''Aadi Perukku'' festival of 2021 in Tamil Nadu again lacked pomp and religious fervor!!

Women celebrating Aadi Perukku, TN.tamil.samayam.com

Aadi Perukku 2021 greetings.desicomments.com

A popular  Hindu festival in Tamil Nadu that falls on the 18th day of the Tamil month Aadi , Adi Perukku (“Padinettam perukku''  in Tamil) is widely celebrated across  the state. On this day thousands of families and newly-wed couples visit the near-by temples -  be they Vishnu or Shiva or Shakti temples and offer prayers for the welfare of the family. Besides, they also visit the  river banks and offer prayers to the river. In this festivity nature worship is emphasized as nature is very important for our sustenance on this earth.

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It  is a sort of traditional thanksgiving festival heralding the beginning of a new crop cycle. Particularly, farmers in the  Cauvery delta region of  Tamil Nadu actively participate in this  festival with devotion. The tradition has it this festival gives   people an opportunity to express their gratitude to Mother Nature -   nature's life-sustaining elements of water, which is essential for agricultural operations to raise new crops, etc.,  for the coming year. On Fridays in the  holy month of Aadi women worship goddess Parvati or Parasakthi for prosperity and better relationship with their husband and children. Such prayers will add positivity to their endeavors in the future, apart they will instill  confidence in them to lead the family successfully through hard times. In this regard there are references  cited in the ''Tamil Sangam'' literatures. 

As ill-luck would have it, this year there is a lack of interest and enthusiasm among the Hindus  because the Tamil Nadu Govt has closed all temples for three consecutive days from 1st of August to 3rd as a precaution against the spread of Covid 19. The low level interest in Aadi Perukku festival is due to the fact that the people are also in the grip of ensuing 3rd wave attack. Last year also, Aadi Perukku festival was not celebrated happily because of Covid-19. In 2019  this festival lacked pomp, gaiety and interest as most of the rivers in Tamil Nadu were almost either dry or  had poor flow of water. The SW monsoon did not bring in enough water and this impacted  the Tamil  Nadu rivers. Normally,  every year the water will be released from the dams far before Aadi Perukku festival. In 2019  storage of water in many dams was not good enough to release water for the festival. At Mettur dam in Salem district  the water level stood at 52 feet roughly  as against 110 or 120 feet.

This year many rivers in Tamil Nadu are full  because of very active SW monsoon and the catchment areas in the western region have received lots of rain, causing flood-like situation in some places. Because temples are  not accessible to public, the festivity lacks religious fervor. 

The govt. has taken  steps in the right direction to avoid crowds and gathering of people in public places like temples.  Further, despite govt. warning  a large section of people on the street never wear the mask as a precaution against Covid-19 Nor do they follow social distancing.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/religion/festivals/aadi-perukku-2021-date-time-significance/articleshow/84965108.cms

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/aadi-perukku-festival-celebrated-with-fervour/article28809602.ece

https://tamil.samayam.com/religion/tamil-festivals/significance-of-aadi-18-and-how-to-celebrate-aadi-perukku/articleshow/77302700.cms