This week was full of festivals in Singapore. Started on 13rd January with the first day of Thai Pongal, then ended on 17th January with the grand Thaipusam. Both are hindu festivals celebrated by the tamil community.
This is the main reason that I love to live in Singapore because I can experience many things at one place without travelling to India for example.
I always keep myself ready and up to date for the upcoming events, eagerly waiting for the new opportunity to experience something new and awesome.
Everything is so lively and intense, streets and shops are full of people, lights and colours. The smell of incenses and spices fills the air. Temples are also crowded, people are ready for a new season with discarding the past.
Pongal, Makar Sankranti or Lohri, different names (according to the region of India) but the same meaning, harvest festival or a new beginning.
Pongal is originated from Tamil Nadu where people are celebrating for four days long. Harvest festival and a kind of thanksgiving too for the goods of the nature.
Pongal tamil word means : "boiling over", which symbolize the ritual of boiling fresh milk in a new pot which overflows. The Thai word refers to the tenth month of the Tamil calendar.
The prior day of Pongal called Bhogi Pongal, when people clean their homes, decorate it, discard old things, throw them in fire and getting ready for a new season. This day celebrated as Lohri in Punjab.
One of my favourite song of Veer Zaraa is the best example on how to do this :D
Next day is the Pongal itself, when people drawing "kollam" in front of their houses or shops, cooking pongal the dish (sweet sticky rice) which will be dedicated to the God of Sun.
The third day is the thanksgiving to the cattle for the nourishing milk. This day called Maattu Pongal. They decorate the cattle with garlands, and apply kumkum on their forehead then they are worshipped.
The last day called as Kaanum Pongal. Families spend this day together, kaanum means "to visit", so they visit each other or go out to the beach or park with food and spend time together.
Meanwhile the temples are filled with devotees, voices of drums and clarinets can be heard.
The picture below has been taken in Sri Veeramakaliamman temple of a lady who carefully puts ghee to each lamps (deepam) then put kumkum to the sides. Another important "tool" is the lime, they say it drives away the evil spirit. It must be cut half horizontally.
It was my very first Pongal celebration so I made it special by tasting the pongal too :) It was distributed on tuesday for those, who visited to the Pongal Festival Village.
This is the main reason that I love to live in Singapore because I can experience many things at one place without travelling to India for example.
I always keep myself ready and up to date for the upcoming events, eagerly waiting for the new opportunity to experience something new and awesome.
Everything is so lively and intense, streets and shops are full of people, lights and colours. The smell of incenses and spices fills the air. Temples are also crowded, people are ready for a new season with discarding the past.
Pongal, Makar Sankranti or Lohri, different names (according to the region of India) but the same meaning, harvest festival or a new beginning.
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| Little India in festive mood |
Pongal is originated from Tamil Nadu where people are celebrating for four days long. Harvest festival and a kind of thanksgiving too for the goods of the nature.
Pongal tamil word means : "boiling over", which symbolize the ritual of boiling fresh milk in a new pot which overflows. The Thai word refers to the tenth month of the Tamil calendar.
The prior day of Pongal called Bhogi Pongal, when people clean their homes, decorate it, discard old things, throw them in fire and getting ready for a new season. This day celebrated as Lohri in Punjab.
One of my favourite song of Veer Zaraa is the best example on how to do this :D
Next day is the Pongal itself, when people drawing "kollam" in front of their houses or shops, cooking pongal the dish (sweet sticky rice) which will be dedicated to the God of Sun.
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| Kollam in front of our flat |
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| Ladies are drawing Kollam in front of a beauty parlour in Little India |
The third day is the thanksgiving to the cattle for the nourishing milk. This day called Maattu Pongal. They decorate the cattle with garlands, and apply kumkum on their forehead then they are worshipped.
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| Exhibition of animals, mainly of the holy cow :) |
The last day called as Kaanum Pongal. Families spend this day together, kaanum means "to visit", so they visit each other or go out to the beach or park with food and spend time together.
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| Pongal Cultural Village |
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| Festival Bazaar |
Meanwhile the temples are filled with devotees, voices of drums and clarinets can be heard.
The picture below has been taken in Sri Veeramakaliamman temple of a lady who carefully puts ghee to each lamps (deepam) then put kumkum to the sides. Another important "tool" is the lime, they say it drives away the evil spirit. It must be cut half horizontally.
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| Preparation for puja |
It was my very first Pongal celebration so I made it special by tasting the pongal too :) It was distributed on tuesday for those, who visited to the Pongal Festival Village.
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