India’s Many New Years In Baisakh
By Jawhar Sircar
“Ananda
Bazar Patrika”
15th April 2015, Revised
The best evidence of India’s splendid diversity is so evident in the
celebration of so many calendars and ‘new years’. No uniformity could ever be
imposed upon different languages and cultures, that slowly came together over
several centuries into one great nation.. But, as we shall see, amidst this
confusion of dozens of ‘new years’, there are indeed emerging unities
If we leave aside exceptions like
Gujarat, we will see that all others celebrate their new year within a ‘time
band’ that starts with Holi and ends in the first days of Baisakh, which means
just about three to six weeks. The Gangetic belt and its offshoots in Madhya
Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, usually take Holi as the beginning of their
‘religious year’ and the Saka Samvat, during
Spring equinox as the official new year.
More than a century ago, MM Underhill stated in his knowledgeable book
The Hindu Religious Year that “several eras are reckoned among the Hindus, but
the great majority follows one of the two”. He spoke about the Saka and Vikram
samvats, but their new year dates are very close to each other, and over the
next hundred years, it became clear that most states start counting either in
March from the first of Chaitra and the Spring equinox, or in mid-April, as ‘Baisakhi’.
Thus, even without a single common date,
more than a hundred crore Indians celebrate new year it on either of just two
main dates. Isn’t it remarkable?
The first date, i.e., the Spring
Equinox (Chaitra Shukla Pratipada) is the Gudi Paadwa of Maharashtrians, the
Ugadi or Yuga-adi of Kannadigas and Telegus, the Cheiti Chand of Sindhis, the
Nowroz of Parsis and Kashmiris and Thapna of conservative Marwaris. Though
Himachalis observe it as Chaitti and Sikhs as the Nanakshahi New Year, both
actually celebrate the ‘Baisakh’ date with more gusto. So, While about half of
India, i.e., the north west, north and upper Deccan celebrate new year in
March, the rest of India concentrates on ‘Baisakh’, like the Bengalis. It used
to depend on the winter Rabi crop being ready which called for the
celebrations. Maharashtra and the upper Deccan
start festivities in March as their traditional crop was ripe then,
while others wait till Baisakh for their harvest and new year.
Punjab’s Baisakhi congregation at Jalianwala Bagh in Amritsar on
unlucky 13th of April in 1919 will never be forgiven or forgotten
and it is on the same date exactly 220 years earlier that Guru Gobindji
instituted the Khalsa Panth. But Punjab tops all in religious fervour, as
millions take an early bath and line up at hundreds of gurudwaras: for prayers,
sips of sweet Amrita and parsada as also for devotional music sung by the
famous Ragis. The Panj Pyaras, i.e., “five beloved and blessed priests” head
the holy processions, but once this is over, the energetic Sikh engages in all
types of contests, from wrestling and sword fencing to mock duels. Animated
dances like the Bhangra and Gidda are obviously a must but where we are
concerned we would much rather watch these bursts of phenomenal energy, on TV.
Coming to Bengal, Poila Boisakh of the
Surya Siddhanta began during the reign of Raja Shashaka of Gour 594 years after
the Christian era but popularization, was done by Akbar and his astronomer,
Fatehullah Shirazi. The Islamic lunar Hijri calendar was difficult for marking
agricultural harvests for Mughal taxation, thereby a new solar-lunar calendar
called the Fasli San or Tarikh-i-Ihali was started. Economics remain the hidden
factor behind religion and culture and we may choose to recall that during the
Middle Ages, our Mangal Kavyas of that period focus around Saudagars or
businessmen, not on Brahman-Baidya-Kayastha Bhadraloks. The latter actually
arose as the most powerful group in Bengal only in the late Mughal and British
periods, when they dwarfed the local Baniks so terribly that trading groups
from other states rushed to fill in the vacuum. This pushed Bengali enterprise
even further down, so just long queues outside temples and sanctifying
hal-khataas on Poila Boisakh can hardly bring back what has appears to have
gone forever. Anyway, Bangladesh celebrates this month with more sincerity
nowadays, it may be a good idea for western Bengalis to use the auspiciousness
of this month mainly for conducting marriages and events.
In both parts of Bengal, West
Bengal and Bangladesh, New Year celebrations on Poela Baisakh of the first day
of Baisakh that is either on the 14th or the 15th of April began in right
earnest when Akbar captured this province and started this accounting year for
his a
revenue
collection. It has its social and religious significance also and while traders
gather at temples from dawn to get divine blessings on their books of accounts,
a lot of sweets and festivities flow. A relatively recent celebration called
Mangal Shobha Jatra that was started in Bangladesh a few decades ago has turned
into the second major public festival after Durga Pujas. People in West Bengal
have also started to take out colourful processions with huge masks and other
decorative animals or scenes on slow moving trucks and lakhs of enthusiasts
follow with music, poetry and gaiety. In Dhaka, Chittagong or Kolkata, joyyful
crowds cheer this secular parade that showcases plurality — all along the path.
