M'sia Festiva! : Ponggal

It's hard to realize how lucky you are when it has stuck with you for 18 years of your life.

Living in a multi cultural society where mouth-watering food are everywhere on the strret.

Isnt that something?

Screw the politics. It's best if i skipped this one.

You cant deny that Malaysia is one of the wonderful place to live in.

So this year, giving that i get to see lots of interesting celebrations,

I've decided to carry out a project :

M'sia Festiva!

In fact, i got more projects for my blog.(so that people do not have to remind me to update SLM)

=P Hohoho.

Just wait & see.

So last week my school held this little competition.

We heard it's a cooking competition.

Ended up seeing Indians cooking rice in a pot on the floor.

Not to mention all colourful patterns on the floor.

Then my Tamil fren passed me a scoop of sweet rice named Pongal.

Just like the day they are celebrating "Hari Pongal"

It also mean "boiling over".

WOW!

One word can actually have so many meanings in Tamil.

Not bad.

It looks something like that.

Sweet rice cooked with milk,sugar,jaggery and more in an open pot.

Once it is ready, it is tempered with raisins& cashew nuts fried in ghee.

Then it is offered to God on a new banana leaf along with sugarcane, grain and my favorite,

SWEET POTATOES!

To be frank, even as a malaysian, i heard it for the 1st time.

Ok (lar). Shame on me(lor).

Basically it signals the end of the farming season and dedicated to the Sun God named Surya,

thanking for the solar deity for the good harvest and consecrate the first grain to the God.

The boiling over of milk and rice in a pot symbolizes material abundance for the household.

And it is usually celebrated around 14th of January for 4 days .

AIMST did it late obviously.

The most interesting part about this celebration is no doubt their "KOLAMs"

The ground patterns made out of rice flour.

It is auspicious to draw them before the sunrice so than Surya,The Sun God can see them & bless them.

The idea behind using rice flour is that insects would feed on it & bless it too.

I used to see these colourful pattern-ful thingy on the street to Youth Park in Penang.

No.I still see them.

I wonder why they never go off with the rain.

Hmmm...

the "1" Malaysia Kolam.

"Kachak" for my friends.

And i call it a day.

I got a friend who said to me before.

Blogging is not easy especially when you are stuck in a place surrounded with paddy field,

and throwing pebbles to the pond became something fun.

No.

I do not want to be on the same page as her.

But im changing my new year resolution no.6:

Blog MONTHly.

=)

I smell CNY.

See u all!