Pongal Vaazhthukkal!

Here's wishing you and your families a verrrrry happy Pongal 2008! Ungal anaivarakkum en iniya pongal nalvaazhthukkal!

This is a picture of my pooja offering for pongal today:

pooja offerings:
coconut (and coconut water), sweet pongal, venpongal, bananas, sugarcane, apples

Amma always has told me stories of Pongal, the harvest festival, from when she was in Tamilnadu. Since I come from a family of landowning farmers, pongal has always been the most important festival for us. Pongal literally means boiling over. I guess that's sort of a generic way of looking at the harvest time. It's a time of celebrating with family, and appreciating the cows (and family!) that have helped to till the fields.

Over time, the significance has sort of evolved a bit. But, I think it's great that we still take the time to give importance to such festivals even in today's busy lifestyle! So, I send everyone my heartiest wishes for Pongal and the year to come!