Pongal is a harvest festival that
marks the start of the spring.
It is a thanksgiving celebration for
the year of bountiful harvest.
Pongal is one of the most important
festivals celebrated by Tamil people.
This festival is a multi-day Hindu
harvest festival of South India.
The first day is called Bhogi,
the God of thunder and rain.
Pongal is called Makar Sankranti
and it signals the end of winter.
The families carry out rituals such
as lighting oil lamps and they are
decorating the floor of their
homes with colorful designs.
The families cook a traditional
sweet rice with cow’s milk and
they serve the same sweets
to their relatives and friends.
~ Bhupesh Chandra Karmakar
New Delhi, India