Pongal rings in

Bhopal: Sankranti is one of the few festivals that is observed across various cultures in their respective formats — Lohri among Punjabis, Pongal among Tamils, Bihu in Assam and of course, Sankranti among most north Indians. Here, we try to bring out the otherwise shy Tamils settled in the city, who are keeping the festive fervour alive while still missing their roots in South.Pongal, a Tamil dish made from rice and dal, is as delectable in its various cooking styles, some of which are highlighted by city residents here.
IAS Sibi Chakkravarthy, MPCVET director
“I’ve been in Bhopal since August 2014 and the most that I miss here are the beaches. Pongal is an ode to agriculture lands and we being far from ours, try to do our best to imbibe the same spirit. We purchase sugarcanes, a new pot, get ‘pachai arasi’ and perform the ritual of making Pongal in wee hours. Turmeric leaves are tied around the pot and it is said the direction in which the cooked Pongal oozes out of the pot symbolises prosperity. Women of our house observe fast and the call of ‘Pongal o Pongal’ once the sun rises, sets the festive mood. We buy our traditional clothes — pattu saris and veshti from home town Kanchipuram.”
P Sasikala, HoD at MCU
“We are here in Bhopal since 16 years. My husband R Ravichandran is in NCERT and we moved here from Tirupur, the hosiery city of Tamil Nadu, Visiting our farm, feeding cows on this day, extensively use of flowers are what we miss a lot. Meeting elders to receive blessings, going out with cousins and friends, eating sugarcane besides the festival environment are things we long for. Drawing Kolam, decorating the house with mango leaves, preparing Pongal, worshipping Sun God along with our friends who are our extended relatives are some of the things we do.
My secret Pongal recipe has equal amount of rice, moong dal, jaggery and ghee along with pieces of cardamom, raisins, clove and edible camphor.”
Dr N Ganesh, Jawaharlal Nehru Cancer Hospital
“My father came to Bhopal first in 1959 from Mandaikadu in Kanya Kumari district of Tamil Nadu. We live our traditions here every day and have ensured that nothing changes here that we follow back home. Right from designing of the house to the food to simple lifestyle, we have it all.
Pongal is one occasion we look forward to with my septuagenarian mother preparing at least 4-5 varieties of the dish apart from a whole lot of other southern goodies. We wake up at 3 am and draw Kolam outside the house to mark purity. Celebrations are at peak around 5am when the sun rises.
I personally am very fond of my traditions. A gold medallist in making the ‘poo kolam’, I have all the traditional plants at home with at least 38 variety of roses growing in my garden. These are little things we do to make ourselves happy and live life to the fullest.”
Making Tamil delicacies popular
Murugan Thevar, general manager, Jehanuma Retreat
I first came to MP in 1995 as an youngster with only one Hindi phrase ‘apka naam kya hai’ that I knew. I have evolved here as it is a very accommodating city, while my Tamil roots are intact. Our drumsticks and curry leaves still come from my hometown every time my parents are visiting me. Tamils hardly leave their food behind. Knowledge of Tamil food here is limited to idli and dosa. However, there is so much more to southern food. I make appam and stew very often and we are also introducing it on our hotel menu soon. My wife is basically from the north but appreciates our food a lot. We are also introducing Malabar parathas with kurma and a range of Chettinad curries on the menu as there is none one else in the city with such offerings.