Pongal Festival of India

The festival of Makar Sankranti coincides with the second day of Pongal, the festival of India which is celebrated by Tamils.

Festival of Pongal

Pongal covers 4 days of celebration, from January 13th to January 16th. Like the date of Makar Sankranti, the dates of the Pongal Festival are the same every year.

Four Days of Pongal

First Day: Bhogi Pongal
Second Day: Surya Pongal
Third Day: Matt Pongal
Fourth Day: Kanu Pongal

Rituals and Traditions of Pongal

Bhogi Pongal: This day is greeted with the ritual of a bath with til (sesame) oil. While it is natural to keep the home clean always, on extra care is taken on Bhogi Pongal. Floors are thoroughly washed, furniture and furnishings dusted, and all objects kept squeaky clean. Anything that is worn out, broken, damaged and tattered is gathered together. At the end of the day, all these goods are set alight, much like the Western custom of burning the ‘old man’ effigy on New Year’s Eve. On this day, rice in a variety of forms is cooked along with a few special sweets.

Surya Pongal: This is the first day of Thai (Tamil month). A pretty chain of marigold flowers and mango leaves is strung across the top of the entrance door of the home and tall fronds of the banana plant are placed at the sides. Just like on the days of Deepavali (Festival of Lights) , colourful kolams (rangoli designs) are created on the floor in front of the door. These decorations and designs are welcoming signals to Surya (Sun God).

The rice on this day, called venpongal (white rice) is cooked in new utensils which have been bought before the festival just for this occasion. The rice is allowed to overflow from the pot. The sweeter variety of this rice, called Chakkaraipongal, contains jaggery and dal. The meal is not complete without the accompaniments of sambhar (thick gravy-like stew with onions, tomatoes and spices) and vegetables.

A small note: Be warned - this is a heavy meal! On visiting a restaurant once in Chennai with my relatives, we decided to order the chakkaraipongal. At that time we did not know that it was a heavy dish and foolishly ordered it after we had already consumed a few dishes on the menu. So we ended up eating just some of it and had to request the waiter to pack the rest of it!

Maatu Pongal: On this day cattle are given prime importance. Bells are put around the necks of bulls and cows (these animals are ‘maatu’ in Tamil). A tikka (streak of red) is put on the animal’s forehead and an aarti is done, just as is done before a religious idol. Prasad (holy offering) and other food are given to the cattle.

The main feature of the day is the bull fights between men and bulls, a dangerous sport that could lead to severe injuries. The bull fights are known as Jallikattu.

Kanu Pongal: The tradition on this day is to show respect to elder members of the family, who generally give a small amount of cash as a token to the youngsters. A few items of leftover food are arranged on a banana leaf kept outside for the crows and other birds to feed on.

Happy Pongal!