Delhi's Tamil population gears up to celebrate Pongal

NEW DELHI: The city's seven lakh strong Tamil population is gearing up to celebrate the harvest festival of Pongal with literary programmes, mass prayers and music concerts.

The week-long celebrations will also include preparing ethnic delicacies and drawing the 'kolam' in the house.

'Thai Pongal', as it is popularly called in Tamil Nadu, is a thanksgiving ceremony celebrated by Tamil farmers to thank the spirits of nature, the sun and farm animals for their assistance in providing a successful harvest all through the year.

The festival is spread over four days, from the last day of 'Margazhi' to the third day of following month 'Thai' as 'Bhogi', 'Thai Pongal', 'Mattu Pongal' and 'Kannum Pongal'.

"We may have settled here, but we haven't forgotten our traditions. Almost all Tamils in Delhi celebrate Pongal the same way it is celebrated in Tamil Nadu," Natesan, secretary of Tamil Youth Cultural Association, told.

Pongal celebrations on January 15 start with the women drawing 'Kolam' in their houses and preparing 'pongal prasadam', a mix of rice, jaggery and milk, in 'pongal pannai', a ritual in which new earthen pots are painted and decorated with turmeric, flowers and mango leaves.
   
"We still celebrate the festival by cooking the Pongal in an earthen pot with water on the hearth, draw 'kolam' in the house and offer sugarcane to the Sun God," Priya, a housewife said.

The market in Karol Bagh in Central Delhi, where a sizable chunk of the capital's Tamil population resides, is bustling with activities with revellers purchasing earthen pots, sugarcane and other items that is offered to the sun god as a tribute.

Soumya, a software engineer said, "I don't have the time and patience to cook the `prasadam' in an earthen pot. I cook the dish on stove and we share it with our neighbours. That's how we celebrate Pongal."

Special prayers will be conducted on the day of Pongal at the Malai Mandir Temple in R K Puram in South Delhi and also at many churches in the city.

"Pongal is a festival of Tamils and every Tamil should celebrate it. There is no religious barrier and we usually conduct special masses on this day," Anton, a priest at a church in South Delhi said.

Tamil Catholic Ministry of the Archdiocese of Delhi would conduct a special mass on January 20 at the Sagodaya School in Hauz Khas in South Delhi.

"After the special mass, we will organise a cultural festival where students of various schools will perform the traditional arts of Tamil Nadu and we will distribute the Pongal prasadam," Julis of the TMC said.

Also, the Delhi Tamil Sangam has planned to celebrate the festival as a week-long event by organising a music concert on January 18, Bharatanatyam performance by Anusha Ramachandran on January 19 and a literary speech by Tamil Nadu Public Works Department Minister Durai Murugan on January 20.