Deep Ties

Saif Zaman - Unsplash “Are you travelling just before Vishu (the Malayali New Year)?” The same question popped up several times just before we were leaving for Johannesburg on the 12 th of April. I wish I could have recorded an audio message explaining how onerous it was to get a visa to South Africa and how we had lost money twice in the process. So, Vishu or no Vishu, there we were, five intrepid folks (my better half, our daughter, her two little ones and yours truly), all set to move to another continent. Vishu had always been an event over the decades when our daughter was growing up with the whole rigmarole of setting up the Vishu ‘kani’ – the puja space where the most auspicious objects were displayed. The fun part was leading in the family, blindfolded towards the spot the moment they woke up in the morning so that when they did open their eyes, the first sight they would take in would be auspicious.  One of the most anticipated moments was when the elders would give money t