Dear friends,
Greetings from Bangkok. I am writing this just before we take a week’s break for Songkran, the Thai New Year. Many people in Southeast and South Asia celebrate the New Year in mid-April. The word Songkran comes from the Sanskrit word Sankranti which means passage, a time for change. Buddhists and many Hindus mark this period as their new year, a new beginning. The Thingyan of Myanmar, Chol Chnam Thmay of Cambodia, Dai water festival of Yunnan, Boun Pi Mai of Laos, Bisuba Sankranti of Odisha, Bohag Bihu of Assam, Pahela Baishakh of West Bengal and Vishu of Kerala are different names for essentially the same idea. People mark the passage of the sun from the zodiac sign of Pisces to Aries. Many use water symbolically to cleanse themselves and their houses, bathe the Buddha, water the holy basil plant, splash scented water on each other, visit family and friends and generally have a joyful time.
Thailand celebrates New Year three times in a year; on 1 January, during the Chinese New Year in February and again at Songkran time in April. But this is the second time in a row that the festivities are going to be affected by fear and worry about the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone has some knowledge about the pandemic and the necessary preventive measures now. However, people are also tired and frustrated so are letting go of caution and being careless.