TANJUNG KARANG, MALAYSIA, January 14, 2019 (The Star): The Pongal festival which is a thanksgiving celebration for a bountiful harvest by rice farmers is among the important celebrations of the Tamil community throughout the world. Hindu rice farmers in Malaysia await with excitement to celebrate the festival tomorrow following the harvest. V.R. Arumugam, 68, who owns a rice farm in Parit Empat in Sekinchan, said the Pongal festival is a much-awaited celebration by Hindu farmers as it is very special for them. “We celebrate Pongal in conjunction with the end of the harvest season, where the harvest is dedicated to Surya Bhagawan (the Sun God). The festival is also to signify thanksgiving for the harvest,” he said.
In conjunction with the celebration, each family will gather around a claypot to look at the milk boiling over, signifying happiness and bountiful harvest for the family. “Rice from the first harvest will be cooked with milk and brown sugar and a portion of the sweet rice will be offered to Surya Bhagawan,” said Arumugam who has been a rice farmer for 45 years. Pongal is celebrated in the 10th month of the Tamil calendar called Thai Matham in conjunction with the harvest month in India.
See also: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/01/14/ponggal-a-celebration-for-all-its-a-good-old-way-to-cherish-a-tolerant-society-says-health-officer/