Showing posts with label calendar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label calendar. Show all posts

Friday, April 12, 2013

Happy New Year(s) on the Indian subcontinent

India and its immediate neighbours celebrate not one, not two but... a bewildering number of New Year's Days (not even counting the one in the Gregorian calendar, the Islamic New Year and Tibetan New Year). In fact, this week alone will see the start of a new year for a number of different communities across South Asia - and they don't all fall on the same day or signal the start of the same year!

If you are Kannadiga or Telugu living in Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh, you would have celebrated Udagi on 11 April, and the start of the year 1935, according to the Saka Calendar. But in Nepal, 14 April 2013 will mark the start of the year 2070, following the Bikram Sambat calendar (which is not to be confused with the Nepal Sambat calendar where the current year, 1133, started last November). If you are Meitei / Manipuri you would have just celebrated Sajibu Cheiraoba on the same day as Udagi, but I have no idea what year you are in.

Also, if you are Tamil, Puthandu falls on 14 April this year, marking the start of the year 2013. If you're Bengali, that's also the date for Pôhela Boishakh, but you will now find yourself in the year 1420. In Assam, Rongali Bihu (or Bohag Bihu) also starts on 14 April. However, the festival starts on the last day of the previous year, a day known as Goru Bihu 'cow bihu', while it is the second day of the festival that marks the first day of the new year, a day known as Manuh Bihu 'human bihu'.

Finally, just to add to the confusion, don't forget that these Indic calendars also left their mark in South-east Asia: New Year celebrations are also taking place this week in Burma (Thingyan), Laos (Pbeemai / Songkan) and Thailand (Songkran) starting today (13 April).

So whoever and wherever you are, Happy New Year!