Subscribe
For the uninitiated / agnostic / atheistic / faithless / faithful / religious / spiritual / metaphyhsical / ascetic / gypsic / nomadic / reconverted / reborn Thamizhans and of course, to the rest of the world, a very Happy Pongal to all of you!!
And also to all the rest of you 21st century naivetes, who think that Pongal is Women's day in Tamil ("after all Pon & Gal mean one & the same thing, mate!"), get real, dudes!!
Thought of junking up the net for some nostalgic Pongal songs (confession: more for the reminiscences rather than the culture) and voila, here you go...
1st day
maargazhi(th) thingaL madhi niRaindha nannaaLaalneeraada(p) pOdhuveer pOdhuminO nErizhaiyeerseer malgum aayppaadi(ch) chelva(ch) chiRumeergaaLkoorvEl kodundhozhilan nandhagOpan kumaranEraarndha kaNNi yasOdhai iLam singamkaar mEni cengaN kadhir madhiyam pOl mugaththaannaaraayaNanE namakkE paRai tharuvaanpaarOr pugazha(p) padindhElOr empaavaay
to the 30th day....
vankak katal kataintha mAthavanaik kEcavanaiththinkal thirumukaththuc cEyiLaiyAr cenRiRainjiankap paRai kontavARRai aniputhuvaipainkamalath thantheriyal pattar pirAn kOthai connacankath thamiL mAlai muppathum thappAmEinkip paricuRaippAr Irirantu mAlvaraiththOLcenkaN thirumukaththuc celvath thirumAlAlenkum thiruvaruL peRRu inpuruvAr empAvAy.
TRANSLATION
-----------------------------------------------------Oh bejewelled girls (nEr izhaiyeer)! Prosperous (chelva) young girls (chiRumeer) of the rich city (seer malgum) of Tiruvoypadi (aaypaadi)! This is the month (thingaL) of December/January (margazhi), an auspicious day (nan naaL) filled (niRaindha) with moonlight (madhi). Those of us who want to go (pOdhuveer) to perform the penance of 'paavai nOnbu' (neeraada), let us go (pOdhumeenO). The Lord (naaraayaNan), who was the son (kumaran) of NandagOpan, who could give a lot of trouble (kodun thozhilan) to enemies using his sharp spear (koor vEl); who was the little lion (iLam singam) of the beautiful (Eraarndha) eyed (kaNNi) YasOda; who is dark (kaar) skinned (mEni); who has perfect (sen) eyes (kaN); and who has a face (mugaththaan) like (pOl) the radiance (kadhir) of the moon (madhiyam); will give (tharuvaan) us (namakkE) his blessings (paRai). Hey (El)! Let us immerse in water (padindhu) and do the penance of 'paavai nOnbu' (Or embaavaai), a practice praised (pugazha) by the people of the world (paarOr).
Songs in praise of matavan kecavanWho churned the trafficked ocean;Songs in celebration of the prayers and gifts obtainedBy the moonfaced and bejewelled maids,Sung by kotai the daughter of the Pattar at Srivilliputtur,Donned in a garland of lotus –Mal the mountain shouldered and noble faced with eyes redBlesses everyone everywhere with His graceThose who recite them in cankat tamil in all piety,And leaves them blessed.The last song of the Tiruppavai formally concludes the series with a mentionof the benefits that accrue to the devotees when they recite the thirtysongs in all piety while the twenty-ninth song has clinched the pavaiobservance.
THINGS TO DO ON BHOGI PONGAL
Traditional Bath
An elaborate oil bath is done at early morning on the Bhogi day.
Drawing of Kolams
After morning bath and rituals, women make beautiful kolams (rangoli). There is sometimes a healthy competition among neighbors on design and size of the kolams. Large kolams are preferred during Pongal.
Some communities place a pumpkin flower in the middle of the kolam.
Cleaning and Burning debris on Bhogi Pongal
The most important activity on Bhogi Pongal is to clean the house, office, surroundings, courtyard and other places. All the broken and unwanted things are removed. The reason for this massive cleaning exercise is to bring new energy into life. It is believed that Uttarayana marks the daytime of the Devas and all auspicious things happen during this period. So all the unwanted things are removed and burned to ashes. Bhogi bonfire is a major activity in the evening.
Caution: Bhogi Pongal and Pollution: In the name of cleaning, people burn plastic, rubber, tyres and non-degradable material causing environmental pollution. Such practices should not be encouraged.
Bhogi Pongal Puja
There is no special puja. Daily poojas and prayers are performed. Farmers do have some rituals like consecrating their tools and doing harvest of paddy and sugarcane.
Purchase for Pongal and coming Year
There is a tradition to purchase new clothes, sugarcane and new vessel to cook pongal on Bhogi day. Some of the old things are replaced. Many people buy new broom, dustpan and other kitchen items on this day.
Food on Bhogi Pongal
A traditional home meal with Mor Kozhambu is prepared in most homes. Some people also prepare kadala parippu poli, Bhogi ama vadai etc. Sweets are also prepared in some houses.
Preparation for Pongal
In most regions, Bhogi day is used to prepare for Pongal, which happens on the next day. It is also the first day in Thai Month. From 2009, Pongal will also be the Tamil New Year day.
Translations: sourced from the Net. But of course......
