Thai Pongal 2027

About Thai Pongal

Thai Pongal falls on the day the Sun enters Makara, the first day of the Tamil month of Thai. It is a thanksgiving to Surya, the Sun, for the harvest just gathered, and the word pongal itself means to boil over. The overflowing pot is the image of the day: a household so full that the rice spills over the brim. A well-known Tamil saying, Thai pirandhal vazhi pirakkum, holds that when Thai is born, a way opens, and the day is kept with that hope for the year ahead.

Pongal is the great festival of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and is celebrated by Tamil families across the world, including in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore. In the same days, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana keep Sankranti, Karnataka keeps Sankranti with ellu bella, and Kerala marks Makaravilakku at Sabarimala.

Early in the morning a large kolam is drawn in front of the house, often showing a pot, the Sun and sugarcane. The pongal is cooked outdoors, in the courtyard or in the open, facing the Sun. A new clay or brass pot is tied around the neck with fresh turmeric and ginger plants. Rice from the new harvest is cooked with milk, and when it rises and boils over, the family calls out Pongalo Pongal together. Two kinds are usually made: sakkarai pongal, sweet with jaggery, ghee, cashews and cardamom, and ven pongal, plain or lightly spiced. The pongal is offered to Surya on a banana leaf with sugarcane, bananas, turmeric and coconut, and then shared with family and neighbours. New clothes, visits and sugarcane to chew fill the rest of the day.

A practical note: Thai Pongal follows the solar calendar and comes on the day the Sun enters Makara, so it usually falls on the same day as Makar Sankranti. Families cook the pongal in the morning, and details such as which way the pot faces or what is offered alongside vary from home to home.