Pongal

Pongal is a four day harvest festival celebrated in India, beginning on January 13th or 14th. The word Pongal means “overflowing” and “abundance”. It's celebrated as a shift in the season- the end of winter- the day on which the sun begins to move northwards.

The sun is a symbol of wisdom, divine knowledge and spiritual light, and now it turns towards us and blesses us with life and energy.

Each day of Pongal has a slightly different focus and theme: 

Today is called Bhogi Pongal, which means "enjoy abundance"; it's a day to honor the rain god, Indra, for providing rain for the harvest. Today farmers anoint their plows and sickles with sandalwood paste to bless them, then bring in the fresh harvest of rice and sugar cane.

The second day is called Surya Pongal, named for the sun god, Lord Surya. On this day people cook sweet rice at sunrise, and watch for the rice to bubble out of the clay pot. The boiling over symbolizes good luck and prosperity for the family.

The third day is Mattu Pongal, focusing on the cattle who pull the plows. (Mattu means "cow".) The cows are cleaned, decorated and fed treats.

The fourth day is Kanum Pongal. Kanum means "to view": It's a day to visit friends and family.

Agenda for Pongal:

1. House cleaning and blessing
2. Have a fire
3. Make a rangoli
4. Make Pongal Paanai (Sweet Rice)
5. Recite the Surya Mantra

1. House cleaning and blessing:

Cleaning and clearing is a theme for Pongal, as it is for many 'change of season' festivals. Today, on Bhogi Pongal, everyone cleans house and clears out unneeded stuff to make way for the new. Folks burn and get rid of old household items and clothing, and buy new household items.

Today I gathered a trailer load of old clothing and books to donate to the thrift store.

I’ve also been doing some deeper cleaning this month, with a focus on mold, and this week I will clean the living room:

• Monday: Dust the furniture and in the corners.
• Tuesday: Clear the coat closet.
• Wednesday: Scrub the mold off the windowsills with detergent and warm water, then use a solution of ¼-cup bleach in 1-quart water. Wait 20 minutes and repeat. Wait another 20 minutes. Apply Borax solution and do not rinse, to help prevent mold from growing again.
• Thursday: Scrub the woodwork around the doors and the baseboards.
• Friday: Vacuum the sofa and around the sofa.

When I'm done cleaning, I will light a candle and sit quietly in my living room, watching the birds outside at the feeder.

2. Have a Fire:
The Bhogi fire is, of course, symbolic. Tomorrow the sun shifts to bring us wisdom, life, and energy, and so today we sacrifice our ignorance, delusions, bad habits, attachments, and vices on the fire.

A couple of years ago I celebrated Pongal with my art class students, and they wrote down the things they wanted to clear from their lives-- pollution, sadness, racism-- then we started a small fire in the fire pit, and tossed in our words.

Simpler ceremony: This year I had a ceremony alone in my room, with a candle, 

and I burned up all of my aches and pains, impatience, laziness, and gluttony.

We made a rangoli on red paper on the kitchen floor.

3. Paint a rangoli:

Women paint new rangoli designs each day for Pongal, onto the floor or the ground outside. Rangoli painting is an art handed down from mother to daughter in all parts of India. The artist uses very simple materials- rice flour, natural colors, and her fingers. In some places, women paint new designs each morning outside the doorway of the house, to protect those who come and go. In India rice flour is thought to have protective power.

I've put together a gallery of Rangoli and how to make them here.

4. Make Pongal Paanai (Sweet Rice):
On the second day, Surya Pongal, people cook sweet rice at sunrise; the pongal pot is the main attraction- it is decorated, and set up on the kitchen floor or in the front yard, with decorations surrounding it and the cooking fire. 

Everyone watches as the rice cooks and the moment the rice bubbles out of the clay pot, someone rings a bell, and everyone shouts "Pongalo-o-o-o Pongal!" The boiling over symbolizes good luck and prosperity for the family.

The Pongal rice is central to this holiday. You can make the rice on the stove in the usual manner, but if at all possible, try to experience the "overflowing" that gives Pongal its name.

For the Pongal ceremony, in addition to the food ingredients, you will need a bell and / or a conch shell. 

Ingredients:

• 1 c. water
• 2 c. milk
• 1 c. white Basmati rice
• 1/4-c. moong dal (yellow lentils) 
• 1/4 c. dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp. molasses
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder

1- Wash the rice and moong dal. Put water, milk, rice and moong dal into a pot and begin to simmer. 

Waiting for the rice to boil over, so we can ring bells!

We set up a hot plate on the floor, and that's where we cooked our rice. 


2- Heat to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally. 

Watch carefully: As it rises up to boil over, allow it to slightly overflow, ring a bell and yell “Pongal-o-o-o pongal!”

The overflowing of the rice symbolizes good luck and prosperity.

3-  Reduce the heat and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until thick and soft. 


4- Meanwhile, in another pot, melt brown sugar, molasses, and 1/2 c. water. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let the syrup cool a bit- it should be very sticky.

Just about ready to eat now.

5-  Add the syrup to the cooked rice-dal. Stir in cardamom. Simmer on medium, stirring constantly, until the whole mixture comes together into a sticky, gooey mass. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes, covered. It will thicken further as it cools.

6-  To serve, mound into bowls and sprinkle with roasted cashews.


5. Recite the Surya Mantra:
A mantra is a phrase which is repeated as a prayer. I will chant this mantra tomorrow, on Surya Pongal:

Om Hrim Sum Suryaya Namaha

(pronounced "Om Hreem Soom Soor-yah-yah Nahm-ah-ha")
which means: “Om and salutations to Surya (the sun), bringer of clarity and dispeller of darkness”. 

For a longer explanation see this site.