What is Pongal?

[Guest guest]

Dear Readers,

I am writing as to what i know about pongal festival. It would nice if some

one could enlighten more on this tradition festival and its importance in our

sampradayams.

 

Pongal is the only festival of Hindu that follows a solar calendar and is

celebrated on the fourteenth of January every year.Pongal has astronomical

significance: it marks the beginning of Uttarayana, the Sun's movement

northward for a six month period. In Hinduism, Uttarayana is considered

auspicious, as opposed to Dakshinaayana, or the southern movement of the sun.

All-important events are scheduled during this period. Makara Sankranthi refers

to the event of the Sun entering the zodiac sign of Makara or Capricorn.

In Hindu temples bells, drums, clarinets and conch shells

herald the joyous occasion of Pongal. To symbolize a bountiful harvest, rice is

cooked in new pots until they boil over. Some of the rituals performed in the

temple include the preparation of rice, the chanting of prayers and the

offering of vegetables, sugar cane and spices to the gods. Devotees then

consume the offerings to exonerate themselves of past sins.

 

Thai Pongal is an occasion for family re-unions and get-together. Old

enmities, personal animosities and rivalries are forgotten. Estrangements are

healed and reconciliation effected. Indeed, Thai Pongal is a festival of

freedom, peace, Unity and compassion crystallized in the last hymn on unity in

the Indian spiritual text the Rig Veda. Thus, love and peace are the central

theme of Thai Pongal.

Pongal signals the end of the traditional farming season,

giving farmers a break from their monotonous routine. Farmers also perform puja

to some crops, signaling the end of the traditional farming season. It also

sets the pace for a series of festivals to follow in a calendar year. In fact,

four festivals are celebrated in Tamil Nadu for four consecutive days in that

week. 'Bogi' is celebrated on January 13, 'Pongal' on Jan 14, 'Maattuppongal'

on Jan 15, and 'Thiruvalluvar Day' on Jan 16. The festival is celebrated for

four days. On, the first day, Bhogi, the old clothes and materials are thrown

away and fired, marking the beginning of a new life. The second day, the Pongal

day, is celebrated by boiling fresh milk early in the morning and allowing it

to boil over the vessel - a tradition that is the literal translation for

Pongal. People also prepare savories and sweets, visit each other's homes, and

exchange greetings. The third day, Mattu Pongal, is

meant to offer thanks to the cows and buffaloes, as they are used to plough

the lands. On the last day, Kanum Pongal, people go out to picnic.

A festival called Jalli katthu is held in Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and

Tanjavur,all in TamilNadu, on this day. Bundles of money are tied to the horns

of Pongal ferocious bulls which the villagers try to retrieve. Everyone joins

in the community meal, at which the food is made of the freshly harvested

grain. This day is named and celebrated as Tamiliar Thirunal in a fitting

manner through out Tamil Nadu.

Thus, the harvest festival of Pongal symbolizes the veneration of the

first fruit. The crop is harvested only after a certain time of the year, and

cutting the crop before that time is strictly prohibited. Even though Pongal was

originally a festival for the farming community, today it is celebrated by all.

In south India, all three days of Pongal are considered important. However,

those south Indians who have settled in the north usually celebrate only the

second day. Coinciding with Makara Sankranti and Lohri of the north, it is also

called Pongal Sankranti.

 

 

 

 

--

Best Wishes,

Kidambi Narayanan,

RM 822,Crystal Village V8,

2-13-11 Arai, Nakano-ku,

Tokyo 165-0026,Japan

Ph: +81-90-7258-8492

BlogSpot:http://kidzu.blogspot.com

Albums: kidambinarayanan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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