Celebrating the Tamil New Year with Shad Rasa

This is a contribution post by Anuradha Sowmyanarayanan

Tamil New year’s day or Chitthirai vishu or Thamizh Varusha pirappu are all the names of the New-year of Tamil calendar celebrated on the April 14^th of each year. It is a grand festival for the people of Tamil Nadu. Chitthirai is the name of the first month of Tamil calendar.

Name of the year

Beginning of a year is termed as “Vishu”.  There is a name for every year. There are about 60 names for years in Tamil calendar! Almanac or Panchaangam carries the names of the years and every year a new panchaangam is prepared and used to know the date (thtihi) day (vaara) star, (Nakshatra), yoga and karana and other religious and common festivals.

If a person is born in a certain name of the year, his 60^th birth year will also be in the same name of the year. The 60 names of the year are as follow

The name of the year 2022 is Subhakruthu, and with this you can find out the name of your birth year.

What is Panchaanga Patanam?

In the early hours of the day people take oil bath, wear new clothes and perform prayers and puja. The special event of the day is Panchaanga Patanam. The temple priest or the elder of the family will read the panchaangam and highlight the best days to perform marriages and other family functions, the dates of the festivals and other special events which comes only in certain years. It is a ritual strictly followed in house-holds.

Shad Rasa/ Swad

Apart from many variety of dishes including vegetables, fruits, sweets and snacks served in plantain leaf, the main dish of the day is Manga Pachadi which is mango pachadi. It is different from the usual manga pachadi prepared at home on general days. (Normally, raw mango is cooked and jaggery is added to it, and it is cooked till it gets a jam like consistency. And there! Manga pachadi is ready.) But on this day, the manga pachadi is prepared with raw mango, tamarind, fresh neem flowers, salt, Jaggery and red chillies.

This is so we have all the shad rasa/swad or in other words all the six tastes- sweet, sour, salt, bitter, pungent, and hot in one dish. It is to teach that life is a bag of all the things.

How to prepare manga pachadi?

1. Wash the raw mangoes well and cut into large pieces.
2. Take a bowl and add the mango pieces, fresh neem flowers, tamarind and sufficient water to cook.
3. Then add salt, jaggery and cook till it reaches jam like consistency.
4. Place a kadai, pour oil, add mustard seeds, red chillies and fry.
5. Add this to the prepared pachadi and simmer it for few minutes.
6. The delicious manga pachadi is ready to taste.

Try this recipe and enjoy the taste of shad rasa. Tell us how you like it!

Anuradha Sowmyanarayanan is a tutor, blogger, poet, book reviewer and passionate reader. Her interest in reading and writing paved the way for her blog in 2016. Book Food Language is an amalgamation of the three elements.

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