Highlights Bonfires marking 'Bhogi' on Chennai streets from early morning No flight take-offs and landings at Chennai airport since 3:30 am With poor air quaility, runway visibility dipped to 50 metres: official
Pongal 2018: People set bonfires on Chennai streets from as early as 4 am.
Flight operations in Chennai were suspended for at least five hours this morning due to thick smog and poor visibility on the runway as Tamil Nadu celebrates the beginning of Pongal festivities with 'Bhogi'. The celebrations started this morning with people setting bonfires on the streets with agricultural and household waste. The Air Quality Index in several parts of the city was in the "hazardous" category. Train services too were affected.Over 40 ten international and domestic were either cancelled or delayed. Flight operations have resumed. A senior officer at the airport said earlier this morning, "The visibility has dipped to 50 metres and since 3:30 am we have no flight activity."Southern Railway officials said "most" inter-city and inter-state trains arriving in the city were delayed by "an average of 30-40 minutes," while outbound trains ran slow. Suburban rail services were also delayed by about half an hour but resumed normal operations by around 9 am, they said.Bonfires made using mats, paper, clothes and cardboard boxes dotted the streets of Chennai from as early as four in the morning. T Saravanan, whose family set fire to their old household items in front of their home in Thiruvanmiyur area and danced to drumbeats said 'Bhogi' is an important part of the Tamil culture. "We know it pollutes the air so we avoid (burning) plastics and tyre," he said.Not far away, another Chennai resident believes burning old items brings good luck. "Bhogi burning purifies the air," P Karuppan said. Over the last ten years, the pollution control board in Tamil Nadu has been raising awareness ahead of Pongal, asking people and children in particular to stop burning materials. They also award youngsters who spread the message. A senior officer said, "Bhogi is still a challenge as it's seen as part of a festival. We've brought down burning of tyres and plastics but a lot of awareness still need to be raised."Bharat Jain, whose flight to Mumbai has been delayed said, "It's in a mess. I have an important business meet in Mumbai. All would get off track."
Pongal is celebrated on the last day of the Tamil Maargazhi month and is believed to be the harbinger of good luck, bountiful harvest and prosperity. (Source: Reuters) Pongal is celebrated on the last day of the Tamil Maargazhi month and is believed to be the harbinger of good luck, bountiful harvest and prosperity. (Source: Reuters)
Pongal is a harvest festival that is celebrated by Indians all across the world, but especially in south India. The four day occasion is observed in the month of Thai, when crops such as rice are harvested and people show their gratitude to the almighty and the generosity of the land.
The word Pongal means ‘overflow’ or ‘boiling over’ and also signifies the gradual heating of the Earth by the Sun. This festival, which is also known as Thai Pongal, starts on January 14 this year and will culminate on January 17. The festivities begin with people boiling the harvested rice and then making an offering to the Sun God as their way of showing regard and appreciation.
Customs and traditions
Tamilians celebrate the occasion by making traditional designs known as kolams in their homes with rice powder. This powder is available in white as well as various other colours. The kolams are drawn to welcome goddess Lakshmi, who is believed to bring wealth, prosperity and happiness into the household. For the customary celebrations, various types of dishes using rice, jaggery and lentils are prepared. Being a holy month, many prefer to get married during the month of Pongal.
Significance
Bhogi Pongal
The first day of the festival is dedicated to god Indra. A huge bonfire is lit and kept burning throughout the night. Offerings are prepared for the lord and ‘Bhogi Kottus’ or buffalo-skin drums are beaten as people revel in traditional folk songs and dances. Houses are decorated with kolams and cow-dung balls with yellow pumpkin flowers set on them.
Surya Pongal
Day two is dedicated to the Sun god and a special harvest dish made of rice, jaggery, turmeric and lentils is made and brought to boil till it spills over in mud pots. This special dish, with sugarcane sticks is called Sakkarai pongal. Legend goes that Lord Sundareshwar breathed life into a stone elephant in the temple of Madurai on this day.
Mattu Pongal
The third day of the festival is to honour and show gratitude towards the cattle stock. Elaborate and colourful garlands and bells are tied around the necks of cows before performing the rituals. The popular cattle race jallikattu takes place on this day.
