From the archive record
Pongal celebrations at the Tamil Nadu House included a cultural showcase and traditional food. People attending the celebrations could be seen enjoying the Pongal feast and the feast for the eyes through cultural performances. Pongal is a four-days-long harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India. For as long as people have been planting and gathering food, there has been some form of harvest festival. Pongal, one of the most important popular Hindu festivals of the year. This four-day festival of thanksgiving to nature takes its name from the Tamil word meaning "to boil" and is held in the month of Thai (January-February) during the season when rice and other cereals, sugar-cane, and turmeric (an essential ingredient in Tamil cooking) are harvested. Pongal is a ha