what is pongal

vanakam,

lets understand the basics of pongal. Pongal is a festival celebrated by a farmer on successfull harvest. Because that's the proffession of him. There are lots of people in chennai would have never seen what is farming and its difficulties. Their proffession is different and so do their ancestors. So there is definetely a chance that they may not carry the value of the culture on pongal. But what about people like me who are in the internet age but still with the good memories of village and farming and longing for those pretty days. Chennai people may not do justice i agree burried in Television sets. But the rest of tamilnadu will not reflect the same. There is a loss of enthusiasm everywhere but still the culture and tradition is hanging in the greater part of tamilnadu. Television is a common problem for many things from studies to cooking to visitors to etc...but we cannot wash our hands on all those...its better we take holidays and teach them what we are actually and try to move forward. Instead if you go to office and work as usual then some years down the lane pongal will no more be there. Then you guys will start agitating the culture is spoiled by wester influence....if the western influence burries the culture by 1 foot the aggression you people show pushes it further to 3 foot.

I strongly agree your concern that the city people had lost the originality of the festives, the action towards that should be to groom it back and not to lay it down. By anouncing no holidays you literally kill the festives. Let there be holidays and we need to create awareness of what we are originally. Its a self identification but got to do it.

Why they need holidays is to groom back the culture in everyone of us and see what we are and what we are suppose to enjoy...i strongly believe in democracy so i am not forcing anyone to celebrate pongal at the same time don't snatch the rights of the people who are celebrating it. Leave it to the people let them decide what they want to celebrate thats why i suggested floating holidays. Teach them what their ancestors are and teach them what the villagers are and their need and their difficulties....instead taking a step back is spoling the sport

Teach people what are they and what festives they are suppose to celebrate and leave it to them. But don't deny the option for celebrating people that's the kill of democracy.

you yourself celebrated pongal with virumandi why you did that...why not someother day...thats the thrill you had and enjoyed it right...thats what festive gives you....its the same day but a colourful one with lovable memories. There are odd men and women around always and everywhere lets get them right instead of spoiling ourself...

seeing salaman papaya on the pongal day in a tamil debate is enjoyable, seeing the pongal coming out of the pot is enjoyable, seeing the entire family with new dress and smile is enjoyable...this is what a city guy enjoys...where as seeing rice everywhere in the house is what the farmer enjoys. giving them to the workers with new dress brings smile in the workers face is enjoyable....still there are lot to come...you may not experiment these but don't assume other's don't...

Don't decide what others want...they are there to decide it...decide what you want and live to it...this is my version.

gnana

Pongal & No Leave should be given.

Vanakkam.

I respect your views on pongal and being a tamilian i also understand the lines which hides behind those sentences. Honestly, come to Chennai and see how pongal is celebrated here. Thanni illaippa. Namma makkalukku pongal is one more a holiday in chennai. No body bothers about the pain & sufferings of the tamil farmer in the delta. Ingae nammakku thevai "Ulaga tholaikatchikalil [what is this wording about, have you ever seen a chinese channel runs a tamil film, apparum enna mannakatti, ulaga tholaikatchikalil]muthan muraaya oru padam" then, whole bunch of hindi, malayalam, tulu, punjabi, kannada, bengali actor acteress will talk about their oscar winning performance in the "dabba" films they have acted in lengthy intervus, in between there will be loads of advertisements "neyarkalukku engalin ulamartha pongal vazhuthukkal" [athu oru thani torture] and you will have all shops shut down, as if there is something serious for the whole day is happening.

Sorry Gnana, the days have gone. I seriously think, why people in City, barealone chennai, needs to be given holidays for festivals, which reflects the culture & tradition. As you see, the city invariably mortgaged its culture & belongings to the global monetary benefits and slowly giving away its soul to meaningless americanism & westernism. I donno about how a bangalore or a mumbaikar reacts to their own cultural festivals, but TN atleast in chennai, i can see a change in the mindsets of the people as a whole.

No one bothers about their roots over here. No body wants to care even about that. I am not a core cynical tamilian like you, but still hates to see my roots are being slow poisoned over here. Pity, nobody have time to look into this things. Kalanigar is busy criticising Sourav Ganguly for not giving follow-on decision on the last test match in Sydney and praises Yuvraj singh for his performance against the win of australia. That's the state over here.