Kaanum Pongal
On the fourth and the last day known as Kaanum, which means ‘to visit’, people come together and hold grand unions. Landlords offer money, gifts and clothes to their tenants and brothers convey their regards to their married sisters. The festival is celebrated together with near and dear ones and families spend quality time together.
Legends and mythology
It is believed that deities woke up after a six-month sleep around this time and men who expired during this period achieved mukti or moksha. The festival marks the Uttarayana or the commencement of the sun’s six-month journey towards the north.
As per another popular legend, it is believed that lord Shiva asked his bull Basava to go to Earth and tell the men of the land to take an oil bath everyday and have food once a month for six months. However, due to Basava’s carelessness the bull ended up mixing the two and conveyed a message that all should eat daily and take an oil bath every once a month. This infuriated the lord and he punished the bull by cursing him to assist humans in ploughing the fields. This is why cattle stock is worshipped and tamed in the popular sport Jallikattu.
However, there is another story that states that lord Krishna asked the cowherds to not worship Indra god, in order to teach him a lesson. Indra’s arrogance had risen after he was made the king of all deities. In his anger, he made the clouds bring thunderstorms and rains for three days, but Krishna protected the people by lifting the Govardhan mountain. This made Indra god realise his mistake and Krishna’s power.
For all the latest Religion News, download Indian Express App
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Among all the festivals celebrated in India, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, like Lohri in Punjab and Makar Sankranti in Bihar and Jharkhand, is one of the most famous harvest festivals. The 4-day festival, celebrated across the globe wherever there is an Indian diaspora, starts on January 14 this year. It is also the name of a dish devotees prepare as part of their celebrations.
Pongal celebrations go back around 2,000 years and records suggest it was also celebrated during the time of the Chola Empire (9th-13th century). The first first harvest festival of the year, it is also referred to as Thai Pongal: Since it falls during the Tamil month of Thai which is when the sun travels northward towards the equinox, marking the beginning of summer months.
Indian traditional kolam or rangoli is drawn using white colored rice during Pongal. (Shutterstock)
On this day, devotees thank the sun god for their crop, and pray for a bumper harvest the next year. Tamil Nadu is a rice growing state, and Pongal’s translation means ‘boiling over.’ On the day of the festival, rice is boiled and given as an offering to the sun god. On the day of the festival, Tamilians prepare a special dish with the same name — it is sweet and prepared by boiling rice and lentils. After being offered to the sun god, all the family members enjoy the dish.
The festival lasts for 4 days and there are separate rituals for each day. On the first day, prayers are offered to the rain god and some cases people also light a bonfire and put items into it. This happens during the evening and there is also song and dance around the bonfire. The second day comprises of prayers to the sun god. Rice is boiled in an earthen pot and people dress in the traditional attire. On the third day, there is cow worship during which people put garlands on cows and take blessings from them.
On the day of the festival, rice is boiled and given as an offering to the sun god. (Shutterstock)
The last day is dedicated to the welfare of the home and the rituals which are performed by the women in the family. A turmeric leaf is washed and put on the ground after which rice and other eatables are placed on it. Women perform an aarti using turmeric water and pray for the prosperity of their brothers and husbands.
Follow @htlifeandstyle for more
CHENNAI: Flight operations were disrupted at Chennai airport on Saturday morning after smog reduced visibility to less than 50 metres. Bhogi bonfires lit by residents as part of the Pongal festival is considered to be the reason for the smog. Bhogi, celebrated ahead of the Tamil harvest festival Pongal on Sunday, involves burning of old articles in a symbolic gesture of bidding adieu to the old and welcoming the new.More than 10 flights have been diverted to Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Coimbatore.A senior Airports Authority of India official said flight operations were expected to resume only after 9am."The last arrival was at 2.50am and the last departure was at 3am. All departures are holding while other airports have been informed to delay departures to Chennai," he added.The flights that were diverted to Bengaluru are an IndiGo flight from Dubai, an Air Arabia flight from Sharjah, Gulf Air from Bahrain and Air India from Dubai.A British Airways flight from London, an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi, SpiceJet flights from Pune and Colombo and a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai were diverted to Hyderabad.A Sri Lankan flight from Colombo returned midway.
