By: Thanu Hari

KUALA LUMPUR 14 APRIL 2021: On the 14th of April 2021 a Mega event called Tamil New Year Celebrations (Tamil Puthandu Kondattam) was held at Kalamandapam, Sri Kandasamy Temple, Brickfields. It was organized by the Coalition of Hindu Organisations and Temples. In the Tamil calendar, this year is called (Sri Plava). A maximum of 300 guests attended the event and strict SOP has been followed.

The event was divided into two parts.

(Mr. Navindran Palasendram Chairman of United Malaysian Hindu Voice lighting up the lamp)

Part 1 of the event begins with prayers along with (Urumi Melam). Urumi melam is a Traditional Music Instrument that will be played to enhance the celebrations. The organizers and the participants are asked to register themselves in MySejahtera, their body temperature was recorded and their hands are sanitized before they enter the event premises.

YB. Dr. Tan Awang Besar, Secretary of Culture Division, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia has been invited as a special guest of the event. After the arrival of a special guest, The Grand opening ceremony of Tamil Puthandu Kondattam was done by the Organizers.

To enliven the occasion, traditional performances such as Peacock dance, Poi Kaal kuthirai, and Barathanatyam have been performed. Continued by a group of teenagers performing an Indian martial art which is known as Silambam.

The event continued with competitions such as Kolam drawing (a form of traditional decorative art that is drawn by using rice flour), flower tying, Thoranam tying (thoranam is a decorative item used by Hindus taken from coconut trees), and also Uri Adithal. Uri Adithal is a popular activity where a person will be blindfolded and asked to smash the pot with a long stick. The pot, which is held high, is usually filled with flowers, turmeric water, or various grains.

The first part of the event ended with a prize-giving ceremony to the winners by Dr. Tan Awang Besar and Organisation Leaders.

The second part of the event continued with Thevaram recital by students and teachers from Tamil schools at 5:30 PM. The performance was lively to watch and the participants enjoyed the performance. After the Thevaram recital, the event continued with the arrival of YB Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, Minister of Human Resources Malaysia. The second part of the event was held inside a hall which is on the first floor of Kalamandapam.

Once all the guests and the Chief Guest assembled in the hall, the event started with prayers.After the prayers, a beautiful traditional dance (Bharata Natyam) was performed by well trained traditional dancers.

After the performance, our Minister of Human Resources started his speech. He shared his thoughts regarding Tamil Puthandu and the areas which the Indian community should focus on in coming years. After his speech, a graceful dance with thirupugal song was delivered by students. After the performance, Tamil Puthandu book launching took place. The book was launched by YB Datuk Seri M. Saravanan. He presented the books to all the organizers. The book was written by Dr. Jayabalan Vallliyappan who is the Founder and Chairman of Malaysia Muruga Bakhta Peravai. After the book launching ceremony, the guests and participants were served with a delicious banana leaf dinner.