light brown, (Dont let it turn black, that will spoil the rice )
3. Add the cooked rice to this with enough salt and mix well .
4. Garnish well with cut coriander leaves.
5. Serve hot with raitha or potato fry.
This is a very healthy and easy to prep rice !

Peas Pulav

Everything similar to the previous recipe. Just replace the vegetables with Peas alone and Peas Pulav is ready !!!

Vegetable Pulav

Ingredients :
Basmati Rice - 1 Cup
Coconut Milk Extract - 2 Cups
Carrot, Beans, Potato, Onion, Peas - All finely cut.
Garam Masala items - Cinnamon, Cloves, Elachi, Bay leaf.
Salt, oil as needed.
Lemon - Half

Method of Prep :
1.Take Coconut Extract, ready made is available in the market these days else Grind coconut with water and take the extract and strain through the strainer. Make 2 Cups, 1 Thick and 1 thin one. Or take 11/2 cups of extract and 1/2 cup of water.
2.Wash rice, and fry with a tsp of ghee.
3.Cook rice with the 2 Cups of Coconut extract for 10 mins in the pressure cooker. Squeeze half a lemon in this. This helps the rice retain color and also remains separate after getting cooked.
4. Boil all the cut vegetables(except onion) seperately, in such a way that the colour is not lost while cooking.
5. Heat oil/ghee in a kadai and fry all the masala items, and add cut onions and fry.
6. Add the cooked vegetables and rice and mix well.
7. Add salt as appropriate.
8. Serve hot with raitha.

French Fries

French Fries : I prefer eating them at Marry Brown only, but still thought i will try once at home also :)

Ingredients : Potatoess and Oil.

Method of Preparation :

1. Scrap the skin of potatoes and wash them well.

2. Cut them into finger like pieces.

3. Put them in salted water for a while.

4. Wash them again a couple of times.

5. Spread them on a piece of cloth till moisture is gone.

6. Deep fry in Oil.

7. Mix salt, pepper and mirchi and serve with sauce !

Oothappam

Tonight , i suddenly wanted to eat oothappam.. first thought will go to HSB and have , but today being a sunday it was bound to be crowded hence plan dropped. So next step, prepare it on your own and believe me it was oooosum :))).

Ingredients :

Dosai Maavu

Onion, tomato, capsicum, coriander leaves finely chopped and green peas.

Method of preparation :

1. Take 1 1/2 ladles of dosai maavu and pour it on the tawa. Don't spread it much , just spread it a little. Make it little more thick in the centre so that it comes out fluffy.

2. Take all the cut vegetables and spread it finely on the oothappam.

3. Pour oil and fry well.

4. Once its golden brown , turn it on the other side and fry again.

5. Remove from stove, and serve hot with chutneys.

Arachuvita Sambhar

This is one recipe i wanted to write for looong... many of friends had asked me to post this , so here it goes. A simple daily do-able one.

Arachuvita Sambhar :
Ingredients :
Vegetables of ur choice : Few famous combinations :
Small Onions (sambhar vengayam)
Drumsticks (murungakkai)
Ladies Finger (vendakkai)
Tomato, Big Onions, Potato.
or any other vegetables of ur choice
Thuar Dhal - 1 Cup
Coconut - 1 Cup
Tamarind - 1 small lemon sized one.
Dhania - 2-3 teaspoons.
Red Chilli - 6
Fenugreek (Vendayam) - 1/2 spoon
Kadalai paruppu - 1/2 spoon
Pottu Kadalai - 1/2 spoon
Turmeric Powder , Salt Coriander , Curry leaves.

Method of Preparation :
1. Fry dhania,vendayam, red chilli, onion in a spoon of oil .
2. Add coconut,kadalai paruppu and pottu kadalai in the end and remove from stove.
3. Grind together this fried mixture to a smooth paste.
4. Soak thuar dhal in water for a while and pressure cook the same.
5. Soak tamarind in hot water for a while.
6. Boil the tamarind extract till the raw smell goes.
7. Cook the vegetables that u wish to add in sambhar seperately.
8. Add salt and turmeric powder to this and the cooked vegetables.
9. To this add the ground mixture.
10.Mash the thuar dhal nicely and add this to stove.
11.Add water and allow to boil.
12.Garnish with mustard,Coriander and Curry leaves.

