Vishu and Cashew Nuts - money money money!

Month of April and it is holiday season for children. Added with many festivals including Vishu.

A quick visit to my home in Kerala and a walk around brought back memories of my childhood days. We used to wait for the exams to finish and then starts the family visits. Children will come to our home as well as we visit their homes. In the villages, with farming and cultivation, it used to be fun all along. For us, the season brings an additional source of income to supplement our expenses, as pocket money used to be very very limited. Except for the 1 rupee or 50 paise given to us as "Vishu Kaineettam" - a tradition where elders give money to those younger to them on the day of Vishu, there was absolutely no source of money to either buy any toys or go for a movie at the local cinema. This is when we gather together and walk around and collect the fallen cashew nuts and then take it to the local vendor and sell them and keep the cash. The nuts are sold and the fruits are mostly eaten while collecting or on the way.

Of course and obviously the vendor will give us only lesser amount than the normal market rate as he knows very well that this is something we do without permission of our parents or relatives (although all parties are aware!).

Gone are those days, and now children have several other ways to keep them engaged, and money is not an issue at all. Engaging or getting them engaged is now a main source of income by means of "Summer Camps". Advantage and disadvantage of modernization!.

This post is intended to all those who enjoyed the olden golden days will cherish remembering those days.