KUALA LUMPUR: Preparations by the Tamil community for the Ponggal festival tomorrow are in full swing.
Ponggal is celebrated on the first day of the 10th month of "Thai" in the Tamil calendar, which falls in January each year.
Ponggal is a harvest festival where the items from the harvest are cooked by boiling rice with milk and brown sugar, which is then offered to the Sun God.
The important part of this celebration is the heating of milk in a clay pot until it boils over, at which point family members assemble around the pot and chant "Pongalo Ponggal" before adding rice to it. This is to symbolically usher in prosperity and blessings for family and friends.
The three-day Ponggal festival is regarded as one of the most significant cultural events for the Tamil community in Malaysia.
Checks by the "New Straits Times" around Little India in Brickfields and Indian stores in Kajang showed large crowds of people purchasing traditional items essential for the harvest festival such as sugarcane stalks, jaggery, rice, fresh milk and clay pots.
Sivakumar Ratnam, 50, said he preferred buying the ingredients and decorative items early to avoid the huge crowds that swarmed the streets at night.
"Usually, a large crowd will converge late night at Little India in Brickfields to make last-minute purchases.
"To avoid the crowd, I prepare a day earlier by requesting a half-day off work," he said.
The father of three said Ponggal is a day of offering thanks to the sun deity and that everyone involved in the celebration should approach the day's preparations with faith and joy.
A housewife from Wangsa Maju, S. Kogila Devi, said preparing for the celebration early was a good move because it allowed more time for bonding with loved ones as they helped with the Ponggal decorations.
"I always prepare the items for the celebration early because I do not want to be caught shopping at the last minute."
She said she was looking forward to a traditional Ponggal celebration this year with her husband and son, unlike in past years when they had to celebrate the festival in a hurry before continuing with their regular weekday routine.
"This year, I will celebrate the harvest festival by setting up the Ponggal pot outside the house together with my family. We will prepare the house, as well as our bodies and minds, for fresh beginnings.
"Today, people will burn their old belongings in a bonfire outside the house to symbolise ridding of negative thoughts and allowing positive thoughts and blessings to come in."
Another shopper, who wanted to be known only as Anbarasu, was in Brickfields to purchase Ponggal goods for his neighbour.
"I began a shopping frenzy early this morning. I made sure to follow the Covid-19 safety measures, including wearing a face mask in crowded places."
A grandmother, who wished to be known only as Rajeshwary, 60, said she would rather celebrate the harvest festival on a simple scale at home because of the high cost of ingredients.
"I was unable to purchase any clay pots, which are a traditional and integral part of the Ponggal celebration, as they were too expensive.
"The prices of essential items for Ponggal have skyrocketed this year, so I have decided to cook the signature dish, sweet ponggal, in a steel pot. Later, I will offer the sweet rice at our altar."
On the third day of Ponggal, she said, farmers painted and garlanded their cattle in appreciation for their hard work during the harvest season.
"I miss seeing the villagers decorating their cows and the elders praying for the wellbeing and health of the animals."