Chole

Ingredients :
Kabuli Channa - 1 cup
Onions - 2
Tomato - 2
Potato - 2 (If u need more quantity add potato or u can skip this)
Spices
Cloves, Cinnamon, Elachi, Maratti Moggu, Anas Flower, Sombu, Kasa Kasa, - All little
Turmeric Powder, Chilli Powder, Salt - Per ur requirements
Jaggery - very little.
Oil/Ghee - for frying
Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
Lemon - 1

Grind together
Ginger - small piece
Garlic - If u prefer garlic (not sure of the quantity, 1 or 2 pieces should do i guess)
Green Chillies - 2
Red Chillies - 2
Grated Coconut - 2 tsp
Cashewnuts - 6

Method of Preparation
1. Soak Channa for 10 hrs and pressure cook along with the potatoes.
2. Grind together all the spices with finely cut onions.
3. Blanch tomatoes in hot water and make a thick puree.
4. Heat oil/ghee in a pan and add the onion paste and as it gets fried add the tomato puree with little turmeric.
5. Add the ground masala and chilli powder, salt, jaggery to this and keep in low flame till good smell comes.
6. Add the channa and mashed potato to this and add water based on the thickness u need for the gravy.
7. Keep in stove for another 5 mins.
8. Remove from stove and garnish with coriander leaves
9. Serve hot with rotis, with a piece of lemon.

Vegetable Briyani

I make vegetable briyani or veg pulav quite often , but somehow it wasnt all that satisfactory esp the colour of the briyani, but today it turned out real good, just the right colour and taste i shd say ;)

Ingredients :

Basmathi rice - 1 Cup

Carrot(2), Beans(10), Capsicum(1)(Red & Green ones), Potato(2), Onions(2), Tomato(2),Cauliflower - We can change it as per ur taste and quantity.

Pattai (Cinnamon) - 1 inch piece

Elakkai (Cardamon) - 1

Krambu (Cloves) - 3

Maratti Moggu - 2

Anas Flower - 1

Bay Leaf - 1

Aji-No-Moto - just a small pinch

Turmeric powder - 1 pinch

Garam Masala Powder - 1 spoon

Coriander leaves - a small bunch

Lemon - Half piece

Oil/Ghee - For frying.

Grind Together

1 tsp grated coconut

1 tsp Dhania (Coriander seeds)

Cashewnuts - 8

Red Chilly - 5

Onion - 1 (Just roast it over the flame directly)

Method of Preparation

1. Wash and soak the rice for 10 mins.

2. Cut all the vegetables into small small pieces.

3. Blanch tomatoes in hot water, remove skin and make a thick puree out of it.

4. Boil the vegetables till they get half cooked.

5. Heat oil/ghee in a pressure pan and add the spices and fry them.

6. Add finely cut onions to this and keep frying.

7. To this add the ground paste,tomato puree, turmeric and keep frying till u get a good smell.

8. Add the boiled vegetables to this and continue to fry.

9. Add 2 cups of water and squeeze half a lime into this.

10. In a kadai , add half a teaspoon ghee and fry the basmati rice for 2 mins

11. Once the water boils, add the rice to this and pressure cook for 10 mins.

12. Remove from fire, add a spoon of garam masala and ghee.

13. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with raitha.

Corn Capsicum Masala

This is my latest favorite dish, tasted it once when i went to kolkatta recently.

Ingredients :

Sweet Corn Kernels - 2 Cups

Capsicum - 2 Big ones

Onion, Tomato - 2 Big ones each

Pattai (Cinnamon) - 1 piece

Krambu (Cloves) - 2-3 pieces

Elakkai (Elachi) 1-2 pieces

Red Chilly powder , Salt - as per ur need

Cashewnuts - 5-6

Oil/ Ghee - for frying.

Prep Method :

1.Cut the onions, tomatoes, capsicum to fine pieces.

2.Grind the cut onions, tomatoes, cashewnuts with the masala spices(Cinnamon, Cloves, Elachi) to a fine gravy/paste (The cashewnuts will give more thickness and taste to the gravy).

