A four-day harvest festival for the Tamil solar month of Thai. Its centerpiece: a pot of milk and new rice is boiled outdoors until it overflows, and the gathered family shouts "Pongalo Pongal!" — a sign of abundance offered to Surya.
तमिलनाडु · चार दिन
The second day, Mattu Pongal, honors cattle for their role in agriculture, decorated with paint and bells — closely paralleling Assam's Goru Bihu, observed the same week half a subcontinent away.
Kolam, rice-flour floor art, is drawn fresh each morning through the festival. The fourth day, Kaanum Pongal, is set aside for visiting family and friends.