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Good
times, bad times through the ages Consulting
an almanac is a 'must' to find out not only when the New Year will
dawn, what time one should partake of meals but also for details
on how the first meal for the day should be prepared as well as
what coloured clothing one should wear on this day. Many of us
glance through a single sheet of paper and have all the information
we need before us but little are we aware of the hard work involving
the hundreds of calculations that go into preparing this information. It takes several
months of meticulous work to prepare these auspicious times. Behind the
scene, five generations of one family have been rendering this great
service to the country in the past 149 years without interruption
despite two World Wars and numerous social upheavals. It was the
pioneering spirit of Don Philip De Silva Epa Appuhamy who first
introduced the printed form of the almanac, getting it off the ground
in 1854. The Epa Ephemeris
and Almanac are household names in Sri Lanka. Today it is the 30-year-old
great-great-great grandson of its founder Indika Epa Seneviratne
who ensures that this important service is continued without interruption. It has been
a long journey since Don Philip De S. Epa Appuhamy set off from
his home in Galle in the 1830s and headed for Colombo eager to learn
astrology. Not satisfied
with what he could learn here, he travelled to India where he mastered
the art and returned with the intention of imparting his knowledge
to as many people as possible. From this resulted the Epa "panchanga
litha"- the first publication of this nature in Sri Lanka.
It was also a time when the science of astrology in the country
was not developed as it is today. "This
is not a business. We see it more as a service," says Indika
who himself studied astrology and is now one of the four members
of the editorial board that works out the auspicious times and other
details connected to the New Year celebrations. Although the
tedious task of making all calculations manually is no more and
printing is no longer a hassle, it still is a continuous process
as when work on one almanac is over, work on the next starts almost
immediately. Work on the
annual ephemeris and almanac starts one year ahead and is calculated
starting from one Sinhala New Year to another i.e. from April to
April. The calculations
are based on planetary positions that are first obtained by them
from NASA as well as international Ephemeris Associations. The method
of calculations that is used today is the same that was used by
Don Philip Appuhamy 149 years ago, and has also become a method
that many other astrologers in Sri Lanka have also followed. The movements
of the planets are minimal, many moving only a few seconds even
in a hundred years. Hence, Indika
says, it is possible to say that the Sinhala and Hindu New Year
will fall on April 13 and 14 for the next hundred years. "We
have seen planetary positions that have been obtained by NASA as
far ahead as 2050. These are very important for astrology,"
he says. The use of
computers has also helped a great deal. " Now we can say our
calculations are 100 per cent accurate as we do them using computers,"
he said. There is no recorded evidence on when the people began consulting auspicious times before celebrating the New Year but it is believed to have been followed for hundreds of years. Astrologically, the "Aluth Avurudu" marks the entry of the sun after its yearly cycle through the 12 signs of the zodiac from Pisces the last to Aries, the first. This takes place
annually in the month of "Bak" or April. According to
Indika, the "punya kalaya", the time allocated for people
to engage in religious activities before the dawn of the New Year
always falls six hours and 12 minutes before the time set for the
dawn of the New Year. The six hours and 12 minutes after the dawn
of the New Year are set apart for auspicious activities such as
boiling of milk, preparation of meals, partaking of meals as well
as for the conducting of financial transactions -"ganu denu".
The other important times worked out by them include the time for
anointing of hair as well as the time to set off for work in the
New Year. Colours are
an important part of the festivities as each year an auspicious
colour too is set out in the almanac. As astrologically, each day
has a colour, the colour chosen is based on the day on which the
New Year falls. For example, Sunday is a multi-coloured day and
hence a mix of colours would do, whereas Monday is white, Tuesday
is red and Wednesday is green. A similar method
is used when selecting the special ingredients that should be added
to the milk rice prepared on New Year's day as well as which sweetmeats
in particular should take pride of place on the festive table. This
year, milk rice should be prepared with cow's milk and "kavum"
and "aggala" are the auspicious sweetmeats. Indika and his father Tissa Epa Seneviratne have already started work on the Ephemeris and Almanac for the April 2004-2005 period. It will be the 150th year in print and they have plans to make their publications even better than it is today. "My ancestor started this noble service and I want to ensure that this continues into the next generations of my family," says Indika. Rituals
that cleanse the heart and mind Pudu Varudam
or Chittirai Varudap pirappu is indeed an auspicious occasion for
the Hindus. Modern research
has shown that the concept of the solar cycle was not unknown to
the Indus Valley people. Four or five millennia ago, the people
of Mohenjo-Daro had a calendar stone, based on the solar cycle which
indicated the days of the year in the agricultural cycle of the
Indus Valley. With the inscriptions on the seals being deciphered,
research has shown inter-alia, historical facts that these Dravidians
had made use of the Zodiac long before it reached the Sumerians. The Vedic Rishis
of ancient India studied the movement of the Sun, moon, stars and
planets in order to unravel the mysteries of nature and realised
that there was a rhythm and an order in nature and that the Sun
influenced the total life of the Universe. They worshipped the Sun
as the Supreme God Brahman, Tat Savitur, the centre of the universe,
the regulator and maker of time, the sustainer and nourisher of
all. According to
the ancient Dravidians and Aryans, the dawn of the New Year ushering
in the debut of spring in the month of Chittirai is marked by the
transition of the Sun from the last house of the Zodiac, (Pisces)
to the first house (Aries), which takes place every year at a precise
moment. Religious observances and celebrations seem to have been
associated with the advent of the seasons and the spring festival
of the New Year was perhaps one such observance. And the very
same New Year that was established by the ancient Indians is perhaps
being celebrated by the Hindus as the New Year. From time immemorial
the Hindus have considered the transition an auspicious event, for
the Sun is the presiding deity of the planetary system and the entry
from Pisces to Aries marks the beginning of the year. The Hindu
almanac known as the Panchalingam substantiated by astronomical
calculations, gives us the exact time of the dawn of the New Year. The New Year
originated as a pastoral festival and did not really form an organic
part of urban civilization. Unfortunately today, the pastoral milieu
is steadily crumbling and the festivities have been separated from
their basic roots. The New Year falls around the 13th or 14th of
April at a particular time that is based on the exact movement of
the sun to the first house in the Zodiac. The period just preceding
and following this auspicious time is referred to the 'Vishu Punnyakaalam'
or the Vishu auspicious time when the rites are observed. The New Year
festival is associated with a wealth of traditions, rituals and
customs which are enchanting and mystical in character. These are woven
into the fabric of astrology, for it is believed that the New Year
dawns with the Sun, Suriya Bhagavan, coming down to earth riding
His golden chariot drawn by seven horses each representing a day
in the week. The Sun is also referred to as Kaala Thevan, the one
who determines the various seasons. And the observances on this
day are made in conformity with this movement of the Sun and thanksgiving
is offered to the Sun God. All these traditional
practices are programmed into a schedule of auspicious times and
are observed in the belief that any ill-effects of planetary combinations
will be warded off. Here lies an
important aspect of the Hindu culture where man has developed an
intricate measure to manage time based on astrologically measured
auspicious times. Further, these
ritualistic observances cleanse the hearts and minds of the people,
strengthen the family unit, creating a feeling of sharing and caring
and finally renew the religious fervour towards the goal of spiritual
perfection. (Extracted from the book 'Remembering Hindu Traditions') |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
