Pongal is one of the most important festivals celebrated by Tamil people in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in India. It is a multi-day Tamil harvest festival of South India. According to tradition, the festival marks the end of winter solstice, and the start of the sun`s six-month-long journey northwards when the sun enters the zodiac Capricorn. The festival is named after the ceremonial `Pongal`, which means `to boil, overflow` and refers to the traditional dish prepared from the new harvest of rice boiled in milk with jaggery raw sugar. Festive celebrations include decorating cows and their horns, ritual bathing and processions. It is traditionally an occasion for decorating rice-powder based kolam artworks, offering prayers in the temples, getting together with family and friends, and exchanging gifts to renew social bonds of solidarity. The musical celebration is conducted in the open space referred to as Gandhi Thidal, just opposite the Gandhi Mandapam. This place plays host to various cultural, musical and commercial activities through out the year.
|
