The Varushapirapu is the Tamil New Year, it is a time for celebrating new and prosperous beginnings. On coming Saturday, the Tamilians form Tamil speaking state of Tamil Nadu, Kerala in India and all around the world will be welcoming the Sarvajit year, which means a year of victory and prosperity for all across the globe. The Tamil calendar is based on the solar cycle. It has a sixty years cycle and each year has twelve months. The Tamil New Year follows the vernal equinox and generally falls on April 14 of the Gregorian year. The 14th of April is the beginning of the first month Chittirai of the Tamil year, which is celebrated as the New Year and is also known as "Chittirai Vishu". Varusham is the Tamil word for "year" and 'Pirapu' can be translated as the "birth" or "beginning" or "commencement" of an event. According to Hindu mythology, on this day the Creator of the world Lord Brahma started creation. On the Tamil New Year's Day, poojas are performed in various temples. The birth of the New Year is a whole new beginning and marks the time when the world awakens from its wintry slumber. So almost all the Hindu New Year festivals fall on the spring months when nature turns bountiful and blesses the earth with fruitful greenery. The beautiful flowers that bloom in spring, the early bird songs, the fresh harvests which are the fruits of of past labour and the commencement of a new agricultural cycle. all these symbolise the dawn of another year. Thus, every colourful spring festival of the hindus, with all the expectations, apprehensions, hope and joy woven in the festivities, is essentially a New Year celebration.

In North India,Baisakhi day is observed as the Naba Barsha (New Year) in Bengal. On April 14, the people take a ritual bath in the Ganga and bedeck their houses with rangoli (floral patterns) drawn on the entrance of their homes with a paste made of rice powder. The festival stands for the dawn of a New Year in the northern India, especially in Punjab. Baisakhi holds a unique significance in Punjab, commemorating the founding of the Khalsa by the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh. The festival of Baisakhi is an important festival for the Sikhs because it is a formal celebration of the brotherhood of their community. On this day in 1699, their tenth Guru Gobind Singh organized the order of the Khalsa and administered amrit (nectar) to his first batch of five disciples making them Singhs, a martial community. Again, on this day in 1875, Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj-a reformed sect of Hindus who are devoted to the Vedas for spiritual guidance and have discarded idol worship. This day is once again of immense religious import to the Buddhists because Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment and Nirvana on this auspicious day.

Happy Tamil New Year !

தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள் !

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