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Avurudu is here
By D. C. Ranatunga
The Bak Maha - the month of April is the month of plenty. Described as the pala bara bak maase, the trees are full of fruits this month. Harvesting is over and the atuva (barn) is full with the new stock of paddy. Being the month of the aluth avurudda, people are busy getting ready for the big occasion. Avurudu comes but once a year.

In a typical village home, there are elaborate preparations for the aluth avuruddda. The house is given a thorough clean up. Walls get a new coat of paint, floors are washed and cleaned. The garden is cleared of weeds. The kitchen area is a hive of activity.

Womenfolk start pounding the rice to prepare the flour to make traditional sweetmeats. A special lipa is made ready for frying operation. Kevum take top priority. There is the atiraha, the flat type. But the demand is for konda kevum- the ones with the konde. Mung kevum is made from green gram. The list of sweetmeats is a pretty long one - kokis, aasmi, aluva, aggala, veli thalapa, peni valalu and more.

Avurudu is also shopping time. New clothes are a must for everyone in the family and the auspicious colours are in demand. Prior to the era of the ready-mades, the mother would stitch the new dresses for the children.

Avurudu is one season when the whole country decides to follow the auspicious times set by the astrologers. Those who strictly observe such customs will look at the moon for the last time for the old year and wait for the auspicious day to take a look again.

A head bath is also avoided after a particular day before the avurudda. Many will not eat, drink or even read during the nonagathe- the transition period (also known as sankranthiya) between the old and the new year which generally lasts for about twelve hours. (This year the nonagathe is from 6.15 p.m. on April 13 until 7.03 a.m the following morning.) The period is set apart for meritorious deeds - that's why it's also known as punya kalaya. The whole family would visit the temple to offer flowers and pay homage to the Buddha.

Lighting the hearth and preparing the first meal is the first major activity for the new year. The lady of the house, clad in light green will light the hearth at 5.23 a.m. on the 14th and boil a pot of milk using a new clay pot, discarding the old one. She will then prepare kiribath to be partaken at the auspicious time for the first meal.

Veda alleema precedes ganu denu and the first meal. It's the farmer who follows the custom of starting work at the auspicious time. Having put his tools aside after finishing work for the old year, he would pull out a mammoty and symbolically begin work at the auspicious hour - 6.48 a.m. on the 14th facing the north clad in gold coloured clothes.

The custom has now spread and everyone will indulge in some activity. Children are encouraged to read a book and write a sentence or two. Ganu denu as the word indicates, is to 'give and take'. Monetary transactions are done among the elders, choosing a "lucky" person to exchange money with. For the young, it's only ganu when, in addition to gifts, they would get cash from the elders. The non-earners are not expected to give but only take.

Avurudu is the season for giving. Apart from new clothes and gifts to family members, things are shared with neighbours. After the customs are observed in the home, avurudu sweetmeats are sent to the neighbours who would also reciprocate.

Avurudu brings the family together. Children get back home to spend the avurudu. Avurudu is festive time. The rabana is taken out, warmed up and made ready to be played accompanied by the reciting of raban kavi. Onchili padeema is yet another popular activity with the young women. Young and old alike join in pancha dameema.

Avurudu is the time when traditional games are revived. Fun and games begin after the avurudu customs are observed when the whole village would gather to participate in numerous games usually forgotten during the rest of the year.

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