VISHUKKANI

Vishu is a Hindu feastival celebrated in the Indian state of Kerala and in the Mangalore and Udupi districts of Karnataka, usually in the second week of April in the Gregorian calender. It marks the new year in accordance with the Malayalam calender, known as the Kolla Varsha. This occasion signifies the Sun's transit into the Meda Raasi. (first zodiac sign), according to Indian astrological calculations, and represents the vernal equinox. "Vishu" in Sanskrit means "equal".

The most important event in Vishu is the Vishukkani, which literally means "the first thing seen on the day of Vishu after waking up". The Vishukkani consists of a ritual arrangement of auspicious articles like raw rice,  fresh lemon,  golden cucumber, betel leaves, arecanut, metal mirror, yellow flowers konna (Cassia fistula) and a holy text and coins, in a bell metal vessel called uruli in the puja room of the house. A lighted bell metal lamp called nilavilakku is also placed alongside. This is arranged the night before. On Vishu, the custom is to wake up at dawn and go to the puja room with eyes closed so that the Vishukkani is the first sight of the new season. Reading verses from Hindu Holy book Ramayanam after seeing the "Vishukkani" is considered auspicious. It is also believed that the page of the Ramayanam which you open up to will have a bearing on your life in the coming year. Devotees visit temples like Sabarimala Ayyappan Temple, Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple to have a "vishukkani Kazhcha" in the early hours of "Vishu" day.

stage work

catering dish

Event catering

With such a large variety of catering available it is confusing to decide on which is the best for your guests.

Events range from cheese lunch drop-off to full-service catering. Caterers and their staff are part of the foods service industry. Catering services provided differ based on the event and can include: cooking and delivering food to an outside site; cooking, delivering and serving food; and full-service (preparing food, providing service staff, decoration of event location, prep and clean-up). In many cases of full-service catering, the caterer is called an event managing company.

When most people refer to a "caterer", they are referring to an event caterer who serves food with waiting staff at eating tables or sets up a self-serve buffet. The food may be prepared on site, in other words made completely at the event, or the caterer may choose to bring prepared food and put the finishing touches on once it arrives.

The event caterer staff are not responsible for preparing the food but often help set up the dining area. This service is typically provided at banquets, conventions, and weddings. Any event where all who attend are provided with food and drinks is often called a catered event.

Catering Dishes

Dishes are generally made of ceramic materials such as earthenware, stoneware, bone china or porcelain, however can be made of other materials such as wood, pewter, silver, gold, glass, acrylic and plastic. Dishes are purchased either by the piece or by set which include either four, eight, or twelve place settings. Individual pieces, such as those needed as replacement pieces for broken dishes, can be purchased from "open stock" stock at shops, or from antique dealers if the pattern is no longer in production.

Dish sizes

Dishes come in standard sizes, which are set according to the manufacturer. They are similar throughout the industry. In descending order by diameter size, standard plate sizes are: charger - 12 inches, dinner plate - 10.5 inches, dessert plate - 8.5 inches, salad plate - 7.5 inches, side plate or tea plate - 6.75 inches

Place setting

Place settings for service dining are arranged according to the number of courses in the meal. The tableware is arranged in a particular order. With the first course, each guest at the table begins by using the flatware placed on the outside of place setting. As each course is finished the guest leaves the used cutlery on the used plate or bowl, which are removed from the table by the server. To begin the next course, the diner uses the next set of flatware items on the outside of the place setting, and so on. Forks are placed on the left of a dinner plate, knives to the right of the plate, and spoons to the outer right side of the place setting.

Dish ware types and shapes

Place setting dishes, Bowls, soup bowls, cereal bowls, pasta bowls, fruit bowls, or dessert bowls, Individual covered casseroles or covered soups, Plates, charger plates, dinner plates, lunch plates, dessert plates, salad plates or side plates, Saucers, including teacup saucers, coffeecup saucers, demitasse saucers, and cream soup saucers. Serving dishes, Butter dish, Casseroles, ramekins, or lidded serving bowls, Compotes, Pitchers or Jugs, Platters including chop plates, salvers, and trays, Salt and pepper shakers, salt cellars, Sauce boats, gravy boat or small pitcher, Serving bowls including vegetable bowls and salad bowls, Sugar bowl and creamer, Teapot, coffee pot, Tureen, Tajine, Drinkware, Mugs, coffee or tea mugs, and chocolate mugs.

kerala 1

kerala

Tree

The tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, supporting leaves or tree branches.

In many usages, such as single woody plants, one plants that are usable as timber or only plants above a specified height. At its largest, trees include the taller palms, the tree ferns, bananas and bamboo.

A tree typically has many additional branches supported clear of the ground by the trunk. This tree trunk typically contains woody tissue for strength, and vascular tissue to carry materials from one part of the tree to another. For most trees it is surrounded by a layer of bark which serves as a protective barrier. Below the ground, the roots branch and spread out widely. They serve to anchor the tree and extract moisture and nutrients from the soil. Above ground, the branches divide into smaller branches and shoots. The shoots typically bear leaves, which capture light energy and convert it into chemical energy by photosynthesis, providing the food needed by the tree for its growth and development.

Flowers and fruit may also be present, but some trees such as conifers instead have pollen cones and seed cones, and others such as tree ferns produce spores instead.

Trees tend to be long-lived, some reaching several thousand years old. The tallest known specimen on Earth is 115.6 m (379 ft) and they have a theoretical maximum height of 130 m (426 ft). Trees have been in existence on the Earth for 370 million years. Trees are not a taxonomic group but are a number of plant species that have independently evolved a woody trunk and branches as a way to tower above other plants and make full use of the sunlight.

Trees play a significant role in reducing erosion and moderating the climate. They remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store large quantities of carbon in their tissues. Trees and forests provide a habitat for many species of animals and plants. Tropical rain forests are one of the most biodiverse habitats in the world. 

Trees provide shadiness and protective covering, timber for construction and building, fuel for cooking and heating, and fruit for food as well as having many other uses.  In parts of the world, forests are shrinking as trees are cleared to increase the amount of land available for agriculture. Because of their longevity and usefulness, trees have always been revered and they play a role in many of the world's mythologies

Art

old snaps of manathala