Thai Pongal - What it means to me! - Ramalingam Shanmugalingam
- Greetings! Greetings! This day of affluence (Pongal)
- Tamils true cultural day is universal in essence
- Selected parts of Lady Land is paved in colorful design
- Open to receive the full force of the benevolent SUN
- Cheerfully we adorn our bathed body with new clothes
- Anticipating the milk rice with dhal and honey for our sweet-tooths.
- Tamils true cultural day is universal in essence
- Selected parts of Lady Land is paved in colorful design
- Open to receive the full force of the benevolent SUN
- Cheerfully we adorn our bathed body with new clothes
- Anticipating the milk rice with dhal and honey for our sweet-tooths.
The significance of Pongal is essentially a Thanksgiving gesture. The significance of Sun was not lost not only on the ancient Tamils but also on other cultures. The Israelis? claim to the Chosen ones stand among those who believe in that humanity grew from the Adam and Eve creations within the last 5000 plus years itself has the element of the Sun in their very name Israel. (Iz + ray + el and el stands for Sun/God)
Dr. C. P. Ramaswami Iyer in his address given at a Symposium in New Delhi on the 14th February 1954 referred to a “Great Westerner, speaking of the conditions in the West, spoke more or less in the following strain: that increasingly the meaning and value of life are getting to be obscured the complacency, especially of the Western world, is receding and people are getting more and more perplexed about what is the sum total of the meaning, the value, and the significance of life. It is in the context or with the background of that reflection that the same philosopher went on to analyse the recent history of the Western world in comparison with the preceding epochs. He observed that in the medieval period, and up to almost the seventeenth century, in European history, there was a commanding purpose and a meaning of civilization and for life a reliance or dependence upon a definite divine purpose in human life.
That was succeeded in the following generation or epoch, the eighteenth century in European history, by what was called the age of reason, an age when doubt, questioning, inquiry and constant investigation took the place of that abundant faith in a divine purpose which was the guiding principle of the preceding epoch. The nineteenth century – what was called the: Industrial Revolution Period” – was a period of reliance upon industrial growth, upon the progress of manufacturing capacities for the purpose of solving human problems. At that time the quest was for economic progress.
That age failed in its purpose because in its wake came a time when economic progress was equated with the misery of a large number of people who contributed to the so-called prosperity in the economic sphere. But the succeeding years questioned the wisdom of equating political with economic liberties. It was found that prosperity in the industrial and economic sphere, even though attended with political liberty or freedom, did not protect the underdog and there followed a search for freedoms, a freedom from fear and reliance upon security. That period again has been succeeded by the present not very happy period of cold and colder wars and hot and hotter anticipations!
“May I remind you of what culture really means and involves in this connection. It has been rightly pointed out that science means a curiosity about life, art means a wonder at life, philosophy means an attitude an attitude towards life, and religion means a reverence for life. Culture embraces and involves all these elements it is a mixture of that never-ending phenomena, physical, psychological and spiritual, and the unceasing wonder and reverence at the ultimate facts of life. It is these things that make for culture…..”
Culture is connected with “cultivate.” Therefore, paying attention to one or two elements of culture and totally neglecting or disregarding the other elements is not helping in the growth and development of culture.
Most Tamils are ignorant about their place in the human chain. Periods of subjugation have lent a feeling of “Don’t care” attitude that augurs well for the crafty to take advantage of the complacency evolved as a result of years of “subaltern consciousness” among most Tamils. The situation is worse than the eighteenth century Europe for Tamils today.
There are several glaring cases of Tamil indifference exhibited by Tamil unconcern for events too numerous to list. However, irrespective of some of the elements of Tamil culture is under threat to the point of marginalizing or total disappearance, love for superstitious reverence cleverly orchestrated by charlatans continues at an unprecedented magnitude. Also the reverential admiration for celluloid celebrity goes unchecked that totally blinds Tamil sight to the dangers facing Tamil at large.
Pongal is celebrated for four days and is a good place to start. As has been pointed out earlier, it is a true Tamil festival without the trimmings of foreign religious connotations. Even though Pongal is ascribed to the plough for its significance, it is a Tamil cultural event that embraces and involves many aspects of Tamil life. The first day is called ‘pOki’ erroneously called BHOGHI and misrepresented as the day to rid the house of redundant or unwanted items.
Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Madras Dr. Portko described this first day ‘pOki’ celebration as “MARIAMMAN FESTIVAL” also. The second day is called the ‘vAcaR pongkal’ or ‘cUrija pongkal’ the third day is dedicated to the cow as the then source of draft power for the plough and the last day is a day of sports and enjoyment.
Since rain that is also called ‘mAri’, plays a very important part in our lives, naturally rain is revered and the first day’s celebration is appropriately called ‘mAriamman’ festival. Also since INDIRA the king of DEVAS and the divinity responsible for rain is also called POKI, this is also called the POKI festival. This POKI festival or INDIRA festival is mentioned in cilappatikAram.
The third day festivities begin with the bathing of the draft animals as well as the cow that gives us the milk that plays a very significant role among Tamils and the world at large. The fourth day is called ‘karu NAL’ and as in many other cases is changed to ‘kari NAL’, the significance of this festival is lost in this change. On the last and final day of the Pongal festivities youthful sports such as subduing the bull, cart races and other sports are staged for the enjoyment of the people.
Dr. Portko, is involved in the research to find more about the relationship between Tamil and the Japanese languages. In fact, he has observed close similarity in a Japanese festival celebrated in Japan during Pongal celebrations.
In his book “Tamil Studies Selected Papers” Dr. Portko wrote in page 497:
“The Vedic religion has caused serious damage to the folk deities and to the folk-worship as well. The Vedic domination and the Sanskritization process have skillfully converted most of the ancient deities into Hinduism.
“A detailed study of the temples in Tamil Nadu in an unbiased manner will prove the fact beyond doubt that most of the temples belong to the native deities which should be rightly considered pre-religious, non-Vedic and hence non-Hindu.”
Pongal perhaps is the only Tamil cultural insignia that has to a very large extent escaped the intrusion of the interlopers and need to be kept in its pristine non-religious form for the future.