Ride on Time

Chapter 48

New Year's Eve
Shree got home early from work and Vasu went to pick her up with their grandmother.
"Eh, your holiday until when ah?" Shree asked her brother.
"Until New Year only lah, Akka," Vasu sighed. "Third I have to go back to college 'dy."
"Aiya, why so fast?" Shree groaned. "Never mind. I'll take car and leave you to school."
"Can," Vasu nodded.
"Okay, now can you drive to Speedmart?" Shree said, scooting to the middle of the backseat. "I wanna buy chocolate. For New Year."
Vasu chuckled and started driving straight there.
"Nika, can you buy some shredded coconut too?" Devi piped up. "And some coconut milk."
And then she started giving her a long list.
"Awah, wait, wait, let me type and keep," Shree interrupted, creating a checklist in the note app. "Okay, now tell."
Devi continued her very long list, much to Shree's surprise. She started wondering how her mother even manage to note everything without writing down.
Vasu stopped the car in front of the provision shop and Shree grabbed her bag.
"Are you taking your bag?" Devi asked.
"Yep," Shree answered. "Why ah?"
"Don't, just take your card," Devi insisted.
Shree chuckled. "Okay."
She took her phone and her card before exiting the car.

***

The Tadaos visited their family's graves and offered prayers and gave offerings to them amid the mild snow. They all prayed for the peace of their ancestors and the well-being of their current heirs. Mitsuo also prayed for the success of his book hitting the international market.
They wished they could stay longer, but the weather forecast told them that a blizzard was coming. Everyone quickly left, fearing that they might get caught in an angry snow storm.
Mitsuo helped his mother prepare Toshikoshi Soba and they all sat down to eat the traditional New Year's Eve meal. It was the Japanese custom to have Toshikoshi Soba on the last day of the year in order to welcome the new year and wish for good health and happiness.
"When shall we go to the shrine?" Mitsuo slurped his soba. "Tomorrow or tonight?"
"I think it's best we go tonight, during the Joya no Kane," Akiko said. "Wouldn't wanna miss that, right?"
Hiroshi nodded in agreement. "It's one of the best parts of Hatsumode. Some go on the second or third day, but I feel like the first minute is the best."
"Yeah, the ringing of the bell is something," Mitsuo agreed. "Alright, then. Let's go."
"Yeah, but first, we need to make mochi for tomorrow's Osechi Ryōri," Akiko chimed in. "Hiro-kun, Mitsu. You guys are the brawn who would mash the rice into a dough."
Mitsuo snorted. "Brawn..."
"Oh come on, it's fun," Hiroshi laughed. "We can have a mini Mochitsuki tonight!"

Mitsuo and his father started mashing the boiled mochigome into a gooey dough. Akiko watched, cheering them on.
"That's right, harder!" Akiko cheered. "Yes! It has to be sticky!"
Mitsuo groaned and took a few seconds' rest before bashing the rice with the pestle again. Hiroshi was done first and handed the bowl to his wife. Mitsuo looked at him in surprise.
"How did you do it so quickly?!" Mitsuo panted. "This is hard!"
Hiroshi grinned, flexing his bicep. "Experience."
Mitsuo sighed and finished a few minutes later before handing the bowl to his mother. "Done..."
Akiko started preparing the mochi, rolling them into balls before refrigerating them.
"We can toast them tomorrow to be put into the ozoni," Akiko said. "And as for the Osechi... we need to get the boxes."
Mitsuo groaned, looking at his sore hands as he imagined the boxes resting at the back of the kitchen cabinet, collecting dust and with the need of a good wash.

***

A piece of smouldering coconut fell off the incense holder, onto the carpet. Shree quickly grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the altar drawer and picked it up, placing it back into the brass bowl.
"This is the first time I'm seeing people use chopsticks for Sambrani," Vasu laughed, filming as his big sister prepared for the New Year's first prayers. "What is this lah, Akka?"
"I don't wanna burn my hand, okay?" Shree sighed and set the incense holder on the altar. She turned to the living room clock and frowned. "Is it time yet?"
"Nope," Vasu shook his head. He spotted Devi watching the live telecast happening at the Dataran Merdeka and turned back to his sister. "They also not yet lah. Prime Minister still giving speech."
Shree couldn't help but laugh. The live video was so dark that only the Prime Minister's silhouette could be seen. If it wasn't for his voice, he would be hard to recognise.
"They should add more lighting lah, cannot see anything also," Shree chuckled and turned to the clock. "Five minutes more..."
"Have you burnt the coconut shell?" Chandrika asked in Tamil, emerging from the dining hall. Shree nodded and pointed at the incense holder. "Okay... how long more?"
"Four minutes," Vasu said, looking at the time on his phone. "This is Google time, should be correct."
Shree reached for her phone on the cabinet and chuckled. "Every group chat is blowing up."
"Three minutes!" Devi shouted suddenly.
"Ah!" Shree turned to the altar and carried out the prayers with a small oil lamp with a handle, ringing the bell with one hand while the other clasped the lamp. She set it down and turned to the tv again. "Now how long?"
"Another two minutes, I think," Chandrika said, sitting down on a couch with her phone. "Yeah."
Shree sighed and replied a few messages before putting her phone aside. "I set an alarm earlier, so we would know."
"Just get ready," Devi said, peeking at her from where she sat.
Shree nodded and turned back to the altar. The others came over and stood behind her too, awaiting the new year.
"One minute!" Vasu exclaimed excitedly.
The whole family turned to the tv and waited for the moment they would start the countdown.
They didn't.
All of a sudden, Shree's phone alarm went off. She immediately started the prayers, vigorously ringing the bell as she rounded the smoking sambrani holder around the altar, screaming, "Happy New Year!"
"Eh, not yet lah!" Devi alerted.
Shree pointed at her phone. "Our phones use Google time, it's midnight!"
Only then did the countdown on television start. The rest of the family cheerfully shouted "Happy New Year!" too.
Shree then brought the incense holder throughout the house, making sure that the purifying smoke reached every corner.
After she was done, she repeated the prayers at the altar with burning camphor and went outside, rounding the camphor in front of the two cars her family owned before dropping the still-burning tablets at the gate.
And after that, they sat down and had chocolate, sipping on sparkling juice.

***

Mitsuo waited in front of the temple with his family, waiting for the first second of the new year. When it came, joyous gasps and murmurs spread around the waiting crowd as the shrine bell started ringing 108 times for the Joya no Kane. They then entered the crowded temple and prayed for a good year before going home.
"Hey, ready for a midnight snack?" Mitsuo grinned, holding up a pack of roasted almonds.
"Where did you even get that?" Akiko asked in surprise.
Mitsuo shrugged. "I bought them before the countdown."
So they ate them with alcohol-free amazake.
"I don't get it, this is literally sweet sake but doesn't have alcohol?" Mitsuo said in surprise as he ate his amazake. "How?"
"There's a way in making it," Hiroshi said. "It either has very low alcohol or none at all."
Mitsuo nodded and popped a few almonds into his mouth.

I'm not sure if other Indian households do this too, but my family does that. It's like the first thing we do this year is a prayer, kinda like a tradition.