Happy Pongal !

Happy Pongal !

Tomorrow is Pongal. Wikipedia informs me that Pongal is akin to Thanksgiving. I only know that it is a festival of harvest. It is a festival of a new beginning, of sugar, of jaggery, of decorated cows and of course of pristine joy! Perhaps a flowing over the brim of all of these !!

Wikipedia also informs that the Tamil Nadu government has decided to announce that from this year on, Pongal will be Tamil New Year ! I guess they wanted to become Julius Caesar or somebody by changing the calendar. (Ah. I have given a word to my missus : No politics on the blog. Ok. So, i stop there. Right there). Thats a different issue.

Back home, Pongal meant four days of holidays. And those wonderful dishes that amma made. The prayer and the offering to the Sun, in the spacious courtyard of home ! And of course, sugarcane ! Endless sugarcane !

Pongal. Madurai ’06

This is a picture from the album. Pongal celebrations at home. 2006 ! My taste buds are already active, when i look at the offerings on the leaf. And of course, you cant miss the sugarcane. Those long, thick purple hued delights.

Pongal brings to mind a different time. And makes me miss home. And when you miss home, you miss home and the glorious times that were part of home ! Parents. Friends and the times !

Tomorrow however, the missus will wake up early in the morning, and make Pongal (the dish). And we’ll have a prayer standing in our apartment kitchen, from where we hope to catch a glimpse of the sun, and say a quiet thank you. And then, i run away to work and and she goes her way !

In that space would escape a thousand memories and a few techni colour memories peppered with longing for recreation and renewal to a far away land that’s close to a migrant heart.

Sugarcane. Pongal ’08

The one material thing that i would miss, is the purple hued sugar cane. We went around shopping for sugar cane, and ended up with what you see. That size would make a home grown drumstick from Madurai beam with pride !!

On another note, i guess Pongal is about a new beginning. About acknowledging the forces of nature that sustain us. About peace. About happiness. About community. About sincerity of a wish for a better tomorrow.

And that sincerity is not dependent on where you are or for that matter, by the length of sugarcane in your region !

So here is a sincere wish for you ! A sincere acknowledgement for being there and a prayer + hope for a better tomorrow for all of us !

Happy Pongal !

17 thoughts on “Happy Pongal !

  1. Pearl says:

    Happy Pongal, Kavi.
    Would you believe that I’ve never had sugar cane?!
    Four days of celebration, you say. Well, you people do know how to party, don’t you?!
    I hope you eat, and smile, and laugh, and are grateful for all four days. It sounds lovely.
    Pearl
    p.s. Decorated cows. 🙂 Take a picture, please!

  2. Braja says:

    Happy pongal Kavi! And yeah, I want photos of the decorated cows. I’ll swap you yours for mine 🙂 I got plenty:)

  3. That’s a magical picture that lets me connect to 2006 Pongal immediately. Good one, as usual.

  4. Happy Ponggal sir to you and family. Im in Chennai now 🙂

  5. manju says:

    Happy Pongal, Kavi!

    We call it Makar Sankranti. It marks the start of the sun’s ‘Uttarayana’- the journey from Darkness into Light.

    Yes, let us hope for a better tomorrow!

  6. Happy Pongal!

    That sugarcane reminds me of ganne ka juice at Devon. Hope the weather gets better soon…

  7. Happy Pongal Kavi to you & your family. I agree Pongal in Tamil Nadu has its own charm. Kannum Pongal with Marina beach being full to the brim is a sight one should see to believe.

    Hope you have a great year ahead.The sugarcane looks pretty sad! But then Thank God for small mercies.

    Enzoy

  8. Sujatha says:

    That pongal vessel in the first pic looks exactly like my mom’s.

  9. Happy Pongal to the ‘migrant heart’ and the missus of that heart. May your stock of happy memories and memorable photos increase!!!

  10. Very Happy Pongal Kavi to you and your family. Wonderful new beginnings ahead! Thanks for filling my head with happiness.

  11. Happy pongal, and Tilgul Ghya ani Gode Bola……

  12. GuNs says:

    My best wishes for the festival of Pongal. Hope you’re enjoying the day off (assuming you have one). When did you get married though? :)Were you married before you started the blog? I’ve been following your blog for a number of years not and this is the first instance of the Missus here.

  13. Dewdrop says:

    Happy Pongal… being in Chennai, am enjoying a 5-day weekend coz of Pongal so really appreciate the festival! 🙂 Nice post and quite informative for someone like me who is not from these parts of the country

  14. Priya says:

    Happy Pongal Kavi and I am still not late…

  15. nsiyer says:

    No wishes are ever late. My missus went to buy ‘Manjal’, and it was sold for Rs. 50/ a piece. So much for the truckers’ strike. During Pongal,milk is boiled and allowed to spill over the container signifying joy, happiness and prosperity brimming over.
    In fact, we have a joke at home.My daughter says “in our house, it is everyday Pongal.Since the milk spills over anyway either because of a TV serial/ telephone call or some such thing”. Loads of love and happiness.

  16. SGD says:

    Great blog you have here… I stumbled upon by chance!!!
    Loved the pieces I’ve read so far..
    Your Pongal is our Poush Sankranti. I guess we all miss ‘our homes and the glorious times that were part of home’, especially during the festivities..

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