Trichy: Celebrating the auspicious occasion of Aadi Perukku
The culture and tradition of India, especially of the Southern States have a beautiful portrayal in every walk of life. The livelihood of most of the Indian villages mainly relies on the natural resources and in a way, the entire country is connected across like these links only. Next, to God, the Indians have great reverence for Mother Nature. The most important among them all is Water because most of the people here are farmers. Water is connected to all emotionally, socially and economically. In fact, the rivers are likened to Goddesses bearing the names like Ganga, Yamuna, Cauvery and Godavari. These rivers are worshipped with great reverence by people across all the southern states.
The month of Aadi is specially designated for the Goddesses in the country. Special prayers, poojas and celebrations are arranged throughout the states. The idols are decorated in a grand manner especially on Fridays. You can see thousands of people marching towards the temples on Aadi month Fridays. There are several special occasions during this month. One such event is Aadi Perukku which falls on the 18th day of the Tamil month Aadi. The word “Perukku” in Tamil means to flourish. Whatever is initiated on this day will flourish to a great level, that is the religious belief about Aadi Perukku. So, the important ritual conducted today is for the newly wedded couple. They will be taken to the river banks where special poojas will be conducted and the elders will bless the couple to lead a happy long life together. This way, Aadi Perukku is a festival of sentiments for the people of South India, especially Tamil Nadu.
With respect to the celebrations in Tamil Nadu, by the third week of June, farmers start their preliminary works like ploughing and other things and keep their farms ready. By the time this Aadi Perukku festival starts, the river Cauvery, started originally from its birthplace, Coorg, Karnataka, reaches the delta region of Tamil Nadu. As the river is worshipped as God, special poojas are done to the river on this day and the farmers start sowing in their fields for an excellent yield. Thus, the function is directly related to the livelihood of the citizens.
On the evening of Aadi Perukku, you can see thousands of people thronging on the banks of river Cauvery with their friends and families spending time together. They use to bring the food, usually variety rice in different flavours and tasty pappads from their houses. It will be wonderful to watch families doing poojas to the river Cauvery and afterwards eating the food along with their friends and families. This is how the Culture and Tradition of our country have taught people for many generations to lead a happy and peaceful life getting along with nature and its beauty & tranquillity. Come and mingle with the 4000 years old tradition of celebrating nature in Tamil Nadu on the day of auspicious “Aadi Perukku”.