- 18th day of Aadi
- Early August
- Kaveri delta, Tamil Nadu
Where it began
Perukku means rising. In Aadi, the monsoon fills the rivers, and the Kaveri rises to feed the fields. The day thanks the river, seen as a goddess, for her blessing.
The festival is also called Padinettam Perukku, the eighteenth-day rising. The number 18 is linked with the Kurukshetra war and the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita, as some stories tell.
How it grew over time
Sangam age
Poems praise the Kaveri and describe river festivals in the Chola country.
Chola times
Dams like the Grand Anicut, built by Karikala Chola, made the Kaveri the lifeline of the delta.
Medieval period
Temple festivals along the Kaveri at Srirangam and Thiruvaiyaru marked the rising of the river.
Today
Families picnic on the banks at Srirangam, Thiruvaiyaru, Kumbakonam and Mettur.
How it is celebrated in different places
Srirangam
The temple deity is taken to the Kaveri bank, and gifts are offered to the river.
Thiruvaiyaru and Kumbakonam
Families gather at the ghats to bathe and pray.
Erode and Mettur
Water flows from the Mettur dam and crowds gather on the banks.
Aadi Perukku moments
Aadi Perukku today
Women offer prayers to the river with turmeric, kumkum, flowers and lamps. Newly married couples tie a new yellow thread. Families bring varieties of rice like lemon rice, coconut rice, tamarind rice and curd rice to share by the water.
Lamps are floated on the river at dusk, and the day ends with songs and family time.
