Margazhi is an auspicious month in Tamil year. Tamil calendar consists of twelve months and this is a very special month. It usually comes in december and lasts till the first two weeks of January. This month  is meant to be dedicated entirely for devotion. Ah! I dont beleive the last sentence. Because our predecessors were neither empty headed to advocate an entire month for devotion  nor they had the luxury to sit and happily sing bajans for a whole month. I seriously doubt the purpose of it.What could it be? Voila!! As expected I found the reason behind it. It is a month with strict timelines and exercise shedules framed by our ancestors to make the young girls stay fit and slim.Do my reasoning sounds idiotic? Well. Read through the entire post and then judge.

Here comes a little background about the famous margazhi. Hinduism has two main  sub divisions namely,saivam and vainavam. In saivam the lord is Siva and in Vainavam it is  Vishnu. Noteworthy poets and sages of saivam are known as Nayanmars and they were 63 in number.In vainavam there are twelve such devotees,known as alwars. Tamil literature is highly indebted to both alwars and nayanmars for their splendid contribution.Margazhi is a special month for vainavam. Andal,a female alwar is  the protagonist of margazhi season.  Her work is the famous thirupaavai,collection of songs for margaazhi.The story goes like this. Andal, a mortal girl falls in love with the immortal Lord Vishnu. She loves the lord,pray for him,observe the fasting in margazhi and finally join with the Lord,her goal! (Its like the paramathma Jeevathma concept,I have explained in my earlier post. The Alchemist & HinduismAn ordinary girl acheives her impossible goal as she beleives in her dream. Yes. One of  the many “The Alchemist” stories of Hinduism.)  This fasting is mainly observed by young ladies to garland the man of their choice.

Firstly Bhakthi or devotion in Margazhi is different from that of other months. It is symbolised with colourful kolams and joyful young girls as against the concept of renouncing and old sages. Choosing margazhi as the month for devotion is noteworthy. Margazhi precedes the month “Thai ”,the harvest season. There is a popular saying in tamil.”Thai piranthal Vazhi pirakkum” - When the month Thai comes many opportunities will come. It is the season when crops are harvested and traded which results in money.So it is a spending season. In this month,lot of marriages and all good things will take place. Doesnt it sound sensible to make the girls fit when such an important season comes?

Margazhi fasting has this procedure.During margazhi, Andal wakes up early in the morning. She goes to each of her friend’s house and wake them up. Together they go to pond,fetch water. Then they return home and adorn their houses with kolam.Kolam is an excellent physical and mental exercise. Proficiency in kolam is viewed as an important parameter while considering the brides to be. It is similar to how singing and playing music was considered as a brides to be scoring section in western world. Andal will be singing songs in praise of Lord Vishnu,her interest while doing all these chores. Isnt it similar to a young girl waking up early in the morning,going to the gym or beach along with her friends and exercise listening to Metallica or any good music along with the frequent chats?

Then comes the diet part. People observe fasting during margazhi. Margazhi fasting is not just elimination of non veg items from food. It includes the exclusion of milk products from the diet. Andal specifies it in her song,”Nei Unnom Paal unnom” (We wont consume ghee and milk). Doesnt it sound like a dietician’s advice?

So the system is like this. For one full month girls will wake up very early, gather together,chat their way towards ponds,fetch water,sing and will draw the elaborate kolams  and have limited diet without milk products. Obviously it reduces the extra weight and makes them slim and fit. Apart from the fitness it also develops the quality which are advocated by many current marriage counsellors essential for a succesfull marriage. The quality of moving amiably with ones acquaintances such as neighbours,forming good relations and doing things together. Its like coming out of ones small circle of family and exploring the outer world with your peers.

Andal must be the earliest dietician cum marriage counsellor!!

Its time for parties and fun. Have you ever wondered who started these new year parties? It was started by Babylonians nearly four thousand years ago! Loud music and crackers are supposed to drive away the demons. So if you hear any of your aunts or grannies grumbling about the today’s youth and parties please take some time,explain the history and make it clear that it was our ancestors to be blamed. They even had the habit of making new year resolutions! The resolution was to return the farm tools they borrowed from their acquaintances.

Many ancient civilizations follow Julian calendar in which new year starts in April. Even Tamil new year usually falls in April. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar, the Gregorian Calendar to replace the old Julian Calendar. According to this new calendar New Year starts on January 1. People who refused to accept this new calendar or the people who were unaware of the change and continued with the April new year celebrations were teased as fools and thus came one of the funniest day ‘April Fools day!’ This is a belief and there is no historical evidence behind it.

Initially I didn’t intend to list down the positives and negatives of this year. But everywhere I find people talking only about the negatives of this year. Obama’s victory is the only positive thing which people can recollect. This year too has its own fair share of positives.  One of the greatest achievement in this year is the return of democracy in Pakistan. Kudos to the brave citizens of  Pakistan who casted their votes and to the media which dint buckle down under military rule. An equally brave action was that of peoples turn out in the recent elections in Kashmir. That is really great. Lets sincerely hope and pray that the new government lives upto the people’s expectations.

One of the other unsung great show of people’s maturity is the recent state elections in Delhi,Rajasthan,MP,Chattisgarh and Mizoram. I was totally awed by the voters in Delhi. Just imagine. The country’s financial capital is almost in siege. Terrorsits have captured the imporatant landmarks and the fight is still going on. There is a non stop coverage of the situation in all television channels. Still People in capital city, vote and elect the ruling party again!! Doesnt it show their maturity and clarity of thought? I am not in support of any parties. But I was really put off when BJP could not attend the All Party meeting as Advani had to attend an election rally. People have sent a strong message that politicians cant count on turning the emotions of people into votes.

Do I have to tell anything about Obama’s victory that showed the power of people? Guess I need not. Whole world knows it.  So in retrospect I feel this is the year in which the common people have sent strong messages to the world,not through violence but through democracy and the right to vote!

This is also a year in which Chandrayaan was launched to moon. An acheivement which everyone can be really proud of. This is a year in which developing countries like India and China are looked upon with new respect as the bailout package for entire global meltdown.

This is also a year of enlightment. The financial meltdown and wall street tragedies have once again reminded the world, the impacts of greediness and need to take informed decisions.

Lets pray for peace and joy!

Bonne année!!!