Book fair in Chennai

The 29th Chennai Book fair held in Chennai Quaid-e-Millat College. For the last 3 years i was buying book in this fair. The Book fairs like this will encourage the reading knowledge of people. In the 2004 book fair i bought a Encyclopedia CD, last year i bought a General Knowledge book and a Quize book. This time i have bought Da Vince Code Book, for a long time i was thinking to buy a novel, so this time i have bought. Ever year i send my dad to buy books, he told compare to last year, this year he saw many people buying books. The Chennai Book fair starts on January 6th and ends on 16th. In this fair there are 300 shops. In 3 lakh titled there are 60 lakh books are placed here. there are books from Rs.5 to Rs.15,000. This year 40 lakh books have saled and earned Rs.4 crore. 4 lakh visitors have visited the fair.

When i was in school, every year the school will conduct book faire, they will sale old and new books from the school liberary, every time i used to buy Drawing books and story books. We will take the book and they will write our names and we should give money on the next day. some time some students used to stolen books from there, and sale it to some students. We have a big Liberary room, every week we have a Liberary class, and used to go there and read some story books, but really we will not read, just sit and taking with friend and playing. But the liberary miss will have a big scale and used to beat students, who are not reading books, some times, i also get beat from here.

My Kaanum Pongal Celebrations

Childreans celebrating Kaanum Pongal in some Village

The fourth day of Pongal is known as Kaanum Pongal. On that day people go to there relatives house and some tourist sports, to get relax after celebratingof Pongal. Many time i have gone out with our famile, usualy my uncle used to take us out, to some toursit spot and some relatives house. I think 10years back we take a Maruti Van and went to our relative house in Changelpattu (a town in South India) on the Mattu (bull) Pongal day evning, so we got a good chance to see many people taking there Cows to Temple, and travell in Bullcart (Mattu Vaandi) with decarations, and we stayed in our relatives house that night and next morning, we and our relatives, went out to celebrate the Kaanum Pongal.

First we went to Vedanthangal Bird sanctury, in pongal time the season will be winter, so on that day we saw many birds, it was really wondeful to watch birds in early morning, it was a big lake with many trees, we can see many foreign birds lay eggs and after the season is finished it will take its child birds to there country. I have gone to that sanctuary 3 time, it is a very beautyful place, one side birds and another side is field. on Kaanum Pongal days, when we travel on village side roads, we can see many people going in Mattu vandi (Bullcarts) and tractor to the fav
orite places. we can also see like this in chennai's suberbs or urban areas. After watching birds we went to Mahabalipuram, Mahabalipuram it is a gift for us by Pallava king, some years back it was called as Mamallapuram.( when i want to tell about Mahabalipuram, i have a lot of memories, so i will tell you on some other days) and while returning from mahabalipuram, me, my brother, my aunty and my cousin Uncle had sit in the Dickey of the Maruthi Van and open the door, we can feel the fresh sea breeze when we go like this and we saw many people who are going to there favorite place and we told Happy Kaanu Pongal to them, all the people have surprizingly looked us, it was very funny. That days are very sweet memories.

Some districts in Tamil Nadu, will condect Jalli Kattu (catching Ox) on Kaanum Pongal.

My Mattu (Bull) Pongal celebrations

The Next day of Pongal is Mattu (Bull) Pongal, so on that day i will go to my Grandfather house, because my grandpa has many cows and Buffalo. Mygrandpa is used to bath the cows and buffalo's, (some times me and my brother also have put bath cows, by using the spray tube, some times my aunty will also join with us and spray the water on us, and we pore the water on her, and get scolding from grandma) and paint on there kombu (bough) and fix bells in the kombu and some designed belt on its neck. My grandma will cook Pongal and give it for cows and buffalo's and put pooja's for them and we used to shout Pongalo Pongal mattu Pongal. in that area my grandpa only have bulls, so neighbouring will gather and see our pooja's.

And my uncle and grandpa will take the cow to Temple, and we also used to go with the cow, but we will come in 20 feet gape with the cow, because some times, it will ran. We have a big buffalo, and we used to tie near a wall, so every time it will sharp the his Kombu (bough), i always have fear on that, one time when mygrandpa take that Buffalo to temple, that many people brought there Bulls to temple, when our buffalo saw the bulls, it started running, and all people who are all stand near the temples have feared and run see the buffalo coming towards them, and it became very hard to control it. After that incident we have stoped going with cows to temple. My Grandpa neighbour have a bull cart or bull vehicle and they will decarate their cart and take childreans on that to temples, i also like to go on that cart, but my grandpa will not allow. For me every mattu (bull) pongal give different experiance. when we go to villages on Mattu Pongal, they will celebrated this festival very grand.