3.Cook the capsicum and corn in a kadai with oil/ghee. Cook till the raw smell of capsicum is gone and the corn also gets cooked.

4.Simultaneously put the gravy in a kadai and cook the same with oil/ghee till the raw smell of onion and tomato is gone and the gravy comes to a red/brown colour .

5.To this , add chilly and salt and some more oil/ghee and allow it to boil , add the cooked corn n capsicum keep it on stove till u get a good flavor.

6.Garnish with cut corrainder and serve hot with cut lemons and onions.

Can be used with phulkas, naans, or with rice also.

Happy Eating !!!

Mehendi laga ke rakhna !!!

Diwali Diyas -- handpainted !!!

Garfield !!!

My first ever glass painting !!!

Glass Painting !!!

Am soooo glad to post this cos i think i am doing something which i also enjoy doing :) This all started in Odyssey Adyar, i was just trying to find some sorta gift for my friends when i spotted this. It was a starter kit from fevicryl on glass painting , and one on fabric and terracotta. Got both of them and started off the same day! After few initial pieces, this one i really liked :) The yellow one is the completed one, waiting to be framed :)

Darling Darling Darling

Film Name : Darling Darling Darling

Year of Release : 1982

Director : K Bhagyaraj

Starring : K Bhagyaraj, Poornima Jayaram, Suman

Music : Shankar Ganesh

StoryLine : Raja (Bhagyaraj) is the son of the watchman at an Ooty bungalow. The owner is a rich industrialist, whose daugther Radha (Poornima Jayaram) was best friends with Raja back when they were in school together. Years later, Radha returns to Ooty after having studied and lived abroad. Raja is still in love with her, but she remembers him as just as the watchman's son. The film starts with a musical chair competition for little children in a convent. The final round is with two children, one boy and one girl .. yesss u are right, the Hero and Heroine. The baby artist is Baby Anju who acted in Uthiri pookal, Keladi Kanmani and is now acting in lots of mega serials. Back to the story.. the kids don't sit on the last chair , giving up for the other to win :) That's the intro , and then comes our Hero KB who has all his childhood photos and is still in 'Divine Love' with his childhood love! Poornima arrives from abroad after her studies(dont ask what!) with a bunch of friends(typical 80s movie style!).They then derraa pootufy at the heroine's guest House for a looong time. Radha just remembers Raja as the watchman's son and no special feelings, is amused by Raja's actions and thinks he is mentally imbalanced. After a number of incidents she comes to know about his love but asks him to forget such ideas as she is already engaged to Suman. Suman comes in as the typical rich, stubborn bad guy who ill-treats Raja, the servant at home. A series of incidents follow that develops sympathy and love in Radha's heart towards Raja. But then now comes the twist, Sendamarai Radha's father is caught up in a financial crisis and seeks the help of Suman's father. Now Radha is forced to marry Suman, and all arrangements follow. At the end however , Suman's dad reads the dairy of Radha and comes to know of all the mattersss and gets them married ;)

Few points to mention :
Anju as the child artist is very cute.
So is Poornima Jayaram,with very little makeup she looks good (except for the intro).
KB continues 2 place flowers for a dog for 15 years jus becos Baby Anju asked him 2!
You get to see pictures of MGR and costumes of his time in this movie as well ;)
Livingston and Pandiarajan play a small role as station master and watchman respectively.
The little sister of KB has done a neat performance.
Poornima Jayaram addressess KB as Mr.Raja thro' out the movie till she falls in love with him.
Suman - of now Shivaji fame plays a negative role here.
Poornima's Dairy is the Hero/Heroine in this movie :)
Dance movements of KB definitely deserve a mention in the song Ye azhagiyae.. !!!
Bhagyaraj is married to Poornima , i think it was after this movie !

About the Director : Beginning his career as an assistant to directors G. Ramakrishnan and Bharathiraja, Bhagyaraj is recognised for his scriptwriting talent. Bhagyaraj often cast himself in the lead roles of the films he scripts and directs, effectively carving out a niche for himself in the actor-auteur vein. His style of film making is notable for its relatively elaborate, witty, and double entendre-laced script and socially-themed framework. His on-screen personae are typically characterised by their ironic sense of humour and intelligent bravado and his big glasses !

