Happy Pongal!!!!!!!
Wish You And Your Family A Very Happy Pongal!!!
As I narrate a little about Pongal, have to mention its significance as per the Tamil Brahmin family tradition ---- which was how I was raised!!
We were one of the typical nuclear families that spread its roots outside of Tamil Nadu, a southern state in India where the people spoke the Dravidian language Tamil and are called Tamilians!! And, Tamil is pronounced and written as "Tamizh" uttered with utmost pride with the resonant sound emitting from your deep throat with your tongue curved inwards....I know, It's an art form ....just to pronounce it!!!
Tamilians have a few distinct festivals that they celebrate with great gusto....today, it is recognized and celebrated as a state wide 3 day holiday...with all TV channels boasting their coverage on the latest Tamizh movie release, star interviews, and so on!!!
Coming back to the significance of Pongal according to me, then as a little girl....girls would be given pattu paavadai, and cash from the brothers (the parents would actually give that if the brothers were young).
Felt soooo pampered!!!
In those good old earlier days, as far as my grandparent's generation, as they lived in the villages in the Tanjore district, this festival started off with the Boghi celebrations; Pongal is a three day festival, with Boghi, Pongal and Kaanum Pongal, and is celebrated on the first day of Thai maasam (when the month is born in accordance to the lunar calendar).....the houses would be cleaned, as my grandparents were a little affluent, the house would be white washed.....with fresh chemman and maa kolams in the front yard...all old things would be discarded, given away to the poor and needy. Fresh Nellu (rice, harvested from the first crop of paddy, turmeric plant, gently unearthed for Kaanum Pongal.
My maami would would make (my paati's stories, told to me as a child as she relived those days), Aviyal and Boli (stuffed pan bread with a sweetened lentil filling) for sure ...a medley of vegetables in a coconut yogurt sauce, with Sambhar, rasam, other vegetable preparations, applam, paruppu vadai and of course, arasi ravai payasam!!!! Oh! how I wish I had a genie, who could whip up the whole menu for me!!
On Pongal,
a special paanai...to be precise, a vengala paanai (made with the alloys of bronze and copper), would be decorated with the turmeric plant, draped around the paanai, and kumkumam and majal powders are used to put pottu on the paanai! Once the paanai is all dolled up, rested on the wood stove, over a kolam (patterns drawn with freshly milled rice flour)sweet Pongal is cooked!! Rice, with a handful of tuvar dal (pigeon peas), for it is inauspicious to cook plain rice, so something yellow is added....brown sugar/palm sugar is added with other flavor-ants....like cardamom.
A huge feast is prepared also. and Sun God is worshiped.
In my household, in the US, I use my nifty little rice cooker, and as the mixture of milk, water, rice and dal bubbles up, we prostrate, and pray and wish for all we want that year!!!
This year....I had a few girls over, did the paal Pongal crooned "Pongalooooo Pongal" , prayed, we all did kolam patterns on the counter, on which each dish was rested on, and we did kummi aatam to a popular kummi paatu.
Here are a few glimpses of Pongal as we celebrated and had a blast!!
The next day is Kaanum Pongal, where the preparations from the previous day is set out for the crows (who are considered as our ancestors) to feast on.....
Kannu Pidi Vechen....
Kaaka pidi vechen...
Kaka ellam maruthila vaazha....
Naamellam bhoomila vaazha...
ellorum otrumayaga, sandoshamaaga vaazhanam!!!!
English Translation:
I shall serve my bretherns....
shall serve all the birds and animals....
Let the birds and animals live peacefully in their space....
And us in ours....
And let us all coexist harmoniously!!!!
This is an age old and beautiful adage and I think, if we all live in accordance to that, what a wonderful place this earth would be!!!!!!!!!!!!
Each festival comes with its own characteristic ritual, custom, and funnnn activity and tidbits!!! Immerse yourself in it and Enjoy!!!!!!!
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