Happy Harvesting

Pongal, as we all know it is a harvesting festival celebrated across India in various names and one among it is renowned as Sankranti. Though the festival is celebrated in various forms according to states culture and tradition it commonly signifies the harvest and Maker Sankranti marks the transition of the Sun into Capricorn on its celestial path.

Today the harvesting process has taken various stages in development and machineries taking over the man power in reducing his stress and to increase the productivity. Though we are advanced in technology somehow and somewhere we are still poor in productivity and many people are lacking for essential commodities to harvest and cultivate.

The harvesting is not an easy process like we proceed in Farmville and it need lot of patient and care before going for harvest in time. Thought I am not well aware about the process which could be simple and yet easy we need to feed the seeds and irrigate properly in time before they go dry completely or flooded with water to decay almost, but these days nature has changed irregularly to affect the food productivity that witness in inflation.

Not alone the process has changed; even there are no lands to increase the cultivation to feed the increasing population that taking place the lands to constructions and real-estates. Though we still have enough lands to cultivate grains and vegetables the interest among farmers have reduced to give prior to farming more than seeking for a settlement and questioning why we need to work hard when all comforts goes to citizens living in cities?

I am not intend to talk about the causes that affects in inflation or farming but thinking about the festival the things come automatically in comfort and we couldn’t think any more on this time than farming and harvesting which is the concept of this festival. Though we all have thoughts about farming and want to see it saved from the causes that affect the productivity, the non proper price fixed for seeds and grains produce the trouble among farmers and dwellers who affected by the high rise in price and money.

The Pongal is less than a day ahead and thinking that we are thanksgiving the nature and famers and livestock’s that support us to nourish and survive healthy, I feel so content and happy. The mood of festival cheering me the times thinking about Pongal, which I see it as the best among festival celebrating the harvest. On this occasion I wish that more youngsters come into the field of farming to help our poor farmers and save our future that truly depend on farming.

Here I go with my Pongal greetings that I designed the latter days and it’s always pleasure to greet with our own depict on thoughts and feeling and it’s been sometime I created greetings that I send to my cousins and I brought one of if here to greet u all a very Happy Harvesting festival of joy, peace, happiness and reliance between relationships esp. friendship...

There are two more cards in flickr here and here.

Thai Moon Pongal

Pongal, gladly known as farmer’s festival of harvesting and thanksgiving, and also celebrated as Tamil New Year for last couple of years is now here. The yearlong hardworking and tiresome farmers celebrate this day as Pongal and not alone the farmers; almost every Tamils in the world celebrates this festival as thanksgiving to nature.

The world celebrates thanksgiving and harvesting day in different names, but the point of view and hope is one, and its nature the heaven. Pongal is also celebrated in other parts of India as Sankranthi - the transition of the Sun into Capricorn on its celestial path.

In the basis of sun and moon, our ancestors calculated this day to be celebrated on the first day of Thai moon, which falls almost on January 14 or15, where sun diverts its path towards north after 6 months journey towards south. On this day people hope good things happen to them.

The pongal is celebrated for four days by marking bhogi, pongal, mattu pongal and kaanum pongal. In all these four days, pongal is considered as auspicious and holy day of harvest. On this day, farmers are seen on wealth and set to begin there auspicious affair and hope it continue throughout the month and year.

It’s sad to see, only on these days alone we think about farmers and there need and deed to us. Keeping away the faith, I appreciate this tradition celebrated for a true cause that holds our breath. More than the pongal that witness in cleaning up homes, drawing colorful lines and lightning clay pots to boil and flow milk as auspicious sign of vivid life, I love mattu pongal (bull pongal). It’s my favorable festival where we celebrate the cattle and bulls, who are our intimate friends of farmer in helping on many activities esp. the bulls that are used for plowing, caring, feeding…

On this day, the places around the bull stable are cleared up and a pongal pot is lit on a corner and bulls are taken into bath and painted colorful horns. Later the boiled pongal with varies vegetables are feed to them and set free on this day without giving much work to them and farmers get together in evening and next day by visiting there favorite places. Hope the auspicious begins on this day continues in our lives and esp. our life saving farmers. Happy Pongal

Country Pongal

The Pongal festival has something special than any other festival, where this only festival celebrates for 4 days. In foremost years, cultivation was the only main source of lives, so celebrating this in pomp way still continues till now for four days as Bhogi, Pongal, Maatu Pongal & Kaanum Pongal. In villages, welcoming pongal is such delight, so as cleaning the houses, whitewashing, coloring, and keeping surrounding clean and dignity, to draw kolam (drawing) to look better the place to make pongal. The pongal is mostly prepared with new rice, from the harvested paddies before some days to pongal, with newly grown sugarcanes without dullness of its greenish, turmeric bunch and vegetables, with newly did oven. Oven, not to think the one in our kitchens, it’s made out of three pieces of mud clays, that kept for dry a week before painting colors or to daub the dissolved bull dung on the old ovens to make burn with palm leaves.

