(April 15, Washington, Sri Lanka Guardian) The dawn of the South Asian New Year (identified as Aluth Avurudda in Sri Lanka) was an event that neither the West nor the East could ignore.
Migration and globalization has transformed the meaning of the East and the West from geographical entities to conceptual identities. For contrary to Rudyard Kipling’s “never the twain shall meet” poppycock, Asian “colonies” have popped up in Toronto (with 684,000 South Asians), Oslo (with 20,000 Pakistanis and 7,100 Lankan Tamils), London (with 887,000 South Asians) and other European and North American cities.
The Asian New Year was even celebrated by the tiny diaspora of Sri Lankans in the Red River Valley of the U.S. Upper Midwest.
Nearly 100 people, mostly Sri Lankan students and their friends from China, India, Malaysia and a few other counties, filled the main lounge of Burgum Hall at North Dakota State University, Fargo, on Easter Sunday to experience the fun and joy of what the Aluth Avurudda was all about.
A. I. A. Safwan, a Muslim student from Sri Lanka, said that he participated in the event because Aluth Avurudda celebrations were meant for every person, not just the Sinhalese.
Some wore sarongs over their trousers, played musical chairs, and joined a typical Lankan obstacle race, among other activities organized by an eight-member committee headed by Theekshana Jayakody, president of the NDSU Sri Lanka Students Association. The event ended with a potluck dinner of kiribath (sticky milk rice), kevili (sweetmeats), and other traditional foods.
Similar events organized by the South Asian diaspora all over the world were not uncommon because Easter Sunday provided the necessary breathing space to celebrate the departure of the old year prior to getting entangled in the nonagathe—the tail-end of the departing year when people are not supposed to engage in any material activity.
In Sri Lanka, the Aluth Avurudda arrived Tuesday exactly 47 minutes past midnight, according to Sri Lanka Jyotisha, an astrology Web service run by Lakshman Abeykoon. Sri Lanka is in the same time zone as India, where different ethnic groups celebrate the same New Year under different names.
Going eastwards, the New Year would have arrived later: at 1.47 a.m. in Myanmar, at 2.17 a.m. in Thailand, western Indonesia, and Vietnam; 3.17 a.m. in Malaysia and Singapore; and 5.17 a.m. in eastern Australia. In countries west of the Indian subcontinent, the New Year has already arrived.
The New Year marks the time that the sun famously left the constellation of Pisces to enter the zone of Aries thereby signaling the onset of another year. It is this event, the vernal equinox associated with spring, that most of South and Southeast Asians—predominantly Hindus and Buddhists—celebrated this week, with an array of names and different customs that can boggle one’s mind.
In India, different ethnic groups have shaped the New Year to suit their own customs and needs. Thus the Sri Lankan Aluth Avurudda turns out to be Puthandu or Varusha Pirappu in Tamilnadu; Mahabishuba Sankranti (incorporating Hanuman Jayanthi) in Orissa; Vishu in Kerala; Pohela Boishakh in Bengal; and Rongali Bihu in Assam.
However, not all Hindus celebrate the New Year on the same day in mid-April. Some celebrate different dates in March or April based on the lunar calendar: Yugadi in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka; Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra; Bestu Varas in Gujarat, which follows the Vikram lunar calendar, Navreh in Kashmir; and Cheti Chand of the Sindhis who celebrate their New Year one day after Yugadi and Gudi Padwa. (See table below)
Because of the Buddhist cultural connections, Southeast Asians in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, all of whom use the lunar calendar to coincide with the vernal equinox, also celebrate their New Year in mid-April. For them, the dawn of the New Year (noted for their unique water festivals) could happen on any of three days from April 13 to 15.
| Where | Who | What they call the New Year | When | Why |
| Sri Lanka | Sinhala Buddhists | Aluth Avurudda | April 13/14 | Sun moves from Pisces to Aries |
| Tamil Hindus | Puthandu | April 13/14 | End of harvest season | |
| India | Tamil Hindus | Puthandu/Varusha Pirappu | April 13/14 | Day 1 of Chitirai in Hindu calendar |
| Assamese | Rongali/Bohag Bihu | April 13/14 | Day 1 of Hindu solar calendar | |
| Bengalis, including Bangladeshis | Pohela Boishakh | April 14/15 | Day 1 of Hindu solar calendar | |
| Andhras, Karnatakans | Yugadi | March/April | Day 1 of Chaitra in Saka lunar calendar | |
| Maharastrans | Gudi Padwa | March/April | Day 1 of Chaitra in Saka lunar calendar | |
| Keralans | Vishu | April 13/14 | Day 1 of Medam in Hindu solar calendar | |
| Manipuris | Sajibu Cheiraoba | April 13/14 | Day 1 of chahi in Hindu solar calendar | |
| Kashmiris | Navreh | March/April | Day 1 of lunar new year | |
| Oriya | Mahabishuba Sankranti | April 13/14 | Day 1 of Hindu solar calendar | |
| Gujaratis | Bestu Varas | March/April | Day 1 of Vikram lunar calendar | |
| Sindhis | Cheti Chand | March/April | Day after Yugadi/Gudi Padwa | |
| Himachals/Punjabis | Chaitti & Basoa/ Vaisakhi | April 13/14 | Chaitra/Baisak month begins | |
| Malaysia | Tamil Hindus | Puthandu | April 13/14 | |
| Singapore | Tamil Hindus | Puthandu | April 13/14 | |
| Thailand | Thais | Songkan | April 13-15 | Marks the week-long water festival |
| Cambodia | khemers | Chaul Chnam Thmey | April 13-15 | Marks the week-long water festival |
| Laos | Lao | Bpee Mai | April 13-15 | Marks the week-long water festival |
| Myanmar | Burmese | Thingyan | April 13-15 | Marks the week-long water festival |
| China | Chinese, including diaspora | Chinese New Year | Between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20 | First day of Chinese lunar calendar |
| Vietnam | Vietnamese | Tet | First day of Vietnamese lunar calendar | |
| Korea | Koreans | Seollal | First day of Korean lunar calendar | |
| Mongolia | Mongolians | Tsagaan Sar | First day of Mongolian lunar calendar | |
| Bhutan | Bhutanese and Tibetans | Losar | First day of lunar calendar | |
| Islamic countries | Muslims | Islamic New Year | Migrates throughout seasons | First day of Muharram, first month |
| Compiled by Shelton Gunaratne©2009 | ||||
you omitted Nepal--they also celebrate the same new year but currently they are now in year 2066
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