Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
Outdoor Pongal festival scene on bare reddish earth. In the centre a young man in saffron-orange robes stands beside two red clay pots with silver-coloured lids set over a fire, one pot placed on a mound of dried palm fronds. Around him people in white traditional clothing stand with hands folded in devotion, including an older woman in white with a shawl, a young girl in white, and men in white dhotis and shirts. Some men at left hold tall decorated staffs with orange and yellow banners. A tall clear plastic bottle stands nearby, and a rangoli kolam design is drawn on the ground at right. Dried palm leaves lie in a heap at left.

More like this

Open the gallery
A woman in an orange saffron sari-style wrap stands barefoot on dry earth beside two terracotta pots, each topped with a small metal plate and tied with straw, next to a clay pot with a leafy stalk. She smiles and extends one arm while gripping a bamboo pole. Behind her, people in white dhotis and white garments, some wearing rudraksha malas, stand among dried palm fronds. A tray of rose petals is held at the right edge, and a white plastic jug sits on the ground. Painted white and purple kolam-style designs with Tamil lettering decorate the ground, consistent with a Pongal ritual setting.2009-01-14January 14 20092009-01-14Outdoors on bare reddish earth, a person in an orange-saffron robe bends forward to pour liquid from a small brass vessel into a terracotta pot with a foil-covered rim, which sits among dried palm fronds and a small clay mound. Behind, devotees in white dhotis and white sarees stand around, some holding rudraksha malas and a pot of pink flower petals is carried by a man in orange. A colourful rangoli-style design decorates the ground at right, and the scene resembles a Pongal-season ritual at a temple procession.2009-01-14January 14 20092009-01-14Overhead photograph of a Pongal ritual on bare reddish earth. Two terracotta pots with silver-rimmed lids and painted white markings sit on the ground, with dried palm fronds stuck into them. A man in an orange-saffron garment and dark trousers, seated and leaning forward, pours or offers from a small brass vessel into the pot on the right. White-clad devotees in the background hold palm leaves, and white kolam-style drawings mark the ground nearby.2009-01-14January 14 20092009-01-14A photograph of a Pongal-style outdoor ritual on bare dirt. Two terracotta pots with silver-rimmed metal plates on top sit on the ground, decorated with white painted markings, and dried palm fronds lean beside them. A person in a bright orange robe with bare feet pours liquid from a white vessel with a brass spout into one pot. Another orange-robed person holds a tray in the lower right corner. People in white dhotis and white garments stand in the background, and a rangoli-style kolam design is drawn in white on the ground.2009-01-14Outdoor photograph of a Pongal-style ritual on bare earth. Two red clay pots with milk boiling over, one in the foreground and one behind, are decorated with white tilak marks and set on mud hearths with dried sugarcane sticks. A person in an orange-saffron robe, barefoot, holds a small flame in a metal lamp over the pots. Dried palm fronds lie on the ground, and white-clad devotees and a person in dark trousers stand around the edge. Painted white kolam designs and a yellow line-art motif are visible on the ground at right.2009-01-14Outdoor photograph at a Pongal celebration in a village street with sandy ground. A smiling figure in an orange-saffron robe, with a red kumkum mark on the forehead and short hair, stands centre-right, holding a clay pot of milk or rice near a stainless steel plate. Around them, people in white dhotis, saris and white shirts with rudraksha malas stand or walk; several women have hands joined in namaskar. Decorated umbrellas with red, yellow and green patterns and tassels, and tall wooden poles with orange and red flags, are held up. Heaps of dried palm fronds lie at left, and white and coloured kolam designs decorate the ground at lower right. Blue and white houses and palm trees appear behind, with sunlight glowing through the scene.2009-01-14Outdoor Pongal celebration at a temple-style courtyard with a clay pot cooking over a brick hearth on the right and a second pot on a brick stove at center, milk boiling over. A man in an orange dhoti and shawl stands at left with arms folded and a rudraksha mala. In the foreground, a person with dark hair wears a green leaf garland and an orange shawl, seen from behind. Behind them, a row of people in white dhotis and shirts stand under a mango-leaf and banana-leaf torana, with a woman in a red-and-white sari at left and a potted kalasha on a pillar at center. Dry firewood and sugarcane pieces lie by the fire.2011-01-15January 14 20092009-01-14Outdoor Pongal celebration on bare earth. A woman in white with a grey-streaked bun kneels and places palm fronds and straw into a red clay pot set in the ground, which holds a small steel plate of milk. Beside it a second clay pot is set in the earth. Behind them stands a line of people in white dhotis, white shirts and saris, some with hands folded in prayer. A young man in saffron-orange robes holds a steel plate of pink flower petals and a lit lamp, and another monastic in saffron stands at right with a saffron shawl. Dry palm leaves lie on the ground, and a plastic water jug and pale blue houses appear in the background.2009-01-14