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nghq;fy; jkpo;g; Gj;jhz;L 2034 tpoh cyfj; jkpo;g; gilg;ghspfs; fofk; jkpo;g; Gj;jhz;L 2034 kw;Wk; ijg; nghq;fy; tpohit fdlh KUfd; Nfhapy; muq;fpy; rPNuhLk; rpwg;NghLk; jhaf kz;thridNahLk; tPl;L epidNthLk; Nfhyhfykhff; nfhz;lhbaJ. tpoh muq;F Foe;ijfs; cl;gl kf;fs; nts;sj;jpdhy; epuk;gp tope;jJ. tpoh ehs; Ntiy ehs;vd;whYk; kf;fspd; vOr;rpf;Fk; MHtj;Jf;Fk; mJ mizahf ,Uf;ftpy;iy. 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Aty;NyH]; md;l; nuf;];iuy;];> fhrh nw];Nuhwd;l;> jpaNlhH md;udp> V[pMH epWtdk;> nfhk;GA+lH nuf;> ehjd; rpwpjud; MfpNahHf;F vq;fs; ed;wpiaj; njuptpj;Jf; nfhs;fpNwhk;. tpohtpid ey;yKiwapy; thdiyfspy; tpsk;gug; gLj;jpaNjhL epfo;r;rpia Neub xypgug;Gr; nra;j fNdba jkpo; thndhyp> tpsk;guj;ij xspgug;gpa jkpo;j; njhiyf; fhl;rp> tpsk;guq;fisAk; tpohr; nra;jpfs; kw;Wk; glq;fisg; Nghl;l 'Kof;fk; " 'ek;ehL' '<oehL' '<oKuR' nra;jp VLfSf;Fk; vq;fs; ed;wpiaj; njuptpj;Jf; nfhs;fpNwhk;. ,jpy; ''Kof;fk;'' nghq;fy; rpwg;gpjio nghq;fy; ed; ehspy; ntspapl;L cjtpajw;Fk; ed;wp nrhy;ypf; nfhs;fpNwhk;. nghq;fy; jkpo;g; Gj;jhz;L 2034 tpohtpd; ntw;wpf;F fle;j VO Mz;L fhykhf nghq;fy; jkpo;g; Gj;jhz;L ,tw;wpd; njhd;ikia> jdpj;jd;ikia> cz;ikia ''Kof;fk;'' VL njhlHr;rpahf typAWj;jp te;jJ Kf;fpa fhuzkhFk;. ehjRu jtpy; fiyQHfSf;Fk; ,ir epfo;r;rp elj;jpa ghthzH tHzuhNk];tud; FotpdUf;Fk; nghw;fpop toq;fp Nkd;ikg; gLj;jg;gl;lhHfs;. ,Wjpahf tpohehs; gzp ehs; vd;gijg; nghUl;gLj;jhJ fLk; FspupYk; muq;F epuk;gp topa tUif je;J tpohtpidr; rpwg;gpj;j midj;J jkpo; neQ;rq;fSf;Fk; vkJ csk;fdpe;j ed;wpiaj; njuptpj;Jf; nfhs;fpNwhk;. njhlHG - ( 416) 261 9099> (416) 447 6314> (416) 281 1165 athangav@sympatico.ca Significance of Thamil New Year 2034 and Pongal FestivalBy
V.Thangavelu Thanksgiving
is an important aspect of Thamil culture and tradition, as is the case
with many other civilisations. Most thanksgiving ceremonies are religious
in nature, as people of each culture thank their chosen deity for the
favours granted to them, though this is not always the case. The
Thamil festival of Thai Pongal is such a thanks-giving ceremony. It
is
a harvest
festival, the equivalent of Canada’s Thanks Giving Day. Thamil
farmers celebrate the event to thank gift of nature like the Sun and the
farm animals for their assistance in reaping a bountiful harvest. Thamil New Year 2034 and Pongal festival falls on the first day of the month of Thai of the Thamil calendar (On the 14th of the month of January according to Christian calendar). Thai (January) is the harvest season in both Thamil Nadu and Thamil Eelam. Interestingly
in Japan too, the harvesting day is celebrated on January 15 of every year
and is called "Kosho
Katsu". In
1969 Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi, Chief Minister of Thamil Nadu, ordered that
the day after Pongal should be celebrated as Thiruvalluvar
Day all over Thamilnadu. He also declared the day as a
government holiday. The
second day of Thai (Thai thingaL) is celebrated as Thiruvalluvar Day since
1974. Thamilnadu
Government also adopted the Thamil Calendar based on the birth of
Thiruvalluvar in 1971, in government gazette since 1972
and in all government offices from 1981.
