Friday, January 20, 2012

Pongal Day Celebration at Coimbatore

Pongal is one of the most popular harvest festival of South India, mainly Tamil Nadu. Pongal falls in the mid-January every year and marks the auspicious beginning of Uttarayan - sun's journey northwards. Pongal festival lasts for four days. Celebrations include drawing of Kolam, swinging & cooking of delicious Pongal in traditional mud pots.
I was driving through the busy flower market (poo market) on Pongal morning and couldn't resist stopping & taking a few pictures. Vendors obliged me by readily posing for photographs. After this we drove on to the Saradambal Temple to offer special pongal prayers. Here too we found ready volunteers for photo opportunities!
Mud Pots waiting to be bought.
Turmeric Plants
Little doggie relaxing in the shade
Poolai poo (poolai flower)
Sugarcane Displays Bananas a plenty Banana Vendor(his cart is hidden) Banana Vendors Sugarcane Vendors Sugarcane Buyers Flower Stall & Vendors Saradambal Temple entrance decorated for Pongal
Poo Kolam at Saradambal Temple(flower arrangement)
Sudents from Vedapatasala getting ready to chant mantras The priest distributing kumkum & vibhuti to devotees
The security guards distributing pongal prasadam to devotee

48 comments:

  1. wonderful images....Pongal always reminds me of Madurai...

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  2. nice shots...
    the feeling of pongal days is brought successfully by you...
    i think there is a dish also is there called "pongal"...

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  3. very sweeeet post..
    pongal reminds me that my mom is Tam-Bram :-)
    i relish tasty pondal prepared by her.
    and i loved the pic-showing
    Sudents from Vedapatasala getting ready to chant mantras....
    where a boy is showing victory sign :-)

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  4. Thoroughly liked the turmeric and sugarcane and the pots in the first pic and everything else :D

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  5. Amazing photos and so lovely people!!!
    Thanks for the beautiful tour!
    Many greetings

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  6. beautiful clicks, missing all the festivals back home..

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  7. love your post, but it is more You give us an adventure every time. I am very happy to be around. Love from Norway.

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  8. Pictures speak more eloquently than words.A wonderful collection that covers all about the festival.
    Thanks

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  9. Pictures tell everything about the festival .

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  10. these pictures describe the Pongal so beautifully and on a personal note whenever Pongal festival comes i miss my days spent with my Tamil friends at Port Blair(Andaman Islands).....

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  11. Wonderful flowers, fruits and decorations for the festival!

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  12. Beautiful post, wonderful images!
    I agree with Fotokarusellen,
    you give us an adventure every time!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Have a beautiful day.
    Greetings from Mette

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  13. More great insight into something different from where I live.

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  14. The poo kolam and flower arrangements are beautiful. The vendors really are happy for posing! Nice pictures!

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  15. Hello Ram. Happy Saturday!
    Each photo has a story to tell & I really enjoy the journeys you take us on with them.
    Happy travels, my friend & thanks for sharing. Thanks also for stopping by my blog. I truly appreciate your visits.

    Thoughts Of Beauty In The Stillness Of Dawn

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  16. Forgot to appreciate the pictures. Great series.

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  17. amazing photos ... they reflect the spirit and the tradition so well ...

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  18. Nice pictures. I have always wanted to do this on Ganesh Chaturthi day in the market nearby, but am so busy making the kozhukattai that I have not stepped out yet with my camera. Will do so one of these days. Market places on festive days are chaotic but have a charm of their own.

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  19. Wow, this post skipped my reading list. It's amusing how you have very cooperative "models". I was smiling looking at those two holding a "sack" (?) and still looking at you. But my favorite is the photo of those students. :)

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  20. So vivid and colorful! We have winter here, and it feels good to look at sugarcanes and flowers! Have a lovely sunday!

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  21. I enjoyed the photographs and commentary. Looks like a festival that I would enjoy.

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  22. Wonderful shopping experience during Pongal.

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  23. Hi Ram sir,

    Your post is nice pongal treat to me !!!

    beautifully captured photos

    thanks for sharing and visiting my blog

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  24. lovely pics!! Brings out the essence of the harvest festival. Happy Pongal btw, belated.:)

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  25. Colourful shots. Beautiful.

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com

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  26. I'm in love with these photos!!! the clay pots, the students preparing to chant mantras, the banana bouquets... I can almost smell the air of India :))

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  27. Lucky you to find people willingly pose to your camera!

    The bananas, sugar canes, turmeric plants, flowers, clay pots - present the visitor in the area with a festival of colors, shapes and smells. It's what we call 'festival within festival'.
    Beautiful!

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  28. Blessings...
    oh its all wonderful, thank you for the tour and the lesson. The sugar cane reminds me of home.

    have a great week
    rhapsody
    http://twitter.com/rhapsodyphoenix

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  29. Lovely images of pongal. We had a pongal dinner at my sil's house. All very nice dishes.

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  30. I like seeing all the things that are in the market....did not know sugar cane was a popular item..the dog in the shade is so cute

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  31. Interesting to see the crops and colorful bazaar. Very nice slice of live photos!

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  32. woww.. you captured the spirit of Pongal so wonderfully. Lovely pictures. :)

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  33. yummyy...pongal....
    This post made me nostalgic.

    I love this festival...:)

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  34. Wow! Those are some great pictures and detailed narration. I love Khara Pongal so much!! Yum!

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  35. Great photos and interesting reportage of Pongal. Yes, sounds a great popular harvest festival of South India.

    Love so much the photo of the "Little doggie relaxing in the shade".

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  36. Beautiful post. Unfortunately I moved out of CBE else could have caught you Saradambal temple.

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  37. wonderful post - coimbatore brought to me in the US - how wonderful is that - thanks a lot for sharing this post - very nostalgic to see India during the Pongal season

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  39. Hi there, awesome site. I thought the topics you posted on were very interesting. I tried to add your RSS to my feed reader and it a few. take a look at it, hopefully I can add you and follow.











    Travels in Coimbatore

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