If you are wondering what is the above photo of water bottles mean?
They have water from Kaveri river brought to our house in Chennai by my uncle after his visit to Trichy this week. It is believed bathing in Kaveri river during this month washes your sins and brings you divine blessings. In Tamil calendar, this month is called as Aypasi (ஐப்பசி) alias Thula Month (துலா மாதம்). In this month it is believed by Hindus that all rivers in India including Ganges, Yamuna, Narmada, Sindhu come to South, to Kaveri to cleanse themselves of the sins people bath away in them. Interesting legend!
To read more about this, you can refer these websites (All in Tamil): Maduraiyampathi Blog, Nakkheeran, Dinamani.