Tamil Nadu: New cultivation year begins traditionally at Delta region

TIRUCHY: To mark the commencement of the new cultivation season, the farmers from the Delta region organised the traditional ‘Nal Er Poottuthal’ event and started the early kuruvai cultivation amidst special rituals on the field on Monday.

It is a tradition to organise the Nal Er Poottuthal event in view of Tamil New Year (Tamil month of Chithirai 1) and prepare the ground for the commencement of the new cultivation, mainly the early kuruvai cultivation.

Nal Er, is otherwise called as ‘Puzhuthi Uzhavu’ or ‘Kodai Uzhavu’ or even as ‘Pon Er Uzhavu’ in which a special pooja would be held in the paddy fields and the oxen used for ploughing the ground.

The farmers in the group used to organise the event in a common place to mark the commencement of the new cultivation year during the auspicious day of the Tamil New Year.

On Monday, the farmers from across the Delta region, particularly in Thanjavur, organised the events at the places like Palliyaharam, Peravurani, Tiruvaiyaru and Orathanadu areas.

The oxen were bathed and were offered special food including fruits and vegetables, and they were tied to the plough and were made to drive across the fields.

Subsequently, the farmers sowed navathaniyam (a mixture of nine different grains) and offered jaggery and raw rice to the Sun God to mark the commencement of the cultivation.

The farmers felt that the current cultivation year could fetch them a good yield as the state government had announced the release of water from Mettur on the customary date. With the remarkable groundwater table, they could realise the target.

Similarly, the event was held at Kanchi Shankara Mutt at Mavadukurichi near Peravurani where the Mutt administrator performed the special pooja and offered fruitls, coconut, betel leaves, jaggery and raw rice to the local farmers.

Meanwhile, in several places, the farmers used tractors instead of oxen as the number of bulls had declined a lot in the Delta region.