K.A.Viswanathan
Pongal is one of the most popular harvest festival of South India, mainly Tamil Nadu. Pongal falls in the mid-January every year and marks the auspicious beginning of Uttarayan – Sun’s Journey northwards. Pongal festival lasts for four days. Celebrations include drawing of Kolam( Rangoli), swinging & cooking of delicious Pongal. This year Pongal was on January 15.
Some of the rituals which are a must on Pongal are cleaning the house and wearing new clothes. During the Pongal season, people eat sugar canes and decorate the houses with kolam ( rangoli) which is made using rice paste.
The dish Pongal is made by boiling rice with milk. In fact the first paddy that is harvested is used to make Pongal. On this occasion farmers pay their respects to the rain, sun and the farm animals, all of which are essentials in any harvest.
Tamilians celebrate this festival for four days as Pongal Thiruvizah which is strictly a rural festival. However Tamilians who have migrated to Mumbai also follow the tradition of celebrating in the same manner. The name of the festival is derived from “ Pongal” – a rice pudding made from freshly harvested rice, milk and jaggery with cashew nuts added to it.
At Dharavi area thousands of housewives gathered before Sunrise on Pongal day and boiled the rice and milk in a pot and a turmeric plant is tied around it and it was then symbolically offered to the Sun-God along with other oblations. All ladies who participate wear traditional South Indian sari and red thilak on their forehead.. The offerings include two sticks of sugarcane in background , coconut , betel leaves, nuts and bananas in the dish.
In Tamil, the word Pongal means "overflowing" which signifies abundance and prosperity. On the day of Pongal, at the time of Sun rise there is a symbolic ritual of boiling fresh milk in a new clay pots and when the milk boils over and bubbles out of the vessel, people shout "Pongalo Pongal. Thai Pongal is mainly celebrated to convey the appreciation and thanksgiving to the Sun God as it act as the primary energy behind agriculture and a good harvest. It is the Surya Mangalyam.
