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By Conrad Edmund Bateman Mitch Albom once said that, “The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” In conjunction with a yearlong celebration of UCSI University’s Silver Jubilee, the
"Light UP Lives Charity"
The Tamil Calendar begins again!
Wishing all Indians Happy Tamil New Year and get to know more about Indian culture!
In my school days, classmates used to wish me Happy New Year during Deepavali. However, that assumption is very wrong. For Tamils across the world, Varusham Pirapu (Birth of the New Year), also known as the Tamil New Year, is an auspicious celebration which falls on April 13th or 14th every year.
Colourful Indian sweets
As any celebration, there is an abundance of food like laddu, candy and palkova. Tasting the candies while still on the wok is a habit, but mum says it has to be served to the Lord first. The traditional dish mangga pachadi will also be prepared. This sweet, sour and bitter dish made of raw mangoes, cane sugar and neem flowers signifies the different aspects of life.
Preparations are done to usher in the New Year – spring cleaning, sometimes painting the house and new curtains are part of the festive spirit. Exhaustion normally kicks in after all that but it’s worth it! And for some, new clothes are a must although sometimes the last minute.
On the day itself, we get up early and adorn the entrance of the house with colorful kolam patterns. A kolam is made out of rice, dried coconut or semolina flour. The centre of the kolam is decorated with a traditional lamp because it is believed that it would dispel darkness. It takes more than an hour to complete a kolam depending on how intricate the design. Once it is done, the gorgeous design spruces up the look of the house.
Kolum with traditional lamps
Up next is the offering of sweet food, fruits, flowers, new clothes and jewels to the Lord, and a prayer will take place. After prayers, it’s off to the temple for blessings. If the auspicious day falls on a weekday, visiting the temple would be done at night since it is not a public holiday. I remember my friends and I used to compare our new clothes when we met in the temple, looking back now, it sounds so trivial.
Later family members will sit down to enjoy the sweet rice and other sweet treats in celebration of the day. Mum will also prepare vegetarian dishes because normally when food is offered to the Lord, it should be vegetarian. And for some lucky people like me, mum will give out cash just to add an exciting touch to complete my Tamil New Year celebrations.
Click here to view the preparation of Tamil New Year!
