What the hell is Aadi Masam?
When I go back to my Childhood I always associate Aadi month with kite flying and L.R. Eswari songs …, Mari amma, yengal Mari amma (a great track with powerful voice)
During those days it was exciting to come back to home from the school for one reason and that was my thread and the kite. In weekends nearby temples used to play song in those cone speakers, though it was noisy, but we did have a festival mood.
Years passed by those speakers were looking like cacophony machines and those Aadi rituals, were looking senseless. Slowly I was critical about all these practices and started questioning it and finally I was branded as Anti-religion and I started my journey into being a critical thinker.
Once I was critically evaluating Aadi month and its rituals which slowly made me explore what is this all about. The first thing that I understood about Aadi was newly married couple are not supposed to be together (I did miss my wife), then the question in me was “why”- later elders said the child might be born in April or May, which is peak summer in our land, which is not good for the mother and the child. (Incidentally, my son was born in April) dear reader “don’t sarcastically ask why you mentioned you missed your wife”
The above explanation did make some sense to me, which also made me realise about severe heat and delivery pain, imagine this before few thousand years when there were no facilities to handle such heat and pain. This understanding made me to explore further and it was about Raagi (Eleusine coracana) Porridge. Why do people drink It during Aadi?
There is a saying in Tamil “Aadi kaatru aami kalum nagaram” it means during Aadi month the surface wind can blow a solid stone, now I was able to link why kite flying was easy.
What happens if there is more wind, there can be more dust, there can be more insects entering our homes, there can be chance of bacteria or virus getting formed. During such season, the body needs to be more immune, before many years we did not have antibiotics or vaccines etc. Raagi was a rich source of building immunity hence in the name of the festival families used to have a dosage so that they are free from airborne diseases.
Apart from Raagi, Neem leaves was tied in front of the house to prevent bacteria and flies entering the house, which will infect the food. While serving the Raagi Porridge, the vessels are also tied with Neem Leaves to ensure houseflies does not come closer to the porridge, these acts had more scientific meaning rather just rituals
This scientific connect made me understand how deeply science was integrated in the name celebrations. There was one more factor which was I was critical about “why do they serve it in a temple on a weekly basis” I did get an answer, our ancestors believed in Ubuntu – Human kindness which states “I am because we are” (there is a connect between Africa and Dravidians), the entire village on a weekly basis were given a dosage of Raagi, so that everyone is free from infection and everyone is healthy.
Truly Ubuntu …
When I closely watch this season all I understood is, science was in the back end and rituals in the front end. It is sad to notice people rushing to Aadi sale in T.Nagar and they have forgotten the roots of the season.
“Dear readers allow your rituals to be questioned; People will later understand the science behind the rituals"
Written by M.L. Narendra Kumar
Very well expressed. Most of them were also personally experienced by me. Sensible article. Appreciate.
ReplyDeleteLovely. I usually exhaust myself trying to explain the significance of Aadi. You have in your own lovely narrative given it here as a story. Hats off.
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