Puthandu-Vasu Vasudevan

Source:Dæhæna – Monthly e-Newsletter – April 2021

Vasu Vasudevan, a resident of Brisbane is a retired professional Chemical Engineer currently spending his time on spirituality and pursuing some hobbies. His motto: Life is too short and there is so much to learn!!

The Tamil New year falls on April 14, 2021. In the solar cycle this is the commencement of the month of Chihirai. The Tamil Calendar follows a 60 year cycle and each year has a specific name. This New Year is the 35th year of this cycle and is called Pilava (பிலவ). Traditionally the festival has some important features as follows:

Cleaning and decorating the house with a whiff of new and colourful paint and decorating the front of the house with motive decorations called Kolam or Rangoli.
 Preparing tasty traditional food with six different tastes such as sweet, sour, bitter, spicy etc. (called ‘Arusuvai). Also offer three popular fruits i.e. mango, jackfruit and banana. This is called ‘Mukkani’.
 Visiting a temple and making offerings to God to thank Him and seek His blessings for a prosperous New Year.
 Having an elder member of the family read from the Panchangam (Hindu Almanac) about important dates of religious festivals, auspicious dates and events in the year, the dates and times of eclipses, weather patterns and rainfall during the year.
 Youngsters give a new twist to the New Year and usually enjoy with their friends watching movies or playing cricket and other social sports. New Year is a time of celebration and a reminder to forget the past and pray for a happy future. This New Year will be very special as it brings us hope to eradicate COVID with vaccine and start a new life full of prosperity, happiness and joy.