The first month of the Tamil calendar is called “Thai” whereas the literal meaning of Pongal is spilling over or boiling. This resembles abundance and prosperity. Pongal is also a dessert made from the concoction of rice, moong dal, jaggery and milk. Pongal is celebrated to thank God for providing a year-long good harvest.  The festival is celebrated by Tamils all over the world without being bound to any religious faith. Therefore it is known as “Tamil Thai Pongal” or the “Festivals of Tamils”. It is celebrated on the first day of the month Thai of the Tamil calendar and is a four-day multi-day harvest festival. The four-day festivities are:

Bhogi Pongal: The first day of the four-day festivity is Bhogi Pongal. It marks the last day of Marghazi, Tamil month. People celebrate it together by lighting bonfires and burning discarded items of the house.

Surya Pongal: The second day is Surya Pongal. It is dedicated to Lord Sun or Surya Dev. People thank him for providing a good harvest and seeking blessings for happiness and prosperity. On this day, the houses are decorated with banana and mango leaves.

Mattu Pongal: The third day marks Mattu Pongal. Mattu means cow, cattle or bullock. This celebrates cattle as they provide dairy products, fertilizers and agriculture support. People worship cows like gods. They paint its horns with garlands and flowers.

Kanum Pongal: The last day is Kanum Pongal. This day strengthens the bond between people. A lot of people come together and celebrate it.

The events throughout the celebration are expressions of jubilation over life’s renewal. The day begins early on this day, in Tamil families. The front garden is prepared for ceremonious cooking. A flat square pitch is made and decorated with Kollam drawings exposing it to the direct sunlight. Next, a firewood hearth is set up using three bricks. And only thereafter the cooking begins by putting a clay pot with water on the hearth. When the water is boiled ,rice is put into the pot – after a member of the family ceremoniously puts three handfuls of rice in first. The traditional Pongal is then prepared in the front garden. 

It is a ceremony with more of an apprentice and master kind of expression because a senior member of the family conducts the cooking and the rest of the family assists him or her or watches the whole process. The other ingredients of this special dish are Chakkarai (brown cane sugar) or Katkandu (Sugar candy), milk (preferably cow or coconut milk), roasted green gram (payaru)  raisins, cashew nuts and a few pods of cardamom. When the meal is ready it is first put on a banana leaf and the family prays for a few minutes to thank the nature spirit, the sun and farmers.