இனிய சித்திரை புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்!
(Inniya Chithirai Puthandu Vazhthukkal!)

Today is the first day of the New Year based on the Tamil calendar. Every year, the first day of the first Tamil month Chithirai on the Tamil calendar falls on the 13th or 14th of April on the Gregorian calendar. The Tamil New Year, Varusha Pirappu or Puthandu, is observed by Tamil-speakers around the world, including Singapore.

To prepare for Varusha Pirappu, the house is cleaned in advance to welcome the good that the new year would bring. Traditionally, Tamil Hindus clean the altars at home, and in the morning of Varusha Pirappu, hang fresh mango leaves adorned with santhanam (sandalwood paste) and kunggummam (saffron powder) above their main doorway. The mango leaves are considered auspicious and are believed to have disinfectant properties. However, in modern-day Singapore, for most of us, our ‘mango leaves’ are made of plastic with images of deities on them (like that hanging above my doorway!) to retain some semblance of Tamil tradition*.

This is a photograph of the “mango leaves” hung above the doorway, taken by Shamala.

After a visit to the temple, sumptuous vegetarian food, which include my favourite vadai and payasam, are prepared and placed at the altar together with fruits, paakku (betel nuts) and vetrrilai (betel leaves) as offerings to the Gods. After the prayers, it’s time to dig into lunch served on banana leaves. Of course, no new year celebration goes without seeking the blessings of the elders in the family. This is done by prostrating at their feet and then they will apply some thiruneer (holy ash) on your forehead once you rise to your feet!

And that in a nutshell sums up Varusha Pirappu.

Did you know that the new year for Malayalees (Vishu), Telugus (Ugadi), Sikhs (Vaisakhi), Thais (Sokkhran), Burmese (Thingyan) and a few other communities around the world also fall on either the 13th or 14th of April?

*This tradition is also practised by other linguistic groups in the Indian community

Glossary
Varusha Pirappu – birth of the new year
Puthandu – new year
vadai – savoury ‘doughnut’ made from lentils and includes pepper corns and curry leaves, deep fried in oil
payasam – sweet milky dessert made up of vermicelli, small sago, and roasted cashew nuts

This post was written by our Research Fellow and lab member Dr. Shamala Sundaray.