Temples in and around Colombo were packed with devotees on Thursday morning as Hindus gathered to celebrate Thai Pongal. The ritual of boiling rice and offering it to the Gods is a regular feature in Hindu temples and known as pongal.
This pongal on the first day of the Tamil month of Thai (January) done not only in temples, but in homes and humble huts has a special significance and is known as Thai Pongal. Thai is the first month of the Tamil calendar, not to be confused with the Hindu New Year which falls in mid- April coinciding with the Sinhala New Year.
Thai Pongal in Aryan circles is known as Makar Sankranthi, the movement of the sun into Capricorn.
Rites, rituals and festivals in Hinduism are based on scientific principles and sociology, and Thai Pongal is a typical example of this.
Crops that are sown in the month of July are harvested in Thai. The farmer who toiled for a good harvest considers the Sun as God and expresses his gratitude on Thai Pongal day with joy, enjoying the day with family and friends.
Prior to Thai Pongal, the home and surroundings are cleaned and on the day following Thai Pongal, there is Mattu Pongal, symbolizing the farmer’s debt to his animals that helped him to work his fields.
Our photographers M.A. Pushpa Kumara, Sanka Vidanagama and Berty Mendis captured these scenes at the Sri Ponnamabalawaneswarar devasthanam, the Arulmiha Sivasubramaniya kovil in Slave Island and the Sri Manika Vinayagar kovil in Bambalapitiya.
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