In the solar calendar, January 13/14 has astronomical significance. It is the day the sun after making a complete circle is seen going on its ’ northward journey’ and observed from the earth the sun enters one of the 12 imaginary zodiac sign of Magara Raasi from Dhanu Raasi.
The
celebration of Thai 1st goes back to the latter part of the Sangam age.
According to the Sangam literary work Paripaadal,
this day is related to the Thiruvaathirai festival. Having spent the
entire month of Maarkazhi praying to god and observing ritual fasting,
young virgins celebrated the last day, Thai 1, with the Thai Bathing.
According to the work Kaliththokai, the rituals during the
month of Maarkazhi are observed in the hope that it will lead to wedlock
with a good-hearted husband. It also mentions the worship of Sun as a
deity. According
to the stone carvings [kalvettu] at Thiruvotriyoor, Pongal was celebrated
during the time of the great king Raajaraaja Chozhan 1. This festival was
known as the “Puthiyeedu” festival. Puthiyeedu meant the first harvest
of the year. Both
the Maarkazhi month rituals and the Thai 1st bathing rituals are practiced
even today. It was these secular rituals
that inspired the immortal hymns of Thiruppaavai and Thiruvempaavai by
Saintess Aandaal and Saint Maanikkavaasakar respectively
in the 9th century. Pongal
refers
to rice cooked in milk and sweetened with jaggery.
On a full scale it is a three-day festival of nature-worship. On
the second day thanks are offered to the cattle, Mattu
Pongal or Paddip Pongal, which helped farmers
to plough the fields, transport goods and provide milk to drink. On this
day the cattle is bathed, decorated and given special gruel.
Turmeric, kunkumam are applied to the horns of the cattle,
garlands, small bells and bundles of vadai are hung around their necks and
they are paraded in the streets. The cooked Pongal is given to the cattle
to eat. In
Thamil Nadu, a kind of
bullfight called the ‘Jallikattu’ is staged by
young men on the 3rd day of Thai Pongal celebrations. In
short, people, houses, and cows all take on an air of freshness and
radiance during Thamil New Year and Pongal. There is also the hope that “When
Thai is born, a way will be born.”(Thai piRanthaal, vazhi piRakkum).
Thai is considered an auspicious month to
hold weddings. On
Thai Pongal day members of the family wake up early in the morning, take
special baths, puts on new clothes and gather in the front of the garden (muttram)
to cook the traditional Pongal (rice pudding). Before Thai Pongal day
courtyards are cleaned, old wares are
discarded and replaced with new things, homes colour-washed and decorated.
On the morning of Pongal day the
front garden is pre-prepared for the ceremonious cooking. A
flat square pitch is made and decorated with kolam drawings, and it is
exposed to the direct sun light. A fire wood hearth will be set up using
three bricks. . The cooking begins by putting a clay pot with water on the
hearth. A
senior member of the family will conduct the cooking and the rest of the
family dutifully assists him or her or watches the event. The
moment of climax is the spill over of the Pongal during cooking. The
spillover of milk is a propitious symbol of abundance and good omen and
shouts of “ Pongalo
Pongal". Thereafter,
a member of the family ceremoniously puts three handful of new rice inside
the boiling pot. The
other ingredients of this special dish are chakkarai (brown cane sugar) or
katkandu (sugar candy), milk (cow's milk or coconut milk), roasted green
gram (payaru), raisins, cashew nuts and few pods of cardamom. When
the meal is ready it is first put on a banana leaf and the family pray for
a few minutes to thank nature, sun and farmers. Then
the meal (Pongal) is served with fruits (banana and mango) among the
family. Later it will be shared with neighbours, friends and relatives. The
richness of Thamil culture and historical traditions is symbolized in the
Thamil New Year and Thai Pongal festival.
It
is a joyous and happy occasion when
the poor, the rich, the farmer, the villager all celebrate the harvest
festival together irrespective of their individual faith. By
celebrating this festival the Thamils in Diaspora help to perpetuate our
rich culture, traditions, literary opulence, sublime philosophy and
socio-economic aspirations. Also
to give
an emotional link to our kith and kin at home who for the first time in
two decades are celebrating
Pongal in an atmosphere of relative peace. On this Pongal festive day, we should banish superstitious beliefs, darkness of ignorance and egoistic arrogance. Instead lit the light of knowledge and the warmth of human love and compassion among all people.
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