Vishu, Puthandu and Vaisakhi 2023: A guide to India's spring festivals

A number of spring harvest festivals are being celebrated in India this week, notably Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Vaisakhi or Baisakhi in Punjab on Friday and Vishu in Kerala on Saturday.

Vishu marks the first day of Medam, the ninth month of the solar calendar followed in Kerala. The festival is observed by Malayalis, people originating from the state of Kerala, and falls on either April 14 or 15 each year. It has been celebrated since 844AD, during the time of ruler Sthanu Ravi Varma.

Likewise, Puthandu, aka Tamil New Year, is the first day of the Tamil month Chithirai, as well as the first day of the year on the Tamil calendar. The month of Chithirai has been referenced in the oldest known Tamil manuscript, Tolkappiyam, which divides the year into six seasons.

In North India and especially within the Sikh community, spring is heralded with Vaisakhi. The festival also marks the birth date of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th teacher of Sikhism.

Spiritual significance and celebrations

Spring harvest festivals signify new beginnings, hopes and aspirations for the year ahead.

People spend the day sending prayers and well wishes to their loved ones for prosperity and health, as well as gathering for prayers and feasts in all their finery.

For Vishu, a meal called the sadhya is prepared and eaten in Malayali households. It comprises rice, sambar, chips, pickle, aviyal, rasam and different types of vegetables and payasams.

The Puthandu feast is similar to Vishu, and also includes the preparation of mangai pachadi. The raw mango and jaggery dish is replete with various flavour profiles — sweet, salty, spicy, bitter, sour and astringent — to symbolise various life experiences, as well as to bring balance and harmony in the year ahead.

Vaisakhi dishes typically include spiced meats, veg and bread cooked in the tandoor, plus sweet and salty lassi and kheer for dessert.

A version of this story was published in April 2022