tamil new year
Puthandu
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| Puthandu | |
|---|---|
| Observed by | Tamils |
| Type | Festival, Tamilnadu, India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore |
| Significance | Tamil New Year, |
| Date | First day of Chitterai in the Tamil calendar |
| 2012 date | 13 April |
| Celebrations | Feasting, gift-giving, visiting homes |
Puthandu (Tamil: புத்தாண்டு), or better known as Tamil New Year or Chithirai Tiru-naal, is the celebration of the first day of the Tamil new year in mid-April by Tamils in Tamil Nadu, in Pondicherry in India, in Sri Lanka and by the Tamil population in Malaysia, Singapore, Reunion Island and Mauritius. On this day, tamil people greet each other by saying "Puthandu Vazthukal" ( புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துகள் ) or "Iniya Tamizh Puthandu Nalvaazhthukkal" (இனிய தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்).[1] The festive occasion is in keeping with the Hindu solar calendar.
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[edit] Origin and significance
The Tamil New Year follows the Nirayanam vernal equinox and generally falls either on 13 or 14 April of the Gregorian year. 13 or 14 April marks the first day of the traditional Tamil calendar and is a public holiday in both Tamil Nadu
and Sri Lanka. Tropical vernal equinox fall around 22 March, and adding
23 degrees of trepidation or oscillation to it, we get the Hindu
sidereal or Nirayana Mesha Sankranti (Sun's transition into Nirayana Aries).
Hence, the Tamil calendar begins on the same date observed by most
traditional calendars in India as in Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Manipur,
Mithila, Orissa, Punjab, Tripura etc. not to mention Nepal, Bangladesh,
Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The 60-year cycle is
ancient and is observed by most traditional calendars of India and
China, and is related to 5 revolutions of Jupiter, or to 60-year orbit
of Nakshatras (stars) as described in the Surya Siddhanta.
The traditional Tamil year starts on 13 April 2012, Kaliyuga 5114. Vikrama and Shalivahana Saka eras are also used. There are several references in early Tamil literature to the April new year. Nakkirar,
the author of the Nedunalvaadai writes in the 3rd century that the Sun
travels from Mesha/Chitterai through 11 successive Raasis or signs of
the zodiac.[2] Kūdalūr Kizhaar in the 3rd century refers to Mesha Raasi/Chitterai as the commencement of the year in the Puranaanooru.[3][4]
The Tolkaapiyam is the oldest surviving Tamil grammar that divides the
year into six seasons where Chitterai marks the start of the Ilavenil
season or summer. The 8th century Silappadikaaram mentions the 12 Raasis
or zodiac signs starting with Mesha/Chitterai.[5] The Manimekalai
alludes to the Hindu solar calendar as we know it today.
Adiyarkunalaar, an early medieval commentator or Urai-asiriyar mentions
the 12 months of the Tamil calendar with particular reference to
Chitterai. There were subsequent inscriptional references in Pagan,
Burma dated to the 11th century CE and in Sukhothai, Thailand dated to
the 14th century CE to South Indian, often Vaishnavite, courtiers who
were tasked with defining the traditional calendar that began in
mid-April.[6]
[edit] Celebration
Tamil people celebrate Tamil new year either on 13 or 14 April. Every
year in the month of Chitterai (the first month of the Tamil solar
calendar in April), in the temple city of Madurai, the Chitterai Thiruvizha is celebrated in the Meenakshi Temple. A huge exhibition is held, called Chitterai Porutkaatchi. In some parts of Southern Tamil Nadu, it is called Chitterai Vishu. The day is marked with a feast in Tamil homes and entrances to the houses are decorated elaborately with kolams. In most parts of India, one can see neem
trees blooming with their flowers and the first batch of mangoes
hanging prominently. This day is celebrated by some communities with
neem flowers and raw mangoes to symbolize growth and prosperity.
