Pongal is the Hindu festival of south India which is observed in the month of Tai according to the Tamil solar calendar for three days. The festival is dedicated to the Sun God just like the north Indian festival Makar Sankranti . The three days of the Pongal festival are Bhogi Pongal, Thai Pongal and Maattu Pongal.
The festival is named after the ceremonial "Pongal", which means "to boil, overflow" and refers to the traditional dish prepared from the new harvest of rice boiled in milk with jaggery (raw sugar), popularly known as kheer all over India. The sweetdish prepared is first offered to the Gods and goddesses followed by offering it to the cows and later shared by the family members.
But apart from the sweet dish, there is one more thing which is important to the festival - rangoli. People make rangoli, known as Pongal kolam, outside their houses on this auspicious occasion to attract good vibes and blessings of the gods and goddesses.
Made with varied materials from special rangoli powder to ground rice powder to flowers, people across ages and communities sometimes spend hours trying to create intricate patterns in front of their house doors. But if you need some guidelines about some of the most beautiful rangoli designs, we have compiled them all for you.
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