It is second week of January. Mrithi’s mother started to clean the house. Mrithika asked her mom “why suddenly you are cleaning the home, Ma?
Her mother replied “Mrithi, Pongal is nearing, don’t you remember. We should keep our house clean so that we can decorate and celebrate Pongal”
Mrithi’s mother took a
stool and climbed on it and started wiping the dusty fan blades of the ceiling
fan. Mrithi standing near her asked “Ma, first tell me, what is Pongal?
Her mother answered her “Mrithi, Pongal is a harvest festival. We thank Sun God for the abundance of harvest. Pongal means to boil and overflow. Now can you understand?”
Mrithi “Yes ma, but why
do we need to celebrate it?”
“What is the staple
food of India? Do you know Mrithi? Mom questioned
Mrithi thought for a while
and said “Rice! Rice!”. “Yes, you are right! Farmer’s sows and harvest rice. Tell
me some dishes which are made up of rice?”
“Idly, dosa, uthaappam,
appam, white pongal, brown sweet pongal.. Ma…the list is big” Mrithi laughed.
Her mother continued “see,
how many dishes we make out of rice. We should thank the farmers who are behind
the food we eat, this the reason we are celebrating Pongal”
“Pongal is celebrated for four days.
Day 1 is called Bhogi, we discard all the unwanted or old things and we are ready to start the month with new positive beginning.
Day 2, we celebrate Surya Pongal this is main festive day. We draw colorful rangoli, decorate our house with flowers, prepare pongal in colorfully painted earthen pots and eat sugarcane.
Day 3, we celebrate mattu pongal. A day for cow, we paint their horns and give them special food.
Day 4, the last day of celebration, it is Kanum Pongal. We visit the homes of our friends and family and greet them. This is how Pongal is celebrated” Mom finished her answer to Mrithi’s question.
Mrithi said “Ma, what
outfit I should wear on the day of Pongal?” Her mother replied “In your
wardrobe, check the second rack, take the newly stitched orange pattu pavadai with
that green top (traditional South Indian attire), you can wear that on the day
of Pongal”.
After getting all the
answers for her questions, Mrithi’s teased her mom saying “Ma, then why are you
wasting time, come lets clean the house, decorate it and celebrate Pongal”
These four days of
harvest festival are celebrated in different names in different regions in
India.
- Pongal in Tamil Nadu
- Pongala in Kerala
- Makara Sankaranthi in Bihar, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Nepal, Goa, Orissa, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Manipur
- Sankranthi in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
- Uttarayana in Gujarat and Rajasthan
- Magi in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. Magi Bihu in Assam.
- Shakrain in Bangladesh.
Nice one👏👏👏
ReplyDeletePongal celebration is explained in this kid's story. Thank You reader for your appreciation!
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