Dharavi's Tamilians come together for Pongal

Dharavi residents gathered at 90 feet Road dressed in traditional attire to celebrate the Tamil harvest festival Pongal early Saturday morning. Dharavi, which houses a majority of Tamilian residents, witnesses high footfalls every year as they celebrate the festival together.

The Pongal celebration starts by boiling rice in a pot which is offered as thanksgiving to the Sun God (Surya). Every year, a crowd of fascinated onlookers gathers to watch the festival rituals.

Divya Gnana Mani, resident of Dharavi, said, "We have been coming here for the past seven years to perform the rituals. People start gathering for the festival from 5 am onwards depending on the time of sunrise. It is good to see so many people come together. In cities we only perform rituals on the first day while in villages it is celebrated for three days. "

In rural villages of Tamil Nadu the festival which is known as Pongal Thiruvizah is celebrated for a period of three days. The name of the festival is derived from "Pongal" — a rice pudding made from freshly harvested rice, milk and jaggery with cashew nuts added to it.

Explaining the ritual performed on the first day, "As the rice boils and the water spills out of the pot, we chant 'pongalo pongal'. It is then symbolically offered to the Sun God along with other oblations," said Smurti Nadar, 30, resident of Dharavi. Many people also wear new clothes and women decorate the house with Kolam (designs) using rice flour and red clay.