Vadakkumnathan

Film Name : Vadakkumnathan

Year of Release : 2006

Director : Shajun Karyal

Screenplay : Girish Puthenchery

Production : Baba Creations

Starring : Mohanlal, Biju Menon,Padmapriya, Murali, Shammi Thilakan, Vineeth, Risa Bava, Babu Namboothiri, Madambu Kunjukuttan, Vijayan Peringodu, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Kavya Madhavan, Sona Nair, Remadevi, KPAC Lalitha

Music : Ravindran

Lyrics : Girish Puthenchery

Cinematography : S. Kumar

Editing : Hariharaputhran

Storyline : Iringannoor Bharathan Pisharody, professor at the Sanskrit University, a very knowledgeable man with a keen interest in the Vedas, astrology and Kathakali, author of several critical works and winner of numerous awards, is the central character of Vadakkum Nathan. Meera is his student and murapennu.Though Bharathan does not encourage it, Meera often tries to take advantage of the relationship even in class.Both families have agreed to their wedding and a date has been fixed. But when the auspicious day dawns and the bride arrives at the mandapam, she realizes to her utter dismay and desolation that the groom has disappeared.Gloom settles over the household. Meera is inconsolable.Years pass. No one knows Bharathan's whereabouts. Even death is not ruled out.Then one day his mother and uncle on a pilgrimage to the holy shrines of Haridwar, Kedarnath,Rishikesh and Rudraprayag, meet Bharathan on the foothills of the Himalayas.From there unfolds the touching story of Vadakkum Nathan. The film opens with Bharathan's mother and brother (Kaviyoor Ponnamma and Biju Menon) getting to Haridwar to perform some religious rites for Bharathan, who is given up as dead. The mother luckily spots Bharathan on the banks of the holy Ganges. But Bharathan is not normal. The relatives think he is on a hallucination trip.At times he shows some eccentric behaviors which even disrupt his sister’s marriage proposal. All thinks that his behavior is caused by smoking pot, which he incidentally started using a few days before he ran away and everyone hates him. Then one fine day, It is his brother who stumbles on the fact that Pisharody is mentally ill. The papers relating to his treatment, found in his suitcase, were the give-away. So they come to know of his mental distress, a case of extreme depression. Now that everyone is aware of his problem, instead of running away from his illness he turns around and faces it. He straightens out, one by one, the troubles caused by him with the help of Meera. They get married and live happily ever after ! Few Points to mention :
There is no larger-than life stunts, songs and dialogues.
Everything carries a matter-of-fact attractiveness. Mohanlal as the troubled professor is singularly top rate.
His face throws up myriad expressions. It is an amazing portrayal of mentally disturbed man.
Padmapriya has proved that she can also shine in performance-based roles.
The music of Ravindran is another major plus. Special mention must be made of "Kalabham Tharaam, Gange and Oru Kili Pattu".
S Kumar's camera is also vital to the film's feel.
Shajoon Karial has given a serious film with all the right touches. He has eschewed the urge to go commercial. You can crib on the length and speed of the movie. But that is insignificant considering intrinsic essence of the movie.Vadakkumnathan deals with inner demons and depressions of a highly-skilled Sanskrit scholar. Backed by some lilting music, Vadakkumnathan at once tugs at your heart strings as well as soothes your jangled nerves. The pace maybe slow, but it is pregnant with poignant pauses. Full marks to director Shajoon Kariyal for making a film with conviction and clarity. There is no effort to shortchange the audience with ersatz entertainer. Vadakkumnathan deserves a watch by all those who love and value cinema, especially good cinema.

Iniya Tamil Puthandu Nal Vaazhthukkal

The month of Chitthirai has arrived and with it the Tamil New Year’s Day; April 14th – an occasion for celebration for Tamilians all over the world. Greetings of “Puthandu Vazthukal”, (Happy New Year), are exchanged with fervour on this day, which is supposedly the day when Lord Brahma (The Creator of the world, according to Hindu mythology) started creation.

