Pongal is a famous festival celebrated in all parts of India. It marks the start of the harvest season and honors the Sun God for helping the farmers with a good harvest.It is a festival where families come together to celebrate nature’s blessings. The word Pongal means "to boil over," which is why the main dish, Pongal, is a sweet rice dish that is cooked until it overflows as a sign of abundance. It’s a festival of joy, gratitude, and new beginnings.
Pongal is celebrated for four days –
*Bhogi Pongal - The day when people clean up their homes and discard old things to welcome new ones.
*Thai Pongal – The main festival where sweet pongal is made from the rice of the fresh harvest. This is offered to the Sun God and Mother Nature as a token of gratitude for the harvest.
*Mattu Pongal – The day to celebrate the farm animals which help in agriculture. Cows and bulls are decorated and prayers are offered to them. The famous sport “Jalli kattu” is also conducted during this festival.
*Kaanum Pongal – The last day where people gather to meet their near and dear to exchange good wishes.
At Ekadaksha, the Pongal set was done the traditional way with “Mavillai thoranam”(Leaf garlands) and "pongal paanai"(pongal pot).
Starting with discarding stuff for bhogi,emotions that upset us – sad,angry and irritation were thrown into the bin.The teacher showed a picture of each emotion and expressed it while everyone copied the actions. The idea behind doing this was to explain the children that everyone gets upset and become overwhelmed with emotions, it is okay to feel so,but it has to be communicated in an appropriate manner. When communicated in an appropriate manner,it becomes easy to deal with those emotions and it helps to make one feel better. Once we learn to handle the worst in us in a better way,it then opens room for new happy beginnings. Thus,The sad,angry,irritation emotions were thrown in the bin and to welcome the emotion "Happy".With "Happy" faces they went in to celebrate the next part of pongal.
To welcome new things,To mark the happy beginning,To celebrate the arrival of auspicious month “Thai”,all the teachers and children danced with joy to Pongal songs.
Then came the traditional game,Tug of War. This was played between the classes. The experience class children played against each other and the express class children played against each other. Some children understood the game really well and gave a tough fight. The teachers too had fun playing tug of war among themselves.
Finally came the "Kaanum pongal" where,children came class wise,wished "Pongalo pongal Happy pongal" to everyone and took a group photograph.
Pongal celebration at Ekadaksha showed the concept of Bhogi Pongal,Thai Pongal,Mattu Pongal and Kaanum pongal with discarding unwanted things, happy dance, playing traditional game and greeting eachother.
Click here to see the photos of the Pongal Celebration.
Click here to see The Pongal Video.
Pongal is so much more than just a festival—it’s a time for gratitude, family, and fun! From the delicious Pongal dish to the exciting games and colorful traditions, this festival reminds us to appreciate the beauty of nature and celebrate life’s blessings.Lets welcome this auspicious month of “Thai” with hopes for new beginnings.
