Aadi 18 Perukku is observed on the 18th day of Aadi Tamil month (mid-July to mid-August). Aadi Perukku 2021 is on August 2. Aadi month is when the monsoon season brings abundant rains to Tamilnadu. So Aadi festival is, in essence, a Thanksgiving to the monsoon. The rains replenish the rivers with water, bringing joy to farmers, who depend on the rain for a bountiful harvest. Because it is celebrated on the 18th day of Aadi month, Aadi Perukku festival is also called Pathinettam Perukku. Pathinettu means ‘18’.

Aadi 18 Perukku is usually observed by Hindus who live near the Kaveri river bank. The word ‘Perukku’ means ‘rising,’ and it refers to the water rising in the rivers during the monsoon. The festival is akin to Nature worship as it acknowledges and appreciates Mother Nature’s role in human life. Thiruvalluvar, the great Tamil scholar, has said that lack of rain can wipe out righteousness in the world. Without rain, the earth cannot sustain itself. Thus, Water is the most important among the Panchabhootams or five elements. 

Aadi month is considered ideal for sowing seeds as well as planting saplings due to the monsoon season’s copious rainfall. The monsoon can give farmers a bountiful harvest. It is important for the prosperity and well-being of the people. Many poets and artists have paid tribute to the monsoon in their works. But the monsoon can have both good and bad effects. It gives good crops and brings prosperity, but it can also cause destruction. This makes Aadi Perukku festival very significant because it is a festival that invokes the blessings of the river goddesses not only for good rainfall but also protection from the monsoon’s negative aspects. Besides, during this time, people often fall sick. So it is considered essential to appease the goddesses to ensure good health as well.  

Aadi Perukku Rituals

On the day of Aadi Perukku, people get together with family and friends and worship Goddess Amman for copious rainfall and a bountiful harvest. They also prepare some special food items for the occasion, mostly rice-based items like Sakkarai Pongal, tamarind rice, lemon rice, coconut rice, curd rice, etc..

All the family members visit the riverbank on this day and make Maavilakku, a special lamp made with rice flour and jaggery. This is kept on mango leaves and lit. Turmeric, flowers, and a yellow thread are also kept on the mango leaves. The lamps, mango leaves, and other accompaniments are then floated in the river by the women.

It is like a picnic as friends and relatives come together on the river bank to pray, worship, and share delicious food. In fact, it is a big event in some districts in Tamil Nadu. In many temples, special prayers and poojas are done for a good harvest, abundant water, and a good monsoon.

Locals believed that if unmarried girls take part in the Pooja along the river banks and offer Karugamani (black beads), Kaadholai (palm leaves that are twisted to form earrings) as well as Kaapparisi, they will get good husbands. Womenfolks worship Goddess Parvati on Aadi Perukku day. They prepare many rice dishes like lemon rice, sweet Pongal, curd rice, coconut rice, and tamarind rice and offer them to the Goddess with great devotion. It is also the practice for devotees to take a dip in the holy water and wear new attire. Kaveri Amman is given a holy bath, too, and more rituals and ceremonies are performed. The Tamil epic, Silapathikaram, refers to Aadi Perukku. Many married women visit the Meenakshi temple tank on this day and change the thread on their mangalsutras or 'thalis'. 

In some communities, the son-in-law is invited home on Aadi Perukku day and is presented with new clothes. Also, during Aadi month, newly-married women stay at their parents’ home. On the day of Aadi 18 Perukku, a gold coin is added to the mangal sutra (thali) in some southern districts of Tamilnadu.

Aadi Perukku 2021 is on Aug 3.