ALLOW me to take you on a trek across time, to the lands where science and mysticism blend seamlessly with the rhythm of the cosmos – the Tamil Vedic calendar. This isn’t just any old parchment of dates and months, but a cosmic storyboard that details the opus of the sun as it dances across the equator, choreographed by the ancient Tamils over 5,000 years ago.

Picture this: The sun, like a punctual celestial commuter, rises in the “exact East” on the first day of the Hindu calendar. This isn’t your everyday sunrise. This is the vernal equinox, the beginning of a new year, marked on April 14 by both Tamils and Hindus. And why, you might ask? Not because of superstition, but through keen astronomical observations that outstrip many modern scientific apparatus.

Growing up under the shadow of Macaulay’s educational system, we were taught that the sun predictably rises in the east. However, the truth turns out to be far more intricate. Only once a year does the sun rise at that exact eastern point – on Chithra 1 (சித்திரை 1), the curtain-raiser of the year for Tamils, known scientifically as the vernal equinox.

From there, the sun embarks on a celestial cruise, heading towards the northeast, reaching its peak at the summer solstice, celebrated as Aadi Perukku (ஆடிபெருக்கு) during Aadi (ஆடி 1), a jubilee that embraces the monsoon’s bounty.

Then, it makes a seasoned return to its starting mark on the first day of Aipassi (ஐப்பசி 1), marking the autumnal equinox – a time for the Kaveri Thula Snanam, a purifying bath in the sacred waters of the Kaveri river, aligning the human spirit with cosmic symmetry.

As the sun’s journey continues, it dips to the extreme southeast, hitting its winter boundary at the winter solstice, during Thai (தை 1), celebrated as Thai Ponggal or Makara Sankranthi. It’s a festival to welcome the new harvest, not the new year, countering the political narratives woven by the Dravida Munnetra Kalagham to redefine cultural touchstones.

Thus cycles the Tamil Vedic calendar – a testament to an ancient civilisation’s mastery over the celestial, sans telescopes or software. Each point of this solar trek, from east to northeast then to southeast and back to east, completes an annual loop, defining not just time but also space through the medium of grand festivals, each festival a chapter, and each chapter a lesson on the profound interconnectivity between sky and soil.

In this grand cosmic narrative, every equinox, every solstice is penned with the precision of a seasoned astronomer. The Tamil Vedic calendar is not just a measure of time, but a mirror reflecting the universe’s age-old ballet, choreographed by the sun and Earth – a celestial dance card etched into the very DNA of the Tamil and Hindu psyche, celebrated with fervour and a deep understanding of the universe’s rhythmic cadence. – April 15, 2024.

* Abbi Kanthasamy reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.