On the day of Tamil New Year, a big Car Festival is held at Tiruvidaimarudur near Kumbakonam. Festivals are also held at Tiruchirapalli, Kanchipuram and many other places.
Sri Lankan Tamils
observe the traditional new year in April with the first financial
transaction known as the 'Kai-vishesham' where elders gift money to the
unmarried young, particularly children as a token of good luck. The
event is also observed with the 'arpudu' or the first ploughing of the
ground to prepare for the new agricultural cycle. The 'punya-kaalam' or
auspicious time when the sun reportedly shifts from Meena raasi to Mesha
raasi is considered ideal to commence new activities on a favorable
note. Sri Lankan Tamils begin the year with a herbal bath with
'maruthu-neer' with ingredients for good health. The game of
'por-thenkai' or coconut wars between youth is played in villages
through the Tamil north and east of the island while cart races are also
held.[7]
The festive Puthandu season in April is a time for family visits and
the renewal of filial bonds. It coincides with the Sinhalese new year
season.[8]
[edit] Controversy
The previous DMK-led Government of Tamil Nadu had declared in 2008
that the Tamil new year should be celebrated on the first day of Tamil
month of Thai (14 January) coinciding with the harvest festival of
Pongal. The Tamil Nadu New Year (Declaration Bill 2008) was introduced
in the House by the Tamil Nadu Government on 29 January 2008.[9]
This bill of the DMK Administration was subsequently rescinded by a
separate act of legislation in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on 23 August
2011.[10][11][12][13]
The earlier legislative enactment of the DMK government was not without controversy .[14] The resolution was met with resistance.[15][16][17] It was challenged in court.[18][19]
The opposition AIADMK and MDMK in Tamil Nadu subsequently condemned the
decision of the DMK Government in that state and urged their supporters
to continue celebrating the traditional date in mid-April.[20] Tamils in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and Canada continued to observe the new year in mid-April.[21][22][23][24][25] Many in Tamil Nadu continued the celebration of the new year in mid-April.[26][27]
The Governor and Chief Minister of the Indian Union Territory of
Pondicherry, which has an ethnic Tamil majority, felicitated the public
for the Tamil new year in April 2010.[28]
The previous state government in Tamil Nadu in an effort to accommodate
popular sentiment conceded the celebration of the April new year with a
new term called “Chithirai Tirunal” (the festival of Chithirai). The
day remained a public holiday in Tamil Nadu albeit purportedly to
commemmorate B.R. Ambedkar, India's veteran scheduled caste leader. All
television channels in Tamil Nadu continued to telecast festive
“Chithirai Tirunal Special Programs” on 14 April 2010. The leader of the
AIADMK, Jayalalitha felicitated the people on the traditional Tamil New
Year. The MDMK leader Vaiko, followed suit.[29]
Press reports indicated that the people in Tamil Nadu celebrated the
Tamil New Year with enthusiasm and thronged the temples in thousands.
There are others who highlight the absence of historical and literary
evidence for the change in new year.[30]
The 2008 legislation of the previous DMK-led administration has since
been annulled by an act of the Tamil Nadu Assembly in August, 2011.[31]
[edit] Tiruvalluvar Era
The 2006–2011 Government in Tamil Nadu also introduced the
Tiruvalluvar era that begins with the purported birth of the Tamil
literary figure Tiruvalluvar
in the year 31 BCE. The literary evidence however may not indicate an
early date for Tiruvalluvar. The syntax and grammar may indicate a
subsequent date. Renowned Tamil Scholar Vaiyapuri Pillai
was of the view that Tiruvalluvar lived around 600 CE, based on the
internal evidence of his work and the significant influence of Sanskrit,
Prakrit and Pali works in the Tirukkural.[32] While not all may agree with Vaiyapuri Pillai's textual criticism and dating, several question the Tiruvalluvar era on the issue of its date.[33] However, the Government of J. Jayalalitha reverted the celebration of Puthandu to the original date of fourteenth of April.[12]
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