PONGAL, MATTU PONGAL
I started writing this blog about Pongal but then found this month - Margazhi or Dhanur Masam is a special one, packed with memories.
My earliest memories of Pongal are in Cement Nagar, Andhra Pradesh, where Appa worked. Every year beginning from the first day of Dhanur Masam or Marghazhi, there was a sense of excitement and competition. We would wake up early and rush to the temple by 6 a.m. Our Poojari or temple priest was a very learned pious person and an excellent cook. On the cold Dhanur masam mornings, the temple would serve Prasadams of chakkara prongal, ven pongal etc, served hot in a dhonnai(a cup made of leaves, stitched together with tiny sticks). It was pure joy to eat the hot prasadam. The prasadam woke me up early and got me to temple on time. [Amma ootadha sadham maanga ootum! or if the Diety does not bring you the temple, the prasadam surely will! The priests knew psychology! :) ]
Late evenings, the maids would clean the front yard of the houses and apply a layer of cow-dung. And the ladies in the colony would make wonderful rangoli or kolam designs with dots. The kolams grew in size everyday. And then colours would start to appear. And today Pongal day, would be the biggest, most colourful kolam. Tiny balls of cowdung adorned with yellow pumpkin flowers would sit right in the middle of the kolams.
At home, Pongal was about sugar-cane, sweet pongal, fresh root turmeric and turmeric leaves, Appa's poojai to Sun God. Amma would wear tamil podvai, make chakkara pongal and place all the pooja articles in the kolam outside the house. Appa would wait till 9 or 10 a.m. and then do the Pooja. Afterwards, came a sumptuous feast and new clothes sometimes. Amma would cut the sugar-cane into small pieces and gave us each a few pieces to chew on. In the evening, a well decorated ox would make its way around our houses, the cow-herd would sing some folk songs and we would give him a small donation.
Amma would keep aside some sweet pongal and and rice for the next day, which is called Kanu.
Early on Kanu, Amma and I would go the terrace or any place accessible to crows. Amma would draw tiny kolams and place three turmeric leaves. On this Amma would place 5 tiny balls of chakkara pongal, 5 tiny balls of curd rice, vethala pakku pazham.(beetle leaves, nuts). She would take the fresh tumeric and grind it against the mortar or a hard stone and apply to my chin and hers.
Then came the ritual of calling the kakas - "Kannu podi vechen Kakka podi vechen. Kakka kootum pole en kootum mum chendu iruukkanam. Kakka kootum kalanjalum en kootum kalaya pradhu". And a namaskaram. After which we could not touch anything and had to run for a hair bath.
For Amma, this continues to be a very special ritual.
Since moving to Kerala in my teenage years, we continued the rituals at home on Pongal and Kanu but in a bigger group with my Paati(Chithi as we call her, leading the proceedings). We had early morning Usha Poojai, but I missed the kolams and festivity of Pongal in Andhra Pradesh.
Pongal was an occasion for many of us to get together at Trikkur with my grand-parents. Also this month turned out to be special with Sastha Preethis and bhajans. And a new dimension came up with Sabirimalai, every Pongal evening, our entire family, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents gathered in front of the tv for the annual Makara Villakku live telecast from Sabiri Malai. We would all be quiet and then suddenly the star would come and then the lamp and we would be so quiet and deeply affected, sometimes a little bit teary eyed.
In Andhra, the day before Pongal is called Bhogi and it was in essence spring cleaning and all unwanted things would be burnt away in huge bonfire. The bonfire was also a place to gather round together in the evening, huddled against the cold.
When I moved to Bangalore, our Ganesha temple would have Marghazhi Bhajans early in the mornings. A group of people in Chandra Layout, would go around the apartments and then make their way to the temple. It was early mornings 5:30 am, really cold esp in Bangalore but the bhajan group used to very good and my Manni would join it. It was too cold for me so I stayed home and listened to it from the balcony.
In Madras, Margazhi is a special special month indeed for lovers of classical music and dance. The month turns Madras into a huge wedding kind of frenzy, with rasikas from all over the world coming to attend the various concerts, recitals, performances, lectures, lecture demonstrations. Music Academy, various Sabhas and Fine Arts societies compete with one another to get the cream of the cream to perform at their venues. And for a few weeks, the city and rasikas are soaked in melodious waves, with artists bettering the other!What a great way to end the year and welcome a new one!
I have also come to recognize that this is a special month, especially for the Vaishnava sect. My parents tune on to Sankara or TTD Sapthagiri early in the mornings for Thirupavai. They listen to the day's pasuram. The other day they were telling me during the Margazhi concerts, the artists would sing the day's pasuram but that tradition seems to be no longer practiced.
And this month also has the Swargavasal on Vaikunta Ekadesi day, a special day in Sree Rangam and other Krishna temples. We have a symbolic door at our local Saidapet temple.
Pongal is traditionally a harvest festival, a festival to worship Sun-God for good health, peace and prosperity! But for me it has come to symbolize creativity and expression - be it in kolams, music or dance. And devotion!
