Pongal Festival, Serangoon - Singapore

Pongal or Sankaranthi is a thanksgiving festival for a good harvest, celebrated originally in Tamil Nadu, South India. It also heralds the auspicious month of Thai in the Hindu calendar. Boiling of milk in clay pots (pictured above) is one of the significant rituals carried out to celebrate abundance for a household. Notice that the pots all have painted mango leaves on their sides.
I had the opportunity to observe this festival in Singapore's Little India - Serangoon - one January week day.
Fresh ginger shoots are seen in a stall, perhaps reflecting the agricultural roots of this festival.
Purple coloured sugar cane are also made available amidst the varied produce and wares on offer. (above) The sugar cane is valued by the Fujian community of South China in celebrating the Lunar New Year, which often coincides with the Pongal Festival in Malaysia and Singapore.

Coconuts hold a very special place in an Hindu festival. Above image captures a display of young coconuts in their shell and some smeared with festive colourings. There are many stalls along Campbell Lane for the duration of this festival and it can be a sight to behold and discover.
Cattle symbolically honoured as acknowledgement for their toil on fields to help humans reap the benefits of a harvest. In Campbell Lane, Serangoon in Singapore, they are washed and had their horns painted. They were also garlanded with flowers, tinkling bells and multi-coloured beads.
Flower garlands, made from fresh blooms, are a requirement in any Indian festivals, together with fresh limes (picture above). Below, the main strip of Serangoon Road gets festive with colourful decorations hung overhead.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vietnam - Some Souvenirs

Image
Vietnam is a prime exporter of agricultural products, like rice, rubber,coffee and pepper, but to individual visitors, what comes across remarkably are lacquered products , embroidery, pottery, silk fabrics, weaved craft, stone carvings, bamboo and rattan articles, ceramic, wooden contraptions and paintings.  This is a result of long established cultural traditions and a developing economy.  The majority of the current population is under 30 years old, laden with the enthusiasm, agility and promise of youth.  The centre of handicraft is still central Vietnam, with the hub around Hue and Hoi An. You can see many water colours offered by local artists in shops, markets and pavement stalls.  I was more fascinated by origami-like paper cuts which you can come across being sold by vendors all over the place.  Best of all are the hang lanterns, available in all sizes, which are made from varying qualities of Vietnamese silk fabric, the best of which are found in Hoi An.   Th
Read more

Aunty Gaik Lian's - Straits Chinese, Georgetown, Penang

Image
A simple but appetising egg omelette as starters. Gulai Ikan Tumis or sour and spicy fish curry. The previous long standing branch of jewellers B.P De Silva, almost at the corner of Bishop and Beach streets in the old quarter of Georgetown, has a few months ago been transformed into a hub of Straits Chinese cuisine. Straddling two shop lots, located in an evening quiet location but near to the banking district on  business days, Aunty Gaik Lian's provides a refreshing change to the Nyonya food landscape on Penang island.  I have always found that the best Straits Chinese food is found in homes in Penang, like what my Mum dishes out, and it has been exasperating to be really satisfied with commercial outlets in this cuisine.  The Penang variation of such Peranakan food tends to be more influenced by ingredients and cooking styles from Thailand and the Malayan peninsular , when compared to the Malacca version (with more of stronger Indonesian influences and the use of the
Read more

85 Degrees Bakery Cafe Hurstville NSW

Image
There are several outlets of this bakery cafe for several years now in Australia.  Did they coem from the USA? Each franchised outlet is in a busy area, often in suburbs so-called by a diverse Asian demographic.   The one in Hurstville is rather roomy and lots of baked stuff on its shelves.   The base of Sydney operations is in Chester Hill, a suburb south-west of the Sydney city centre. Some of the cake creations would be viewed as rather leaning on the East Asian dimension  - Strawberry Angel (with chocolate base and top) and Mango Cheese ( with yoghurt).   However, to counter this perspective, there are also Death by Chocolate, US Cheesecake, Coffee Brulee and Blueberry Marble options.     The pastries are definitely filled with ingredients more suited to perhaps  Anime loving fans and non-mainstream cultures - for example, garlic, pork, tuna, green tea, red bean, shallots, pork floss, coconut, Hokkaido butter cream and Boroh or pineapple buns.    Sung
Read more