Chennai: Tamil Nadu ushered in “Dunmuki” Tamil New Year while the Malayalees celebrated Vishu on Thursday with traditional fervour and gaiety with people visiting temples in the morning. Most of the famous temples in the city, particularly Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple, Sri Parthasarathy Temple and the Ayyappan temple at R. A. Puram were crowded with people since morning. At the temples, the almanac for the New Year was read on the occasion. Special prayers also marked the occasion at the Lord Venkateswara shrine at the TTD Information Centre, T. Nagar. At the Lord Ayyappa Swamy temple here, decorated the temple premises with ‘thoranams’ and fruits.
The houses were decorated with kolam (rangoli) and mango leaf streamers adorned the door frames to mark the first Tamil month ‘Chithirai’. The special dish of the day was the ‘Mango Pachidi’ made with neem flowers, jaggery, raw mango, green chilli, salt and tamarind juice representing the six major emotions that humans experience. Governor K. Rosaiah, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and PMK leader S. Ramadoss and a host of dignitaries extended their New Year greetings to people.
The Tamil New Year, which is traditionally celebrated in the Tamil month of Chithirai coinciding with April, was shifted to ‘Thai’ (January) corresponding to the Tamil harvest festival of Pongal by the DMK government in 2008. But, this was later reverted to the age-old practice when the AIADMK under J. Jayalalithaa stormed to power in 2011. As a result, the celebrations which were on a low key affair for a brief period, assumed the customary proportions.
