Puthandu (Tamil New Year)

About

Puthandu means "new year" in Tamil. It falls on the first day of the Tamil month of Chithirai, around April 14, when the Sun enters Mesha (Aries). The Tamil calendar is solar, so the date is nearly the same each year. The day is also called Varusha Pirappu, which means the birth of the year.

Tamil people in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and in communities around the world celebrate Puthandu. The day is a public holiday in Tamil Nadu. Households clean the home, put on new clothes and begin the year with a quiet sense of hope.

Significance and stories

The Tamil year follows a cycle of sixty year names, such as Prabhava, Vibhava and Shukla, which repeat after sixty years. The name of the new year is announced in the almanac (panchangam), and hearing it read is a custom in many families and temples.

The core idea of Puthandu is a good beginning. Many families believe that what you first see on New Year's morning sets a hopeful tone. This is the idea behind the kani, a tray of auspicious things arranged the night before. The mix of tastes in mango pachadi is a reminder that life holds many experiences.

Tamil people have discussed which day is the New Year. Chithirai 1 is the traditional date, used by many almanacs and temples. The state government declared Thai 1, the day of Pongal, to be the New Year in 2008 and restored Chithirai 1 in 2011. Many families celebrate both days.

How to observe (puja vidhi)

1. The night before. Clean the house. Arrange the kani on a tray or plate in the prayer room: fruits such as mango, jackfruit and banana (the three fruits, mukkani), a mirror, gold or coins, flowers, raw rice, a little dal and jaggery, and betel leaves and nuts. Light a lamp.
2. Early morning. Wake and, before looking at anything else, go to see the kani. Elders often lead the youngest with their eyes closed.
3. Bathe and dress. Take a bath, and wear new or clean traditional clothes.
4. Draw the kolam. Make a fresh kolam (rice-flour pattern) at the entrance, and hang mango leaves above the door.
5. Prayers. Offer flowers, lamp and incense to the family deity, and visit a temple if you can.
6. Panchangam. Listen to the reading of the year's almanac, if there is one at your temple or in your family.
7. The meal. Cook and share the festive meal, beginning with a little mango pachadi.
8. Gifts. Elders give small gifts of money to the young, and people visit friends and relatives.

Practice varies from family to family. Follow your own elders.

Puja items (samagri)

• A tray for the kani with mango, jackfruit and banana, or whatever fruits are available
• A mirror, gold or coins, and flowers such as jasmine or marigold
• Raw rice, toor dal and jaggery
• Betel leaves, betel nut and turmeric
• A lamp, oil, wicks, camphor and incense
• Mango leaves for the door and rice flour for the kolam
• Ingredients for mango pachadi (see below)

Fasting and food

Puthandu is a day of feasting, not fasting. The classic dish is mango pachadi (mangai pachadi), made with raw mango, jaggery, neem flowers, tamarind and chilli. Together with a little salt, the ingredients bring the six tastes (arusuvai) of Tamil tradition, including sweet, sour, bitter and hot. The idea behind it is that life holds all of these flavours. Accounts differ on the exact list and on what each taste stands for, so a family may offer its own meaning.

The rest of the meal is vegetarian in most homes, with sambar, rice, vadai and payasam. If you have a health condition, or are pregnant, nursing or elderly, follow your doctor's advice about food. Neem flowers are bitter and are taken in small amounts.

Regional customs

Temples across Tamil Nadu hold special pujas on Chithirai 1, and almanac readings take place in many of them. In Sri Lanka, the Tamil New Year is celebrated around the same date, and in Malaysia Tamil families also mark the day. Vishu in Kerala, Poila Boishakh in Bengal and Bohag Bihu in Assam fall on the same day and share the ideas of a first sight and a feast.

Celebrating in the USA

Puthandu falls on a working day in most years. Tamil associations and temples hold New Year events on the nearest weekend, with a feast, music and a panchangam reading. Search for a Tamil sangam near you.

At home, arrange the kani the night before and see it first thing, even if you must leave for work. Raw mangoes are sold at Indian groceries in spring. Dried neem flowers are sold at Indian stores, or the bitter note can be left out. Do the kolam on a tray with rice flour, and keep the lamp on a stable plate. Keep a weekday simple and enjoy the full meal in the evening.