Look around you and you get the feeling. I am getting it atleast, everyone carries a mobile fone, two wheelers, speaks in english, loans available in plenty [in between those things, you can note, they lose the temperment on things..patience, that's a dirty bad word in the city] certainly India is shining, but also brutally pushes things to a more money oriented, capitalistic society. We are creating money mongers & cash chase generation, who has no worry about their own roots and festivities.

Vijay TV is the only TV showcased the plea of Delta farmers on pongal. Rest all busy with their Starcast shows. 24X7 Channel's show, criticises this government reducing their annual agri related expenses 1.5% of the GDP to 0.7% from the congress govt. In the way of making $billion dollar reserves in the RBI, we are slowly making this country into a service shed and forgetting slowly our daily bread earners.

In this scenario, let me post back the ? why the fuck, i repat, why the FUCK, these people sitting in the city, and working for a souless american, british needs to be given a holiday on their pongal season. In fact, i can see a changing trend in younger community, moving towards yearend and Xmas celebrations [no ..i m not talking about religion over here, but sheer shift the mental shift] than to local festivals. End of the day, we need a leave purely because, annikku, fridge vangina 15% offer tharuvanga...that's all. Look at the no. of ads this time for Deepawali or Diwali, which ever the way you call it, this country is no more a sleeping country, which i born years before, this country has morphed into a customer-driven economy, where the respect is for monetary and not for festivities as such.

What they should have done instead. Soodu Suranai illathavan thamizhan nu v prove time to time. Is any organisation, has taken an initiative to provide a % of their pongal sales to these farmers. Nammakku athukkellam time kidayathu. We buried our hearts to TV serials and weep for earthquakes in Iran, bullet-sheds for Israel and criticises American chuvinism and slowly forget our own farmers who are dying over there..

Intha mathiri nilamayilae, ivanukkalukku Leave vidanuma....venam thalaiva, let them work on the day. Dont' worry about floating holidays, they will take the same for Valentines day, friends day, or for some south american festivals, coz of their company will be given a holiday.

No Leave for people in the city.

btw, we have seen Virumandi on pongal, 1st day 1st show...from thr we celebrated our pongal ;-) , ithuthanya yathartham. :-)

Pongallo Pongal - a column

Vanakam sakothararkalae, sakotharikalae

Tamilnadu's most celebrated festival is pongal thats the story once upon a time. The festival is celebrated for 4-5 days minimum outbeating the western christmas celebrations. Well thats the story long long ago. This year it was paining for my ears to see that the holidays for such a historic festival is shrinked to 2. The state goverment should spare their ears a bit and give atleast the third day as a floating holiday. Don' mistake me guys i am not for more holidays but give the flexibility within holidays by means of floating holidays atleast.

The festival is nothing than a celebration of a farmer after winning in his efforts of 1 year. I still remember me enjoying the festival at my village. Afterall my grandfather is a full time farmer. Another good thing about this festival is that people worship Sun and the cloud (Nature) and not any idiols empathising that Nature is GOD.

I also heard that there is a ban on burning of old things on Bogi day in the name of Pollution. I accept that causes pollution but it gives a true message that old bad things and mentallity is burned and promises tommorow to be new and Rejuvenating. Do you think only boji makes the pollution in chennai touch your heart and say. The goverment buses, lorries and public vehicles are the main source of pollution and not the boji. Not only me every child enjoys the boji day starting by burning old things with the drums in the early morning. Those were the very few days i woke up early ;) . Lets not kill our own tradition rather others tradition by new born rules.

One more horrifying thing is the scene of the delta farmers who celebrated this pongal with pain in heart and tears in eyes. Lets not forget them they manufacture our day to day food, this time not only the monsoon as failed on them but the goverment too. I am not looking to criticise this particular goverment but in general our strength is farming and not to weaken that.

All together i would rate pongal is the best of all festivals in india though celebrated only by tamilnadu in the name of pongal, it has no religion in it, it has no harm in it, all it has and offers is the true smile of our farmers ofcourse once in a year.

But this pongal was the sad one for me too being apart from my family and lonely and not even a farmer in sight. This is the first time i miss a pongal from celebrating but all i can say is i would not like this history of mine to repeat ever again. I took quite a time unusually to put this accross to you guys so that to plead you all to do something to grow the farming in tamilnadu.

pongollo pongal
vanakam
gnana