The day before pongal is Bhogi. The things that remains after cleaning houses and those useless things to thrown away are burnt in front of there gateway. By this they believe the adversity clears and welfare spreads. On pongal, the elders in house wake up early to bath before sunrise, to lit oven and decorated mud pots to arrange in count of newly married couples, from one to three pots to prepare pongal. After worshiping sun and nature, the pongal pots brought into home for special prayers. The next day was Mattu Pongal (Bull Pongal). It’s the day to honor the bulls, which strongly support to cultivation and cultivators. On that day, bulls are bathed and there stalls been cleaned, to prepare small pongal within stalls, later the pongal is served little to bulls and distributed to others. On that day bulls are let free and mostly unused to works.

In some towns and cities in Tamil Nadu, on the bull pongal day they conduct bull catching festivals - known as Jallikattu, and other games that kept front bulls. The fourth and final day of festival is called Kaanum pongal. On the usual process, people go out with there families to beaches, temples and tourist space and spent there whole day entertaining themselves, forgetting there hard works and spared freely. Similarly the whole villages celebrate these four days happily and the main reason it continues for thousands of years celebration is because of its simply peoples friendly. As its needs no big worship or prayers, the only intention of this festival is happy celebrations. Let’s celebrate the Pongal, welfare to spread and delight to sunshine in our lives.

#Check for Chennai Sangamam below

My views on 60,000 crore waive, the mark budget

Was late to share some thoughts about Indian budget because to the lack of internet connection on weekend. It was a marked budget by finance minster to waive 60,000 crore (600 billion) farmers loan in his announcement at parliament. It’s a good news for farmers who struggle to repay for the banks without much productivity, but how much this cancelation of loans help there future?... it may reduce the burden of past and present, but for future they still have the way to go. I feel instead of looking at the loans, the government may get a solution for what sent them to this place, and how to save farmers from committing suicide defeating the drought. Commonly we know the water scarcity is big problem in many parts of India for agriculture and second the funds for producing food grains while taking care on feeding cattle’s, money for laborers, medicines and other machineries. Even though waiving the 60,000 crore, its not going to bring a great changes in there life, still with empty hands and only without burden of borrowed, but also there are people left out who where getting money from private lenders and those repaid the money in a struggle situation and those already left there life who couldn’t pay.

Then, there was no announcement or sign to concentrate on linking rivers in the current budget, if anything happen on this would make solace for whole farmers across country. After waiting for something like this, good that our state of Tamil Nadu has comes to find directions for linking main rivers in state to avoid situations of floods and droughts. This budget is like showing colorful wafers and tasteless inside. Except cancelation of loans, the government was not suppose to save the farm lands turning rise on real estate and looking for flat promoters. I was on the suburbs this weekend, was really disturbed were the most fertility soil marked by stones for sale and the farm wells and lakes are filled with waters, but grounds empty without green. I stop for why not anyone to save the golden grasses from the destruction by humans, and thought about the budget that nothing does to help people on saving the well growing lands to bury under concrete floors.

In peoples mind this 60,000 crore farm loan cancelation puzzled, where the government would increase the Tax and put burden on common people to adjust the loan. Finance minister assured the banks, it could settle the amount of 60,000 crore within three years, but I think would he still be the finance minster for the upcoming 3 years? But alike this, can he assure there won’t be increment on tax debt? And second they announced tax reduction for small cars and 2-3 wheelers, oh I felt who needs this. Already the cities are gone into struggle in lack for controlling the traffic and increasing vehicle population. These days even the suburbs are not left alone from traffic of vehicles… in this time the tax less on it would rise the situation worst without proper roads first. The increased in tax for Computers would sure affect the public, were it was much useful device these days for people and in times people mostly middle class and lower are looking for systems and knowledge. Looking at everything on loan or the differences in tax, is nothing makes big difference on public , where it sunshine here and somewhere the dark night exist, so we can’t expect the sun to shine everywhere, but here the shining was overlooked above.