Happy New Year... NOT!

Today is the day of PONGAL, the harvest festival in Tamil Nadu- also celebrated across India as Sankranti, Lohri, Vaishaki, etc. It denotes a host of things and is one of the holiest days in Hindu calendar. But lets focus on Tamil Nadu here.

All these years, Tamil New Year followed the classical Hindu calendar- which meant, the new year usually fell sometime on April 12, 13, 14 or 15th according to the Gregorian calendar. Tropical equinox falls around 22nd March, and adding 23 degrees of oscillation to it, we get the Hindu sidereal or Nirayana Mesha Sankranti (Sun's transition into Aries). Hence, the Tamil calendar begins with the same date which is observed by most traditional calendars of the rest of India.

Taking the cue from a bunch of athiests under Periyar in the 1920s, the DMK government in February 2008 has abolished the traditional tamil (and Indian) calendar. Instead, the new year (from 2009 onwards) will be celebrated on the first day of "thai" month- which is, PONGAL. A bill has also been passed in the parliament to this effect. So, officially today marks the first day of a new custom, effectively shunning a practice followed over thousands of years.

For the first time ever, TODAY IS THE TAMIL NEW YEAR, ladies and gentlemen. Or is it?

However, Karunanaidhi has utter lack of support from his subjects on this matter- and nobody seems to bother about this bill. They followed the new year last year in April, and they are completely oblivious to this law. The AIADMK has vowed to restore the traditional Tamil calendar when it assumes power. The present state government's move has also been challenged in court. Mudslinging will continue and pointless exercises like this one will be carried out, that's TN politics for you!

Well, I'm celebrating my Hindu New Year in April as most Indians do and I'm not Tamil anyway! For today however, I'd just say "PONGALO PONGAL!"

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