One app for all your study abroad needs
Speech on Pongal: Pongal is a famous and eagerly awaited festival in southern India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The celebration of the festival begins on January 15 and continues until January 18. The four-day festival is celebrated following the rituals and traditions of Pongal with family and friends.
During the joyous days of Pongal, the entrances of the homes are decorated with colorful kolams to welcome the Goddess Lakshmi and to drive away evil spirits. Traditional dishes like Pongal are prepared, and prayers are offered to express gratitude to the Sun God for the bountiful harvest.
Table of Contents
Also Read: Essay on Pongal in 100 to 400 Words in English
5 Minutes Speech on Pongal
Greetings to all the teachers gathered here. Today, I stand before you to deliver a speech on the famous Indian festival Pongal.
Pongal is a famous harvesting festival of India that has a rich history dating back to the Sangam Age from 200 BC to 300 AD. The celebration is mentioned in the inscription of the Viraraghave temple, attributed to the Chola king Kulottunga. The inscriptions further illuminate the role played by the king in giving the temple land for the major yearly Pongal harvest festival celebration.
Pongal, as a harvesting festival, holds an important role in Indian agriculture. The agrarian community celebrates the harvesting day as a Thanksgiving festival by showing gratitude to the god Sun, or Surya, and the cattle for contributing to a bountiful harvest and prosperity upon the earth. The four-day popular festival is celebrated in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Puducherry. The geographical spread of the festival is not only bound to the boundaries of the states but also helps in embracing culture and religion.
While understanding the cultural importance of Pongal, it is important to know that the festival holds importance in the broader context of Indian traditions. Pongal, which is also known as Thai Pongal, is derived from the Tamil word pongu, ¨pongu¨ which means to overflow or boil over. It is believed that on this day, the women of the families cook a special dish named Pongal using jaggery and grains in an earthen pot and let it spill over. The spillover of the dish symbolizes the happiness of the family and prosperity.
Apart from cooking mouthwatering food, the women also decorate the floors of the house with beautiful patterns called Kolam, often called Muggu. Muggu, the geometrical lines that are drawn around the pattern dots, symbolize welcoming the Goddess Lakshmi and driving away evil spirits.
The four-day festival, which is also called the Bhogi Festival, Thai Festival, Mattu Festival, and Kaanum Festival, is not just a festival carrying cultural heritage but also carries the spirit of unity. The festival, on the one hand, symbolizes the feeling of gratitude towards Mother Nature, but on the other hand, it keeps reminding humans about thanking the creation while also reminding them about the continuous support that they get.
Also Read: Regional Festivals in India
10 Lines Speech on Pongal
Let us understand the speech on Pongal in 10 simple lines:
1. Pongal is a traditional festival celebrated in the history of the Chola empire.
2. It is celebrated mainly in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Puducherry.
3. Pongal is celebrated between January 15 to January 18 of every year.
4. The word Pongal means Boiling over or Overflow.
5. The festival of Pongal is celebrated in respect of God Sun, in the Tamil month of Thai.
6. The celebration of Pongal is celebrated for 4 days.
7. The four days of the Pongal festival include the Bhogi Festival, Thai Pongal, Mattu Pongal, and Kaanum Pongal.
8. The women decorate the houses with beautiful patterns called Kolam.
9. Kolam also called Muggu are geometrical lines drawn at the entrance of the floor to welcome the goddess Lakshmi.
10. Pongal is a festival that reminds humans about how nature keeps on taking care of humans as a child.
Also Read: Essay on Lohri in 100, 200, and 300 Words in English
FAQs
Ans: Pongal is one of the biggest and most important festivals in Tamil Nadu, celebrated with pomp and show.
Ans: The festival of Pongal is celebrated traditionally with family and friends. Also, thanksgiving events such as Jallikattu are celebrated to show the bonding between humans and cattle.
Ans: Pongal is a festival celebrated as a thanksgiving day to show gratitude towards the God Sun, cattle that are reared and used for agriculture.
Ans: Pongal is celebrated between January 15 and January 18 of every year.
Ans: Pongal is made up of jaggery and grains.
Related Blogs
For more information on such interesting speech topics for your school, visit our speech writing page and follow Leverage Edu.