My earliest memories of Pongal are in Cement Nagar, Andhra Pradesh, where Appa worked. Every year beginning from the first day of Dhanur Masam or Marghazhi, there was a sense of excitement and competition. We would wake up early and rush to the temple by 6 a.m. Our Poojari or temple priest was a very learned pious person and an excellent cook. On the cold Dhanur masam mornings, the temple would serve Prasadams of chakkara prongal, ven pongal etc, served hot in a dhonnai(a cup made of leaves, stitched together with tiny sticks). It was pure joy to eat the hot prasadam. The prasadam woke me up early and got me to temple on time. [Amma ootadha sadham maanga ootum! or if the Diety does not bring you the temple, the prasadam surely will! The priests knew psychology! :) ]
Late evenings, the maids would clean the front yard of the houses and apply a layer of cow-dung. And the ladies in the colony would make wonderful rangoli or kolam designs with dots. The kolams grew in size everyday. And then colours would start to appear. And today Pongal day, would be the biggest, most colourful kolam. Tiny balls of cowdung adorned with yellow pumpkin flowers would sit right in the middle of the kolams.
At home, Pongal was about sugar-cane, sweet pongal, fresh root turmeric and turmeric leaves, Appa's poojai to Sun God. Amma would wear tamil podvai, make chakkara pongal and place all the pooja articles in the kolam outside the house. Appa would wait till 9 or 10 a.m. and then do the Pooja. Afterwards, came a sumptuous feast and new clothes sometimes. Amma would cut the sugar-cane into small pieces and gave us each a few pieces to chew on. In the evening, a well decorated ox would make its way around our houses, the cow-herd would sing some folk songs and we would give him a small donation.
Amma would keep aside some sweet pongal and and rice for the next day, which is called Kanu.
Early on Kanu, Amma and I would go the terrace or any place accessible to crows. Amma would draw tiny kolams and place three turmeric leaves. On this Amma would place 5 tiny balls of chakkara pongal, 5 tiny balls of curd rice, vethala pakku pazham.(beetle leaves, nuts). She would take the fresh tumeric and grind it against the mortar or a hard stone and apply to my chin and hers.
Then came the ritual of calling the kakas - "Kannu podi vechen Kakka podi vechen. Kakka kootum pole en kootum mum chendu iruukkanam. Kakka kootum kalanjalum en kootum kalaya pradhu". And a namaskaram. After which we could not touch anything and had to run for a hair bath.
For Amma, this continues to be a very special ritual.
Since moving to Kerala in my teenage years, we continued the rituals at home on Pongal and Kanu but in a bigger group with my Paati(Chithi as we call her, leading the proceedings). We had early morning Usha Poojai, but I missed the kolams and festivity of Pongal in Andhra Pradesh.
Pongal was an occasion for many of us to get together at Trikkur with my grand-parents. Also this month turned out to be special with Sastha Preethis and bhajans. And a new dimension came up with Sabirimalai, every Pongal evening, our entire family, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents gathered in front of the tv for the annual Makara Villakku live telecast from Sabiri Malai. We would all be quiet and then suddenly the star would come and then the lamp and we would be so quiet and deeply affected, sometimes a little bit teary eyed.
In Andhra, the day before Pongal is called Bhogi and it was in essence spring cleaning and all unwanted things would be burnt away in huge bonfire. The bonfire was also a place to gather round together in the evening, huddled against the cold.
When I moved to Bangalore, our Ganesha temple would have Marghazhi Bhajans early in the mornings. A group of people in Chandra Layout, would go around the apartments and then make their way to the temple. It was early mornings 5:30 am, really cold esp in Bangalore but the bhajan group used to very good and my Manni would join it. It was too cold for me so I stayed home and listened to it from the balcony.
In Madras, Margazhi is a special special month indeed for lovers of classical music and dance. The month turns Madras into a huge wedding kind of frenzy, with rasikas from all over the world coming to attend the various concerts, recitals, performances, lectures, lecture demonstrations. Music Academy, various Sabhas and Fine Arts societies compete with one another to get the cream of the cream to perform at their venues. And for a few weeks, the city and rasikas are soaked in melodious waves, with artists bettering the other!What a great way to end the year and welcome a new one!
I have also come to recognize that this is a special month, especially for the Vaishnava sect. My parents tune on to Sankara or TTD Sapthagiri early in the mornings for Thirupavai. They listen to the day's pasuram. The other day they were telling me during the Margazhi concerts, the artists would sing the day's pasuram but that tradition seems to be no longer practiced.
And this month also has the Swargavasal on Vaikunta Ekadesi day, a special day in Sree Rangam and other Krishna temples. We have a symbolic door at our local Saidapet temple.
Pongal is traditionally a harvest festival, a festival to worship Sun-God for good health, peace and prosperity! But for me it has come to symbolize creativity and expression - be it in kolams, music or dance. And devotion!