Chithirai Thirunaal. This day marks the beginning of the Tamil Calendar, Chithirai being the first month. Every year is given a particular name in a cycle that repeats itself every 60 years. This year, interestingly, is called ‘Manmatha’ after the God of Love, Kamadeva, our very own Cupid. Essentially, it means that this year is dedicated to love, kindness, beauty, sensuality, the arts and everything positive. So here’s my take: last year was called Jaya, which meant that you worked hard, fought your battles and came out victorious, so now it’s time to sit back and enjoy the pleasures and the finer things in life. Slow down, fall in love, appreciate. And rightly so, the auspicious colours for today are supposed to be red and white.

But in another story (also considered one of the myths behind Holi), Kamadev was once burned to ashes by Shiva because he disturbed his penance; at Parvati’s insistence, Kama secretly fires his arrow at Shiva in order for him to look at her. The arrow does its job and while Shiva goes on to marry Parvati, he is furious at Kama for having disturbed his meditation and burns the poor fellow to ashes. Rati, his wife comes pleading to Shiva after which he softens but brings back Kama as an Ananga or the formless. This meant that he could be seen but not touched or felt. To this day, people offer Kamadeva sandalwood paste to cool off his burns and mango blossoms, which he loved very much.
When I read that this year was called Manmatha, I knew which saree I wanted to wear today. My soft, white handpainted cotton that I picked up at an exhibition in Poompuhar, the government crafts shop in Madras, paired with a red blouse. Here’s me reflecting all of Kamadeva’s colours: white for his formlessness, red for love, orange for sandalwood paste, yellow for mango blossoms and the green for beauty.

Iniya Tamil Puthaandu Nalvaazhthukkal.