BECs lead the way in Ponggal Festival

Jan 29, 2015

By Jeffry Christopher Francis Xavier
About 100 parishioners of Tapah and Bidor gathered at the Church of St Mary to celebrate the festival of Ponggal. Thai Ponggal is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamils at the end of the harvest season to offer the first fruits of harvest to the Almighty as a sign of gratitude.

Around 4.00pm, the women from the BECs, started to cook the Ponggal. The men and children stood around, providing assistance. As the milk started to boil over (ponggal), the ladies shouted Pongalo Ponggal, expressing their joy. Then, Fr David Lourdes offered a prayer and blessed all the pots of Ponggal.

Following that, various Indian cultural dances such as kolattam (performed by women with two sticks held in each hand, beaten to make a rhythmic sound) was performed to entertain the audience. In addition, tele-games were also organised, in which most of the parishioners participated. Everyone was out to help their teams’ victory.

The flash mob was an exciting moment as youth and children joined in. A fashion show of traditional Indian attire, with children as models, was another highlight.

At the end of the celebration, all the parishioners took part in the fellowship which was served on the banana leaf. During this Ponggal celebration, the parishioners not only offered their gratitude to God but also created a bond with each other, which was evident as all present assisted to clean up the place before leaving.