Festivities and traditional cultural events marked the Pongal day celebrations by students, faculty and staff of Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research in Chennai on Jan 13. Dressed in colourful sarees and dhotis, students participated enthusiastically in competitions, singing, dancing and joy riding in decorated bullock carts.
Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu. It marks the beginning of the Tamil month Thai and is a thanksgiving to nature—especially the Sun God—for a successful harvest. The festival is named after the traditional dish “pongal,” made from freshly harvested rice, milk, and jaggery, which is cooked until it overflows as a symbol of prosperity.