The day starts with viewing the 'kanni' (the auspicious sight) at dawn, in the expectation that beginning the New Year by looking at auspicious or favourable things will bring good fortune throughout the year. The auspicious things include, gold and silver jewellery, betel leaves, nuts, fruits and vegetables, flowers, raw rice and coconuts. This is followed by the ritual bath and a visit to the temple to pray for a prosperous and happy New Year. After which, the Panchangam (almanac) is read. The ladies adorn the entrances of their houses with ‘Kolam’ (design made with rice flour) and deck the doorway with mango leaves.

The highlight of the festival is the 'Maanga Pachadi' (a dish made of raw mangoes, jaggery and neem flowers), which is at the same time sweet, sour and bitter. This signifies all the different aspects of our life.

Regional Variants of New Year
We have a host of new year festivities that are unique to the particular regions on this vast country. Characteristic of the Indian cultural mélange, Hindus in various states of India celebrate the new year in their own ways. And not all of these fall on the same day!

The Hindus of Nepal begin their new year Nava Varsha in the third week of March, and the people of Kashmir start the Kashmiri Lunar year - Navreh - in the second week of March.

It's Ugadi in Andhra & Karnataka!
The Telegu and the Kannada New Year falls on the first day of the month of Chaitra (March-April). People in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states in the South of India believe that Lord Brahma began the creation of the universe on this auspicious day of Ugadi. People prepare for the new year by cleaning and washing their houses and buying new clothes. On the Ugadi day they decorate their houses with mango leaves and "rangoli" designs, and pray for a prosperous new year, and visit the temples to listen to the yearly calendar - "Panchangasravanam" as priests make predictions for the coming year. Ugadi is also an auspicious day to embark on any new endeavor.

Bring in the Goodies on Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra!
In Maharashtra, the new year is celebrated as Gudi Padwa - a festival that heralds the advent of spring (March-April). Early on the morning of the first day of the Chaitra month, people finish their ablutions, wear new clothes and decorate their houses with colorful "rangoli" patterns. A silk banner is raised and worshipped, and greetings and sweets are exchanged. People hang "gudis" on their windows on this day to celebrate Mother Nature's bounty. A "gudi" is a decorated pole with a brass or a silver vessel placed on it.

The Bright Baisakhi of Punjab
"Baisakhi", traditionally a harvest festival, is celebrated on the 13th of April every year, marking the Punjabi New Year. People celebrate the joyous occasion by performing Bhangra and Giddha to the pounding rhythm of the dhol and rings in the New Year. Baisakhi also marks the founding of the Khalsa brotherhood by Sikh Guru Govind Singh.

Shubho Naba Barsha on Poila Baishakh in Bengal!
The first day of the Bengali new year falls on the 13th or 14th of April every year.Called "Poila Baishakh," it's a state holiday in the eastern state of West Bengal and a national holiday in Bangladesh. To welcome the new year or "Naba Barsha", people clean and decorate their houses and invoke Goddess Lakshmi, the bestower of wealth and prosperity. All new enterprises begin on this auspicious day, as businessmen open their fresh ledgers with "Haal Khata"- a ceremomy in which Lord Ganesha is summoned and customers are invited to settle all their old dues and offered free refreshments. The people of Bengal spend the day feasting and participating in cultural activities.

The Boisterous Bohaag Bihu of Assam
The northeastern state of Assam ushers in the new year with the spring festival of Bohaag Bihu or Rongali Bihu, which marks the onset of a new agricultural cycle. Fairs are organized where people revel in gay games. The celebrations go on for days together, and it's a good time for young people to find a companion of their own choice! Young belles in traditional attire sing "Bihugeets" and dance the traditional "Mukoli Bihu". The festive food of the occasion is the "pitha" or rice cakes. People visit each other's houses, exchange gifts and sweets and, greet each other a Happy New Year!

Kerala, Wish You a Happy Vishu!
"Vishu" is the first day in the first month of Medam in Kerala, the beautiful coastal state in southern India. The people of this state - the Malayalees - begin the day early in the morning by visiting the temple and seeing any auspicious sight, which they call "Vishukani." The day is full of the elaborate traditional rituals with tokens called "Vishukaineetam", usually in form of coins, being distributed among the downtrodden. People wear new clothes - "Kodi vastram" - and celebrate the day by bursting firecrackers and enjoying a variety of delicacies at an elaborate lunch called the "sadya" with family and friends. The afternoon and evening is spent in the "Vishuwela".