Karunanidhi decided in 2008 that Tamil new year would be observed in the month of January coinciding with Pongal.
Since most of the top political and cultural icons in Tamil Nadu have a cinematic background, their actions too resemble a feature film, mostly comedy. When Tamilians in Tamil Nadu celebrated the Tamil new year on Friday, the world saw yet another comic interlude in the Dravidian politics.
Muthuvel Karunanidhi, the former chief minister and the self styled Dravidian Saint, decided in 2008 that Tamil new year would be observed in the month of January coinciding with Pongal. The harvest festival is observed in the Tamil month of Thai and Karunanidhi issued a decree fixing the first day of the month of Thai as the Tamil new year.
Interestingly, the people ignored the government diktat and went ahead with the age-old tradition of observing the Tamil new year day on the first day of the Tamil month of Chithirai which falls in April.
Government offices and the DMK cadre observed Tamil new year in the first day of Thai month during 2008 to 2011. Though temple priests were reluctant to offer new year pooja as per the directive of the DMK government, the threat of disciplinary actions made them fall in line. But the pooja lacked flavour and enthusiasm .
With the voting out of the Karunanidhi regime in the April 2011 assembly election and the swearing in of the Jayalalithaa government, the day of Tamil new year was reverted back to the first day of the month of Chithirai. On Thursday, Jayalalithaa, her cabinet colleagues and the government departments issued new year greetings to Tamil brethrens all over the world.
“Well, for the next four years Tamil new year will be like this. If the DMK makes a come back in 2016, there is a possibility of the Tamil new year getting reverted back to the month of Thai,” said a political commentator who said he is yet to understand the logic behind the shifting of the Tamil new year Day to the month of Thai.
But does it really matter when the new year starts in these days and times when the Georgian calendar rules the world? In tradition-bound Tamil Nadu, it matters the most because of the rivalry between the two main protagonists, Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi.
The two do not see eye to eye on any issues and have not spoken to each other even once in their life. Karunanidhi does not attend the Assembly though he has been elected from the Thiruvarur constituency. When he gets the news that Jayalalithaa would not be coming to the House, the nonagenarian leader comes silently, signs the attendance register and leaves the House immediately.
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