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| Tuesday, 13 April 2004 |
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New Year traditions in India The Moving finger by Lionel Wijesiri The Sinhala and Tamil New Year is a festival Sri Lankans celebrate as a nation. It is a great national festival which has persisted in all its traditional glory for many centuries and heaped in tradition and celebrated by the two main ethnic groups. Besides Sri Lanka, Lunar New Year is an ancient festival in many parts of Asia and has a common timetable that the celebrants will observe. It is interesting to see how our next-door neighbour - India - celebrates the traditional New Year. There are diverse opinions about the New Year in a country like India, where the Hindu culture itself is rich and varied. The Hindus in the different parts of the country celebrate their New Year many different times in a year. The Malayalees celebrate Vishu, their spring festival on the 13th of April as do the people from the state of Tamil Nadu where, the New Year begins the same day. The Bengalis of West Bengal also celebrate Naba Barsha on the on the 13th of April this year, those from Bangladesh call it the Poila. Tamilnadu The Tamil month of Chithrai (April - May) marks the New Year for the Dravidians. Tamil New Year's Day, Chitra Vishu, falling on April 13 this year, is a festival for offering prayers for nature's bounty and a life of prosperity for oneself and the family. To celebrate the New Year, morning worship (puja) is held in temples in honour of Suryan, the Sun God - the remover of all darkness and gloom Early in the morning on this day, the entrance is decorated with 'Kolam' (Rangoli) in many homes. The doorways are adorned with mango leaves to mark the auspicious occasion. After an early bath, wearing new clothes, the whole family prays together, after which the children are supposed to obtain the blessings of their parents. Since this festival marks the beginning of the New Year, food prepared is very special, with particular emphasis on pulses and cereals. 'Chithrai Pongal' is cooked with a pot of milk is boiled in a new pot and allowed to overflow to bring in an overflow of wealth with the arrival of New Year and the pongal (milk rice) is made using the same milk. The rest of the day is spent visiting various relatives, friends and exchanging New Year greetings. Presents given are money, fruits, betel leaves and areca nuts. Kerala Vishu is the first day in the first Malayalam month of Medam which falls on 13 th April. The traditional rituals followed in the festival are believed to usher in another year of prosperity for the Keralites. The Malayalees make elaborate preparations for this day to ensure that the year ahead will be a fruitful one by following the custom of seeing the Vishukani (auspicious sight) early in the morning. The people buy new clothes (kodi vastram) for the occasion and the elders of the family distribute tokens of money to the children, servants and tenants. These tokens are called the vishukaineetam and are usually in form of coins. People carry on this custom believing that in this way, their children will be blessed with prosperity in future. The families then celebrate the day with joyous abandon by bursting fire crackers. The feast or the 'sadya' is prepared by the women of the household and the whole family sits down to enjoy the vishu lunch together. The dishes prepared from the vegetables and fruits that are abundant in the season like jackfruits, mangoes, pumpkins, a variety of gourds, and coconuts. The famous temples like Guruvayur, Sabarimala and Padmanaba Shetram are filled with devotees. Special pujas are held in these temples where the people go to worship and pray for a prosperous New Year. Assam In Assam, the distinctive phases of an agricultural cycle are celebrated as the three Bihu festivals - the Bohaag Bihu, Kaati Bihu and the Maagh Bihu. The Bohaag Bihu which falls on 13 th April also called the Rongali Bihu marks the sowing time, the advent of a new agricultural year. Gay spirit of spring marks the celebration of Bohaag Bihu which continues for several days. During the celebrations, the young girls in the villages don their traditional attire and sing Bihugeets ( folk songs). These gatherings of young girls singing bihugeets and dancing are known as the Mukoli Bihus. The festive food of the occasion is the special cake known as the pitha. The people visit each others houses, distribute sweets to their neighbours and hold grand feasts. The Bihu fairs are organized where people participate in the games and the general revelry. West Bengal In eastern India, the beginning of the New Year is celebrated in the month of Vaishakh, which coincides with April-May. In West Bengal, the New Year is called Naba Barsa and is celebrated on April 13th this year. The houses are thoroughly cleaned and freshly painted. People decorate their houses to welcome the New Year and the season of flowers. Women make elaborate rangolis on the ground near the entrance to their house. Beautiful designs are drawn with the help of a paste made of rice flour and rows and rows of houses with intricate patterns in front of them make a pretty picture. An elaborately decorated earthen pot is placed at the centre of the rangoli. The auspicious symbol of swastika is drawn on the pot in red and white. The earthen pot or kalash is filled with holy water and mango leaves are arranged at its neck. This symbolises a prosperous year for the family. As flowers are in abundance at this time of the year, people wear garlands of different types of flowers like daisies, roses, hibiscus and marigolds. On the morning of Naba Barsa, people worship Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Traditions will always be traditions. They give colour to social life and keep alive a culture, which is fast being enveloped by technology and development. The theme of any National New Year, more than anything else, is joy, peace, unity, prosperity and co-existence. The importance and relevance of this theme has been brought into focus today more than at any time before. |
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