Some times we will go to our grandpa village 40km from Chennai, on the Mattupongal evening, and we go to the fileds and see the farmers, who theycelebrate the Mattu Pongal. every time when we go toVillage, we go to the fields and take bath on the canals and the in Pump set (where they take the water form the well and spread to the fields. and eat Nungu (kernal of tender plamyrah fruit) and elaneer (tender coconut) and will return on Night, when we returning in night, the road will be very dark and the two sides of the road is forest. it will be very fear to travell on that road.

Pongalo Pongal (Boiling)

Wish You All a Happy PONGAL

Before i tell my Pongal celebrations, First we see, why we celebrate Pongal.

Pongal is a four day long harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India. For as long as people have been planting and gathering food, there has been some form of Harvest Festival. Pongal, one of the most important popular Hindu festivals of the year. This four-day festival of thanksgiving to nature takes its name from the Tamil word meaning to boil and is held in the month of Thai (January-February) during the season when rice and other cereals, sugar-cane, and turmeric (an essential ingredient in Tamil cooking) are harvested. Mid-January is an important time in the Tamil calendar. The harvest festival, Pongal, falls typically on the 14th or the 15th of January and is the quintessential Tamil Festival. Pongal is a harvest festival, a traditional occasion for giving thanks to nature, for celebrating the life cycles that give us grain. Tamilians say `Thai pirandhaal vazhi pirakkum, and believe that knotty family problems will be solved with the advent of the Tamil month Thai that begins on Pongal day. This is traditionally the month of weddings. This is not a surprise in a largely agricultural community the riches fgained from a good harvest orm the economic basis for expensive family occasions like weddings. The first day is celebrated as Bhogi and second day is celebrated as Surya Pongal, third day is celebrated as Mattu (Bull) Pongal and The Fourth day is known as Kannum Pongal day..

My celebration

On Pongal day, i usualy wake early, take bath, wear New Cloths and watch Specail Program. My dad will go to shop and buy Sugarcane and turmeric, at 11.30 or 12.00 we take the Pongal Pot to the open space in front of our house to do pooja. Every time i ask my mom to keep pongal on the fire, until it flows, but my mom dont hear my word,and take it as soon as it ready. I will argue with here, that when the pongal flows form the pot, that is the real pongal. I also like to eat the pongal which was cooked in pot, but my mom used to cook it in cooker. On last pongal i compul my mom to buy a new pot and cook the pongal on this, because when we buy a pot for pongal, it will help the poor people who sales pots and they also will celebrate the Pongal. after keeping the pot in open, we show camphor (in tamil Karpuram) to the sun god, and we will shout pongalo pongal. after finishing the pooja, we will be read to taste the Pongal, Vadai and sundal. and will continue the Special programs in TV. I like to celebrate atleast one pongal in Village.

Tommarro will tell about My Mattu Pongal celebration.

Jeevan's Bhogi celebrations

Tommarro is Bhogi Festival. The first day of Pongal known as Bhogi Pongal is a day for family gathering and is dedicated to Lord Indra, the king of the deities and God of the Clouds and Rains. Offerings are made to him to please him so that he blesses us for the plentiful harvest. It is also the beginning of the New Year according to the Malayalam calendar and before sunrise, a huge bonfire of useless things in home is lit that is kept burning throughout the night.

Some years back i used to celebrate Bhogi, before the Bhogi day, i will buy buffalo-hide drums. me my brother and ourneighbouring friends will beat little buffalo-hide drums known as 'Bhogi Kottus' till night 11pm and we will plan how to celebrate the next morning. we all will plan to wake in morning 3.00am, but me and my brother will will wake only after 5.00am. we will not audomaticaly wake, our friend will coe to front of our house and beat the drums.

We will burst, old Papers, and Mats, my friends will tell us to burst Tyers, but my mom will not allow to burst tyers. then finish bursting, me and my friends will go a round in our area, with giving sound on our drums. while we are in round, we need to give heat to our drums, so when ever we see some one bursting fire on front of there house, we will go there and heat our drums, an continue our rounds, we will go rounds untill 7.30am in our round, we take sugarcanes with us, when we get tired, we used to eat. All of them will tell us to broke the drums and put it in fire, but we will not do that, we used to beat drums untill out Pongal Holydays end, we will heat our drums in the cooking stove. some time i will hide the drums some where and tell my mom that i lost my drums, and i will take the same drum next year and beat. My brother will buy two drums every year, he will broke one on before bhogi day, and buy another on early morning. In villages some people will cook pongal in the Bhogi fire, but our neighbours will heat water for taking bath. For the last 3 year we have not burst Boghi and beat drums, because we have grown now no.

Every year on Boghi day, we hae school, because we have studing in christian school, so they will not give leave. when my mom tell us to get ready for school, we will start crying and tell, that our friends all have leave so we also like to put leave, them my mom will complain to our dad, but our dad will tell, only one day no, its ok. on Boghi, we clean our house for next day boghi. Boghi is the last day of Margazhi month, so my om used to put big kolams in front of our house, and we will put colors on that. they are the very happy and unforgetable days. Wish you all a Happy Boghi.