KUNG HAI FAT CHOI

I WISH ALL THE READERS (I CAN ALSO FANTASIZE OF MILLIONS OF READERS TO MY BLOG:):)A LIVELY CHINESE NEW YEAR. KUNG HAI FAT CHOI...WHICH LITERALLY MEANS HAPPY NEW YEAR.

IT WAS EXCATLY 13 YEARS BACK IN 1998 I WITNESSED THE GRANDEUR AND GLORY OF THE CHINESE NEW YEAR FROM THE OPEN TERRACE OF THE FLAT AT GOLDKING MANSION,TAI HANG DRIVE WHERE I WAS DESTINED/BLESSED (WHICH EVER WAY U TAKE IT) TO STAY FOR ALMOST 5 YEARS.

And the colourful parade of crakers and teh rilliance of lights emitted by them still remain green in my memory. It was as if thosands of deepavalis being celebrated all at the same point of time. Imagine the population of Chennai coming around with kith and kin to marina and start firing craKERS ALL AT THE SAME TIME AT THE DOTTED HOUR.

I still remember the punctuality with which the grand event will start and finish. It used to be around 8 pm in my days . And note it, it will start exactly at 8 pm and it will conclude exactly in 30 minutes, i,e by 8.30 pm.the precision with which the timing is adhered to, the manner in which the clouds are monitored, the ease with which the traffic is controlled are all factors to be seen to be believed.

My initial reaction when i witnessed it in first year was that the credits belong to British who held seige over hongkong for decades and who left the island under a bipartite settlement only in July 1997.So i was in fact not very keen next year(1999) to attend to the grand show, for fear that the same may not be as orderly or as good as the one witnessed in 1998.I was proved wrong. The second one was more majestic than the first one.In fact the jubiliation of having won back Hongkong from hands of the British, possibly added more passion to the whole show.

I would like to know how the event is celebrated as of now and i have goaded my son (who has landed in HK DEC2010)not to miss this event. I have consciously used the word goading as my son is shy of crowds and i bet the crowds are going to be there in thousands,still the colourful sight of the entire population joining together to celebrate an event , ushering of new year, is great feat to watch and cherish.

The year is said to be the year of rabbit. Chinese years are always linked to animals and that is possibly because of their close love and appetite(conscious use)for them .nO OFFENCE MEANT ANY WAY. In a country whose population is incresing leaps and bounds, availability /sufficiency of food is a major concern and hence the people have been taught to make use of what is availble around them to take care of their hunger.

RABBITS ARE SAID TO BE FRIENDLY, TACTFUL AND CHARMING.The year is also predicted to be one of charm, friendliness and warmth.I recall my last Rabbit year in HK island, when i was present in a chinese restaurant,celebrating the new year with my chinese staff with a tamil song!!yes as atrue lover of tamil, i sang the song "Sen thamizh then mozhiyal,nilavena sirikkum malrkodiayal" with karoke , accompanied by a lovable dance by a few chinese girls and the night became an unforget ful one.I wish all my readers ,my chinese staff,my friends and above all my dearest son KUNG HAI FAT CHOI..:):)