6 thoughts on “Happy Pongal! பொங்கல் வாழ்த்துக்கள்!”
Thanks Sam. You even managed write in Tamil !
Dear batchmates, Happy pongal to all those who celebrate the event.
And for those who dont, here is a short explanation :-
What is Pongal?
Pongal is a four-day-long harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu, which falls in the month of Thai (that is, the January-February season) when crops like rice, sugarcane, turmeric etc. are harvested.
The term ‘pongal’ in Tamil means “to boil”, and this festival is celebrated as a thanksgiving ceremony for the year’s harvest. Pongal, one of the important Hindu festivals, falls around the same time as Lohri every year, which is around mid-January.
Seelan,
Thanks for the comment and the explanation of the Holiday. Yes it was fun going to “Google” school to learn how to write in Tamil!
Happy Pongal to you and your family
Sam
Happy Pongal to ALL .
We should ALL Celebrate this Day — after all we all eat Rice, Tumeric, Sugar Cane.
Thank you Seelan for the meaning behind this Celebration — I knew vaguely, that it is about ‘ boiling rice ‘ , but now, I know the real meaning .
Sad to say– that at the moment, in Srilanka today, there is an acute shortage of Rice , Sugar, Vegt products due to various reasons beyond the control of the average citizen .
I hope however, that there will be some form of Pongal Celebration in Srilanka today .
Ironically, y’day I arrived at my son’s home, with all the Christmas Food I made, as they could not come due to covid reasons .
I put the food in the freezer, and y’day we had Christmas Dinner together — with Freshly Boiled Hot White Rice !
Now I will remember Pongal and Christmas as One Feast Day for me .
Thanks Sam for the post and Seelan for the explanation .
Keep well – Many Blessings – eagleD
Happy Pongal to all ! Thanks to Seelan for the explanation of Pongal. “Pongalo Pongal”. Being brought up in a christian family, we did not celebrate Pongal. Thinking back it can be a non religious event, but a ceremony of thankfulness for a bountiful harvest made possible by Sun, Earth and water. ( I am entitled to my own right or wrong opinion !!) When I was growing up we lived in Dehiwela, Sri Lanka down Ratnakara place. We were surrounded by Hindus, christians and Muslims. Some we knew more than the others. On Pongal day our Hindu friends would finish their religious celebration at sunrise and then we wait for trays of Pongal goodies to arrive. We usually receive 4 to 5 trays. Shamelessly we compared the different trays and rated them!!
In turn for Christmas we send trays Christmas goodies. PONGALO PONGAL the usual chant.
News, Views and More from Batch'64, Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, SriLanka 
Thanks Sam. You even managed write in Tamil !
Dear batchmates, Happy pongal to all those who celebrate the event.
And for those who dont, here is a short explanation :-
What is Pongal?
Pongal is a four-day-long harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu, which falls in the month of Thai (that is, the January-February season) when crops like rice, sugarcane, turmeric etc. are harvested.
The term ‘pongal’ in Tamil means “to boil”, and this festival is celebrated as a thanksgiving ceremony for the year’s harvest. Pongal, one of the important Hindu festivals, falls around the same time as Lohri every year, which is around mid-January.
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Seelan,
Thanks for the comment and the explanation of the Holiday. Yes it was fun going to “Google” school to learn how to write in Tamil!
Happy Pongal to you and your family
Sam
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happy thi pongal everybody,regards paul
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Happy Thai Pongal to my batch mates.Used to celebrate at Bloemfontein.
But had a huge complementary Pongal Bfast at home today
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Happy Pongal to ALL .
We should ALL Celebrate this Day — after all we all eat Rice, Tumeric, Sugar Cane.
Thank you Seelan for the meaning behind this Celebration — I knew vaguely, that it is about ‘ boiling rice ‘ , but now, I know the real meaning .
Sad to say– that at the moment, in Srilanka today, there is an acute shortage of Rice , Sugar, Vegt products due to various reasons beyond the control of the average citizen .
I hope however, that there will be some form of Pongal Celebration in Srilanka today .
Ironically, y’day I arrived at my son’s home, with all the Christmas Food I made, as they could not come due to covid reasons .
I put the food in the freezer, and y’day we had Christmas Dinner together — with Freshly Boiled Hot White Rice !
Now I will remember Pongal and Christmas as One Feast Day for me .
Thanks Sam for the post and Seelan for the explanation .
Keep well – Many Blessings – eagleD
LikeLike
Happy Pongal to all ! Thanks to Seelan for the explanation of Pongal. “Pongalo Pongal”. Being brought up in a christian family, we did not celebrate Pongal. Thinking back it can be a non religious event, but a ceremony of thankfulness for a bountiful harvest made possible by Sun, Earth and water. ( I am entitled to my own right or wrong opinion !!) When I was growing up we lived in Dehiwela, Sri Lanka down Ratnakara place. We were surrounded by Hindus, christians and Muslims. Some we knew more than the others. On Pongal day our Hindu friends would finish their religious celebration at sunrise and then we wait for trays of Pongal goodies to arrive. We usually receive 4 to 5 trays. Shamelessly we compared the different trays and rated them!!
In turn for Christmas we send trays Christmas goodies. PONGALO PONGAL the usual chant.
LikeLike