Ponggal (tamil) definition – to boil, overflow

Ponggal celebrated yearly on January 14 is dedicated to the Sun God and signifies the end of the winter solstice and the Sun’s journey to the north. I consider it the Indian Thanksgiving where, traditionally, farmers throughout India, give thanks to the Sun for their harvest (rice in South India). It is also the start of a new month, an auspicious one, in the South Indian calendar. Now, farmers and non-farmers alike take part in this thanksgiving festival to give thanks to the Sun.

My parents started this yearly tradition in 1983. We had been celebrating it every year until 2018. It was a yearly ritual that we looked forward to. The house would be prepared; the inside and the garden cleaned, and the front of the house washed. Clearing of the old to prepare for the new.

Family and close friends were invited to celebrate this ritual with us. The centre of attention was the cooking of chakkarai ponggal (or ponggal for short), sweet rice, over a wood fire.

We did not celebrate ponggal from 2019 to 2021 as my parents passed in 2018 and 2019. Then the pandemic hit, and the 2021 restrictions made ponggal celebrations, the traditional way, rather cumbersome. This year, although the pandemic is still present, felt less restrictive. I decided to carry on the family tradition and celebrate ponggal. In keeping with the pandemic SOPs, we kept the number of family and friends small.  

My ‘ponggal project’ was split into 3 areas. The house cleaning, things to be done on ponggal eve and ponggal day. Of course, the star of the day would be the cooking of ponggal and I had some angst. The cleaning and preparations were easy but cooking the ponggal was not. I should give you some context first.

In early December last year my thoughts were already on ponggal. I had a sense of wanting to celebrate ponggal and I reflected on it. As December progressed, that sense grew stronger. But I did not verbalise it to anyone. Because verbalising meant committing, holding myself accountable to follow through. And I hesitated. I needed courage.

Here’s why. In the years that I celebrated ponggal with my parents, I played assistant to my mother. My mother’s ‘open fire ponggal cooking’ recipe was in her head. Only she knew the quantities of all the ingredients she needed. Though I had watched her (and made some notes) and followed her instructions intently, there were subtilities to this open fire cooking. And I missed them because I was not the one doing the cooking. There is a big difference between doing and following instructions. As the days passed in December my fear and doubt grew stronger too.

Last week I wrote about the 3 key ways we hold ourselves back: fear, self-doubt, self-sabotage. I felt them all! So, I made a plan to navigate my emotions by prioritising them. I knew fear and doubt would be with me until ponggal was cooked and completed. But I also knew that fear and doubt could lead me to self-sabotage. (Fear and doubt were keeping me short-sighted too. I could not see beyond ponggal).

I had to do something. The easy way out would be to NOT celebrate ponggal. Because of an imagined fear? That did not make sense. I got my clarity and made a decision.

I had to deal with self-sabotage first. The best way for me, in this instance, to overcome self-sabotage (talking myself out of ponggal) was to verbalise my intention. I told my immediate family as a first step. But I also realised that I could always change my mind with my family, so I told a close friend. ‘There, I’ve done it,’ I told myself. I had weakened self-sabotage. I had put my intent out and now I had to follow through. (One of my core values is accountability and I knew I could not let myself and others down). I invited other friends and family shortly after.

Fear and doubt were still with me. But I knew they would be.

On ponggal day, the cooking process starts with making the fire. This year we had wood from a chopped tree from the garden that proved to be good for fire-making. Minimal smoke and a quick burn. My husband had worked hard at cutting smaller even pieces to control the fire better. Past experience, when he played assistant to my father, had taught him the importance of the right type of wood for conducive fire making for ponggal.

Part of the ritual of ponggal is to have the milk in the pot overflow. Folk tales say that the future can be told by this very moment! So, you can imagine my angst. I remember one or 2 past ponggals when this didn’t quite happen. And because we use a large pot where we mix water (2/3) and milk (1/3), it takes the right balance of heat (fire), milk, and luck to get it to overflow. Milk alone would guarantee this (which was suggested), but I was not going to change my mother’s method to guarantee an outcome. That would be cheating. So, I gave it my all.

Then, the actual process of cooking the rice has its intricacies too. A large pot does not make for an easy cooking process especially when it is not done daily. And tasting as you go as one would do in normal cooking is not allowed as the first rice has to be offered to the Sun God, unadulterated! May sound silly, but remember, I was giving it my all. So, I used my other senses to gauge the doneness.

To cut a long story short, we celebrated ponggal on Friday (14 January 2022) and it was a magical success! My (my mother’s) combination of water and milk led to a magnificent and even overflow and the rice was cooked to perfection with my senses and instincts guiding me on the quantities of each ingredient I needed as the cooking happened.

Fear and doubt were still with me during the cooking but to a diminished level. At some point, just before the start of the cooking, I let go, I accepted and surrendered. I had done everything possible to get to that point, I had to let the rest happen. Many components were at play, and I could not control them all. So, I let my overall intent for the day guide me – to come together, have fun, enjoy the process, and keep my parents’ intent alive. And THAT paid off. The ponggal was delicious!

Had I listened to fear and doubt, I would have missed out on all of Friday’s laughter, conversations, fun, joy, blessings and the spirit of thanksgiving.

So, wherever you are in fear, doubt or some way trying to sabotage yourself – start first by discerning your intent. Let that guide you. It may take some courage but once you take the first step and commit, you can engage in the dance with fear and doubt to guide you and NOT hold you back

As always, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com

ps A slightly longer essay this week. The effects of the spirit of ponggal 😉