Tamil Celebrations

I am standing among a crowd of women wrapped in vibrant silk saris, while barefoot men in white sarongs vigorously smash coconuts on the street. Coconut pieces and coconut water are flying everywhere, smudging bindis and splattering newly purchased saris. Men with shovels scurry in to scoop up the shells, but no sooner are they cleared away than more appear.

It is just after sunrise and I am with hundreds of Hindus on Sea Street in Colombo, to mark the beginning of the festivities for Puthandu, the Tamil New Year.