In neighbouring Assam, the last
day of the year is called Goru Bihu, as the cattle are bathed thoroughly and
smeared with a paste of turmeric and other ingredients, probably for medicinal
reasons. The new year begins with Rongali or Bohag Bihu and lasts for almost a
month, combining the best of three major traditions: the Sino-Burmese,
Indo-Aryan and Austro-Asiatic. Innately connected with agriculture and
fertility, this Bishu or Bihu is a call to young men and women to be at their
resplendent best: as they dance with soft sensuous movements of the limbs,
swaying to lilting tunes of Bihu-geets.
Bengal’s
other neighbor, Odisha also observes its new year on the first of Baisakh or
Vishu as Maha Vishuva Sankranti. It is famous as the Pana Sankranti after the
sweet drink made from bel, fruits, yoghurt, paneer and other substances that is
offered to all. Even the sacred Tulsi plant is nourished with drops from a pot
hung above it, with a small hole in its bottom. Odisha has several other unique
Yatras to celebrate the occasion, like Jhamu, Patua, Hingula, Patua and Danda,
with each contributing its own rites and colour.
Crossing over now to deep southwest, a thousand miles away, one comes
to Kerala where Vishu is celebrated with fireworks and a million lights. ‘Kani’
or the first auspicious sight of the new year is ensured the night before by
carefully arranging the traditional Vishukkani: placing money, jewellery, holy
texts, lamps, rice, fruits, betel leaves, areca-nuts, bananas, vegetables,
lemons, metal mirrors, yellow Konna flowers and so on. Sadhyas or feasts are
compulsory as are Kanjis made of rice, coconut milk and spices, along with
Vishu Katta rice cakes and sour mango drinks.
In Tamil Nadu, as among Tamil-speaking people in all parts of the
world, Puthandu on the 14th of April marks the new year and the same
Kani or first sight of auspicious objects is mandatory. As in other parts of
India, cleanliness of the body through the ritual bath and donning new clothes
are insisted upon, while the home is done anew with colourful Kollam floral
designs on the floor. Even in Karnataka where Ugadi comes in March, the Tulus
and Kodagus of the south west celebrate Vishu and strictly observe the
auspicious Kani rite during the Vishu of mid-April.
India is too complex to analyse,
but with some effort it becomes easier to appreciate at least the broad
patterns, as we have just done. Though
about half of India celebrates new year in Baisakh, while the others do it in
Chaitra, if counts the overseas celebrations, then ‘Baisakh’ wins as the most
popular New Year. Not only do Bangladesh and Nepal observe this date, but Sri
Lanka, Myanmar and South East Asia also observe ‘Baisakhi’ with religious
passion.
Laos celebrates the middle of April as Sonkan (derived from
Sankranti), where ritual cleanliness, perfumed waters and obeisance to monks
and visits to Buddha temples are compulsory.
Thailand also calls it a similar name ‘Sonkran’ with almost the same rituals. But both countries organise massive “water
fights” on this occasion and people come
out on to the streets and spray each other with water in every possible manner
including hose pipes and buckets.
Cambodia celebrates as Maha-Sonkran and all the three South East Asian
countries pass through their hottest period during April, as it is just before
the rainy season. Thus, water is
obviously welcome.
What is more interesting is that the insistence of these countries on
paying respect to the elderly and releasing living creatures from bondage,
whether it be tortoise or tiny fish or even birds, This is a Buddhist
contribution and another one is the dictum to give alms to the needy which is
something that Indians could emulate.
We end with a round-up of our two neighbours and Myanmar celebrates ‘Thingyan’
during this period. The same Theravada
Buddhist rites and rituals, like respect to monks and elders, release of caged
animals and the compulsory alms giving to the needy are followed. But after all this piety is over, the
evenings are meant for song and dance, as also for getting ready for the next
day’s water fights. Sri Lanka celebrates
Aluth-Avurudda more seriously, as the zodiac changes from Pisces to Aries, but
Dravidian customs like ‘Kani’ appear in the celebration: as the auspicious time
for starting business and other ventures.
Sinhalese also believe in big bangs and crackers like the Malayalees.
As one traverse the entire spectrum, one is amazed to see the
tremendous variety, colour and forms of celebration in India and the world: of
different yet close “New Year Days”.
They are so unlike the almost mechanical rigidity that surrounds the “Happy
New Year” of the West.
No comments:
Post a Comment