TN-LD PONGAL

The Tamil harvest

festival Pongal was celebrated with usual fervour across

Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Puducherry with

people ushering in the auspicious Tamil month of 'Thai'.

Chants of 'Pongal-o-Pongal' rent the air in many a home

as the milk boiled, symbolising the gushing of prosperity.

People decorated their homes with mango leaves and

strings of flowers.

Special prayers were held at temples.

This year, the AIADMK government had distributed gift

hampers containing raw rice, sugar, raisins, cashew nut,

cardamom and sugarcane to all cardholders to celebrate the

harvest festival, in an effort to mitigate the impact of

cyclone Gaja in the Cauvery delta and drought in the northern

districts.

The ingredients are used in the preparation of the

sweet delicacy 'Pongal'.

President Ramnath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi,

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister K

Palaniswami and DMK president and Leader of Opposition M K

Stalin greeted people.

Purohit celebrated the festival with the villagers of

Sathurangapattinam in Kanchipuram district while Palaniswami

took part in the festivities in his native Salem.

The famed bull-taming sport of jallikattu was also held

in Madurai coinciding with Pongal, with a number of eager

volunteers participating in it.

Meanwhile, Palaniswami greeted Purohit.

"I have great pleasure in conveying my best wishes and

greetings to you, the First Lady and all the members of your

family for a very happy Pongal and Sankaranthi," he said in a

message to the Governor.

In Puducherry, the festival was celebrated with pomp and

gaiety, as people, both young and old, attired in new clothes

exchanged greetings.

The residents of the former French colony visited

temples to offer prayers on the occasion.

Newly-made earthen pots, sugarcane and other

festival-related farm products were selling like hot cakes in

most parts of the town and in the peripheral areas.

As the arrival of sugarcane in large numbers from

distant villages and neighbouring Tamilnadu created a traffic

snarl in and around the markets, police began to control the

traffic and restricted movement of vehicles.

Territorial Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi, Chief

Minister V Narayanasamy and assembly Speaker V Vaithilingam,

and leaders of different political parties, Ministers and

Members of Parliament greeted the people.

PTI SA COR ROH

NVG NVG