Pongal
These are the words for Pongal, the Tamil harvest festival in mid-January. The set starts with the festival itself and the greeting, then follows the morning of the main day: the new rice, the milk and the fire, the sugarcane and the turmeric next to the pot, and the sun that families thank. After that come the farm, the cattle and the people you visit. To remember the words, picture the morning in order: the family gets up, puts the pot on the fire, watches the milk rise, and then thanks the sun, the cattle and the farmers.
The festival and the dish cooked on the day.
The first word of the Pongal greeting.
The greeting ends with நல்வாழ்த்துகள், "good wishes".
New rice from the harvest goes into the pot.
A turmeric plant is often tied around the pot.
Where the rice flour pattern is drawn.