nominations join together to celebrate the New Year, Tamil communities in Sri Lanka as well as in India lay focus on celebrating the Pongal harvest popularly known as the Thai Pongal festival.The celebration which is spread over four days, in actual fact is a festival held at the end of the harvest season and usually takes place between the 13th and the 16th of the first month in the Gregorian calendar, that is, the last day of the Tamil month of Margazhi and the third day of the Tamil month of Thai. The day coincides with the Makara Sankranthi, which marks the start of the sun's six month long journey northwards or the Uttarayanam.

Thai Pongal is a thanksgiving ceremony to the Sun God, the nature spirit of the fore-runner which brings plentiful harvest and prosperity in agriculture and also to the farm animals for their assistance and contribution in providing a successful crop. It is celebrated as a cultural event on a grand scale by Tamils, highlighting the core values of the culture and civilization of the Hindu farming community.

In the Tamil almanac, Thai is the first month while Pongal means the art of boiling to overflow. The main dish made from harvested rice, lentils and spice is also referred to as Pongal in Tamil. Thai Pongal would therefore mean the preparation of the first boiled meal of rice for the year, engulfed with hopes and aspirations. On Thai Pongal day, which is considered sacred, farmers venerate the Sun God by offering the first part of their farm produce in the form of cooked rice in reciprocation of the bountiful harvest provided by the nature spirit.

It is also the day that farmers choose to show their gratitude to the animals on their farm. In a general context, the cow provides milk the ox and the buffalo energize them and help produce rice in plentiful – thus in the sphere of agriculture, all of these animals are considered to contribute immensely in bringing prosperity to the farmer community. Generally the main purpose of the Thai Pongal festival, which is the most popular of all Hindu festivals, is to encourage social cohesiveness, build harmony and unity among the community and most important, to recognize the services rendered by the farmers who provide food for the rice eaters, not forgetting the nature spirit – the sun and farm animals which deserve love and affection.

Gratitude
Rice eaters fall in line and find themselves obliged to venerate and thank the Sun God and the farm animals for producing their staple diet. Every rice eating man and woman especially in Asia find that he or she is bound by this obligation, as rice is produced with the help of the nature spirit and animals on the farm. Therefore, this festive occasion is celebrated not only by farmers but also by rice-eating people as well, on the first day of the Thai Pongal calendar, the dawn of which to them is the beginning of a new path.

On Thai Pongal day the family gather to perform the rituals connected with the boiling of a pot at rice at sunrise at the front doorstep of the house.

All members gather around the pot of rice to enjoy the occasion and wish one another with the delightful cry ‘Pongal oh Pongal’ meaning it is boiling, it is boiling, we are getting what we expect. The feeling behind the words is that the universe, God and mother earth offer a rich, abundant harvest so that it overflows their requirement and their lives will be full or abundant in many ways to come.

The rice is then cooked with dhal and sugar and is called Ven Pongal. Ven means white. Another variety of rice is also prepared with dhal, green-gram and jaggery and called Chakkarai Pongal. Chakkarai means sweet.

Legends
Thai Pongal has its many legends. One legend is that it rained incessantly for several days causing the level of the waters in the rivers to rise and the people were forced to move to the Govindha Mountain to escape from being drowned in the floods.

But soon the floods spread to even the mountain and the people fearing the worst prayed to Lord Krishna to save them. Taking pity on the people, Lord Krishna lifted the Govindha Mountain on his little finger to save the people from being washed away by the rains and flood.

Another story relating to Thai Pongal is that Lord Shiva ordered his bull Nandi to go to the earth and tell his devotees to have an oil bath daily and to have food twice a week.

Nandi however got it all mixed up and informed the people to eat daily and bathe twice a week.

Annoyed at what had happened, Lord Shiva, addressing Nandi said, “Now that people need to eat more, you stay on earth and help the people to plough more fields.”

Family-oriented festival
Thai Pongal is a family-oriented four day festival centred around successful farming to which the sun which provides energy in the process of food production includ ing sunlight for plants to grow, rain which provides water, which is a must in agriculture, farm animals which help in tilling and preparing the land for cultivation and finally the farmer who makes use of all these aspects to make the harvest successful, all contribute.

The Thai Pongal festival is spread over four days. The first day of the festival called Bhogi Pongal falls on the last day of the Tamil month of Margazhi and is dedicated to God Indra, the God of clouds and Rain, which make the crops grow.

Bhogi is a day for the family who clean their houses collecting and burning all unwanted items that could be burnt in the process. Floors of houses are washed, doorways and painted with vermilion and sandalwood paste, houses are decorated with colourful flowers and leaves and Bhogi the Rain God is worshipped.

In India where the majority of the population are farmers, Bhogi Pongal is held as a rural festival and marks the withdrawal of the South East monsoon.

Poojas
The place where the Pongal pooja is to be conducted, which generally is an open court yard, is cleaned and smeared with cow dung.

The following day, the second day, offerings are made to both the Sun God and the Rain God for ushering in prosperity.

The rituals begin early in the morning with every member arising early, bathing and dressing in new clothes and gathering at the front of the step of the house or in the front garden termed Muttram. Kolam designs with rice flour paste are drawn in the front yards of the house.

The idea is to provide eats for insects including ants, so that they too would bless the household. At the centre of the design, a five petal pumpkin flower, a symbol of fertility, is stuck on the lump of cow dung. The designs are essentially to purify the place. A senior member of the family, usually the grandmother or the mother, or even the father conducts the cooking while the other members do the assisting. A firewood hearth using three bricks is set up and the cooking commences by placing a clay pot of water on the hearth.

Love and peace are the central themes of the Tamil Thai Pongal festival which is celebrated by one and all as it is non-relevant to any particular denomination.

- T. V. Pereira
(Dailynews)