Hey guys and gals,
Below is an article which I wrote to be featured in www.klik4malaysia.com . Unfortunately the final product came out a little too late to be published there. Many thanks to Mr Philip and Mr Jaiarajoo for editing and giving inputs to my article. It has now found its way here :)
The Indian community
celebrate Tamil “Puthandu” or New Year on April 14.
Every Hindu household
would be cleaned thoroughly before the big day and on the morning of the
Puthandu, families gather to pray to God first, either at home or at temples,
before ushering in the New Year celebrations.
However, in Malaysia,
as the Tamil Puthandu is not a gazetted holiday unlike Deepavali, which meant
that the Hindu observers had to observe customary prayers at home in the
morning while only visiting temples in the evening.
It is believed that by
putting our thoughts in prayers to God first thing on the morning of New Year
and making special offerings of milk, sweets and fruits, the household would be
blessed for the coming year.
It is auspicious to
wear new clothes while many people believe that buying gold on the first day of
the New Year signifies an accumulation of wealth and prosperity for the
household throughout the year.
Many Tamil businessmen
start operations of new businesses or make deals on this day to
mark new beginnings. This is because it is believed that everyone’s almanacs
will undergo major changes with every Tamil Puthandu.
The businessmen would
not want to waste a single moment of a coming auspicious year.
The celebration of
Tamil Puthandu is not something new. Indians in India have been celebrating
their new year either on April 14 or April 15 every year since 5,113 years ago.
This same date is
observed by many other states in India including people from Assam, Bengal,
Punjab, Kerala, Orissa, Manipur as well as the country of Nepal.
The other states in
India also celebrate their respective New Years within 1-2 days of the Tamil
Puthandu.
Astrologers consult the calendar to
determine auspicious days.
There are several festivals based on the
Tamil Hindu calendar that begins on the same date in April. Kaliyuga 5113,
Vikrama and Shalivahana Saka eras are also used.
There are several references in early Tamil
literature to the April new year.
Tamil Months in Calendar 2011:- Margazhi –
January, Thai – February, Masi – March, Panguni – April, Kara – May, Vaikasi –
June, Ani – July, Adi – August, Avani – September, Puratasi – October, Aippasi
– November, Karthikai – December.
Tamil New year is an important festival celebrated by Tamil Hindus.
This festival is mainly observed in Tamil Nadu and all nations with huge Tamil
Diaspora populations, like Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, United
Kingdom and United States.
When Sun
transits into zodiac Aries (Mesham), the Tamil New Year ‘Kara‘ commences. The
festival is called as Tamil Puthandu or Varushapirapu. Tamil Calendar and Tamil
astrology (Nirayana astrology) are considered as one of the most ancient
astrology system.
The solar
calendar system follows a 60 year cycle and the years are named specifically
(not numbers) as such ‘Kara’ is the 25th year while ‘Vikhruti’ was the 24th
year.
One of the Hindu
sages, Thiruvalluvar in his famous proverbs of “Thirukkural” starts his first proverb with the translation:
As “A” is the beginning of the alphabets; GOD
Almighty is the beginning of the World.
The year of “Kara” will definitely be different from
the year of “Vikruthi”. In Malaysia,
we have seen changes taking place in the political scene less than a few days
after the Tamil Puthandu.
Within 6 years, in
2017 the Tamil year, “Hevilambi”,
will return, marking the end of a Tamil “century” because our independence
(Malaya) was in 1957.
As such there is every
possibility to see or hope for significant changes to usher in the birth of a new
‘century’ for Tamils.
My sincere Tamil
Puthandu prayer and hope is for the unity, cooperation and hard work from our
ancestors, to ensure we enjoy freedom and harmony, will continue for
‘centuries’ to come.
Hope you all had a good read. Thank you.
