FOR the first time in six years after opening his vegetarian banana leaf restaurant in George Town, eatery operator R. Vairavasundaram, his family and workers have decided to celebrate Ponggal in an open space, the traditional way.
He said his family usually celebrates the harvest festival at home by cooking the traditional milk rice delicacy on the kitchen stove.
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"This year, we decided to have our workers and even neighbours join us by celebrating the festival surrounded by the five elements – earth, fire, water, air and space," he added.
Vairavasundaram, 62, who lives close to nature, said since the restaurant is located in an open space, he and his wife P. Rathianambal, 53, wanted Ponggal this year to be a significant celebration.
"We get direct sunlight here, fresh air, green plants and trees and we even have chickens running around, so we thought what better way than to celebrate Ponggal here to give thanks to Mother Nature and the sun god (for) the bountiful harvest," he said when met recently.
Rathianambal said a day before Ponggal, Tamils celebrate Boghi which is a day when old things are discarded as a sign of moving on in life.
"We also clean our house and business premises, buy new clothes and decorate our home," she said.
She added that cooking ponggal rice the traditional way takes up a longer time compared to using the kitchen stove as the new clay pot needs to be placed on bricks, while wood is used for the fire.
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Vairavasundaram said customers to his restaurant will be served the sweet milk rice on Monday (Jan 15) to mark the auspicious day.
Ponggal, meaning “to boil over” in Tamil, is celebrated from the last day of the Tamil month of Margazhi (December to January) to the third day of the Thai month (January to February).
It is usually celebrated over four days.
