Happy Pongal

Coming days are the days of festivals
Bogi Festival (Jan 13) - where u get rid of old things in life and enter into new life..(well I'm sitting in the office!)

Pongal (Jan 14) - the day of sweetness and the day of sun. Brings back all my memories of childhood. How my family celebrates Pongal in traditional style.
My mom will woke me up at 3am in the morning (yeah, u got it right..its 3'o clock in the morning..she gets up at 2 itself).
Then I will have to stand guard for my sisters who are putting up big colourful rangoli which easily takes hours. Then take bath in cold water. wear new dress.around 5'0 clock mom starts the pongal preparation. she does it outside the house, yeah... on the road. stone stove using woods & coconut shells as fuel. A process that takes more than hour to make the sweet pongal. Then Puja. God..i'm hungry and pongal looks yummy. when the puja gets over, we start the attack! mm.mm..god gets very little..Then the distribution starts..pongal goes to neighbours and nearby relatives. Tired. There is sugarcane waiting to be cut. Another attack. around 9'o clock. Doordarshan starts its Pongal day special programmes. Pattimandram (people taking sides over a topic and arguing and judge decides-what is it english?) followed by Special Olliym-Olliym(chitrahaar, movies songs)..Damn Tired..11'o clock go back to sleep.

Sigh..i wish to do it again but cant do it this year. Damn, I'll be in bangalore missing this a lot.my mom was pretty sad when i said i wont be coming there because i didn't get train ticket (now you know i was lazy to try other options).

MattuPongal (jan 15)- a day for cattles - i'll see a lot of cows & bulls been decorated and roaming around with owner on the streets. Most of them go to the nearby Alanganallur Jallikuttu, where men fight it out against bulls.

One of the very important dates for tamils, i see this festival is loosing shine, because of the modernisation. Not many probably knows how to make the sweet pongal dish..sigh..i need to learn it first.

Anyway..to all readers and non-readers a very happy and prosperous pongal and a great year ahead of you.

Sample Pongal Rangoli. My sisters use to create a much bigger ones!


A pongal greeting card..containing pongal pot,sugarcane, sun and prayer


mattupongal- a decorated bull


rangoli on the road - like my three sisters


making pongal outside the house


a kid standing by the sugarcane lots