Pongal Pot Light

During the Pongal festival I was thinking to do something different and got the idea of putting led lights on an old Pongal pot. It was the same serial light I used on the Christmas tree, and I put the rice led around the pot and cut pasted cello tapes here and there to keep the wire on place. For the overflowing part of the pot, I blocked the mouth of the pot with a bunch of white paper and stick lights around it.

First I placed it on the windowsill outside the home and then shifted it to the brick stove, that we used to make Pongal in morning with firewood at the courtyard. And it looked really good lighting from the shutdown brick stove and we left it that way for the four days of Pongal festival and people passing by the road too would have got a glimpse.

Linking this post for  Good Fences by Gosia... and you could see our sitout fence/rai in picture above

Super Blue Blood Moon and the Lunar Eclipse

Since I know that lunar eclipse is happening at the evening of Jan 31^st I decided not to miss the event and go to the beach to watch the moon across the vast sky and capture the best I could.  Likewise we checked the shoreline by 6pm and there wasn’t a sign of rising moon and the sudden clouds were covered up as well. Thinking that we aren’t chanced to witness the spectacle, went on a short ride on ECR and even checked the Uthandi beach but still couldn’t seen the moon.  At last taking a U-turn before the tollgate, received a call from cousin have we watching the super blue blood moon swallowed by the shadow of earth? We rushed to the Palavakkam beach and the moon was almost up in the sky and masked in red shade.

I actually wanted to watch the entire show (from the moon rising above the sea) but wondered what happened in middle, we could only watch the unveiling show of the moon. I captured the moon from inside the car, through the windshield I couldn’t get enough detail but I was content with the night mode I used on the moon. Though I wasn’t comfort on the position of shoot, as I captured from the sedan (car) seat that had little access for me to use the camera, I was happy with the angle of moon which only made way for shoot. Being a SUV guy, for last 9 years, with high seating position, shooting with camera was somehow comfort but the sedan’s low seat wasn’t favourable to shoot.

My brother has bought a Volkswagen Vento and he wants to take us out and with a natural event ahead we decided to give a shot. The car gives pleasant ride and soothes even on rough roads, but the only problem was, being a low seating position the ingress and egress was very difficult and taking photos too become trouble. We still have the SUV and were seriously looking for a MPV to turn it into a wheelchair accessible where I could travel without transfer into the car seat. Hope you liked the photos on the moon.

Pongal Kolams for RGB Monday

Here is mom’s Pongal Kolams that she drew for the Pongal festival. As I told in my previous post mom took enough diligence to make all the 4 kolams, two at night and another two in morning along our courtyard and gateway. I know I was pretty slow with blogging these days but hope to be active in coming days and for RGB  Monday, I think this post had more  than enough colors to keep  away the Monday blue, but I know Monday is gonna end in  less than an hour. lol

The rose flowers kolam was put on the ramp in front of the house

The Pongal pot along  with sugarcanes and turmeric plants upon which we made pongal using firewood stove.

Peacock drawing/kolam at the upstairs door front

Pongal pot and flower Kolam at our doorstep

The same Pongal pot and flower Kolam (as seen above)  before added colors

Pongal Post

(Click pics for enlarge)

I don’t think it’s too late to post on Pongal, held last week. As always it was three of us (me, mom and dad) celebrated the harvesting and thanksgiving festival by making Pongal (boiling of rice and milk) at the courtyard using firewood on bricks stove. My brother was out of town, though he isn’t interested in festivals general, I love the tradition of making Pongal esp. in mud pot in open space as a sign of thanking the foremost nature source sun. I always feel festivals are to celebrate and it’s an occasion to be happy, at least for a while keeping away things that put us down or race life. Pongal isn’t a religious festival to celebrate independently at home and some are so reserved to come out to  show up cheers while sending greetings and I believe it’s celebration of nature and thanksgiving the farmers and cattle’s in supporting the production of food crop.

From night to morning mom drew 4 kolam along the courtyard and gateway, two before went to sleep and two at early morning. I will make a post of it later and here you could see the Pongal boiling/overflowing out of the pot. The days of Pongal passed by watch few movies and TV shows, and alike last year I went around our streets to check neighbours Kolam, but couldn’t see many unlike previous Pongal. The first photo here was the Kolam of my nearby neighbour, though it’s not a colourful kolam, I like the beautiful pattern and neat finishing from this young lady. The backstreet boys conducted Pongal festival contest, just like last year on Mattu Pongal day instead on Pongal and being a weekend along with festival many were out of town and it wasn’t interesting though and contests also went on untimed for people to participate. 

Kolam Critters

Kolam is a south Indian tradition and Tamils made it an everyday custom to draw patterns in front of the houses and Margazhi is a Tamil month (between Dec-Jan) where Kolam takes special attention and ends with Pongal, the harvesting and thanksgiving festival of Tamil. Pongal Kolam is popular during this time and many put great efforts to make it look wonderful and colourful including drawing something relevant to the festival. Today marks the first day of the Pongal, called Bogi Pongal, and it’s a favourite festival among kids till late 90s where people light fire in front of the house and kids sit around and enjoy beating little skin drums, heating up from the fire.

Usually it’s the worn-out things (from home) that put into fire, like rush mats, winnows and broomsticks the most. It’s a festival adapts nature way of celebration and what we fire is all natural elements, that carries less evil to nature. But it wasn’t same in later years, when people started to fire anything from plastic to tyres it becomes a cause for concern. Apart that, Pongal is an auspicious festival that bring hope to life and being a harvesting festival, nothing could bring hope and cheer to life when farming is the base of food and we couldn’t stop thanking the farmers and natural sources that help us living, healthily.

Coming to Kolam, I always admire the art made on the floor and apart my mom, aunt and grandma also make lovely designs and the critters (cat and peacock) here was drawn by grandma. Though these are simple ones it bears a cuteness I loved. Every year mom draw one or two colour Kolams for Pongal and I have no idea what she planned to draw this year and I would post that after the festival. I wish people a Happy Pongal!  

Linking this post with SATURDAY CRITTERS