Vishu is Kerala’s astrological new year, the first day of Medam, and the very same Mesha Sankranti that Tamil Nadu keeps as Puthandu. Kerala dates it by the following dawn rather than by sunset, because the observance is the Vishukkani — the first thing the eye falls on in the new year — so an ingress that lands mid-morning belongs to the next morning.
How it is observed
The kani is arranged the night before: konna blossom, rice, a mirror, gold, a lit lamp and an image of Krishna, set out so that it is the first sight of someone led in at dawn with their eyes closed. Elders then give Vishukkaineettam, a coin pressed into the hand, and the day closes with a sadya.