Pongal to be made Tamil New Year Day: Karunanidhi

Chennai, Jan 10 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said the harvest festival Pongal, which falls on the first day of Tamil month 'Thai', would be soon made the official Tamil New Year Day.

Inaugurating this year's 'Chennai Sangaman', a week-long cultural extravagnza, he said about 500 Tamil scholars had deliberated and arrived at a decision to change the Tamil New Year from the first day of 'Chithirai' month to the first day of 'Thai'.

The 'Thai' begins on mid January and 'Chithirai' around April 15.

Pondering over the event's title theme 'Nyayiru Potruthum'(worshipping the Sun), Mr Karunanidhi said the title was 'apt' as he had a personal experience with regard to that phrase.

''While I wanted to respect the religious sentiments of my Yoga master Desikacharya, who once asked me to chant 'Narayana Mantra. I asked him the meaning of the chanting to which he said it was worshipping the sun, the first step to learning yoga. However, I translated it to Tamil and said 'Nyayiru Potruthum, to which he was also happy,'' he added.

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