TAMIL COMMUNITY NATIONWIDE MARKS PONGGAL, HONOURING TRADITION AND FAMILY TIES

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 (Bernama) -- The Tamil community across the country joyfully celebrated the Ponggal festival today, marking the harvest thanksgiving in homes and temples with a deep-rooted tradition.

In Kuala Lumpur, celebrations at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple commenced with morning prayers, followed by the ceremonial cooking of Ponggal.

"This festival holds deep significance for us. It is a heartfelt expression of gratitude to God, to nature, and for the year's harvest. It is also a time that reinforces family ties and community spirit," explained temple chairman Tan Sri R Nadarajah. 

Meanwhile, in NEGERI SEMBILAN, homemaker Thilagah Shanmugam, 41, gathered with her family to mark the occasion.

Preparations began the evening before, as they decorated their home with fresh coconut and banana leaves, mango leaf ornaments, and sugarcane stalks tied at the entrance as a symbolic welcome to prosperity and a new beginning.

Over in PERLIS, around 50 devotees gathered before dawn at Kangar’s Arulmigu Arumugaswamy Dhevasthanam Temple for morning prayers, to start the Ponggal harvest festival.

Temple Chairman Dr R Hari Ram said the rituals commenced at 5 am and culminated in the traditional cooking of Ponggal, the defining ritual of the festival’s first day.

For attendee S Selvi, 42, the occasion holds profound personal significance. “I never miss the annual celebration. To me, Ponggal embodies gratitude, togetherness, and the strengthening of family and community bonds,” she shared.

The festive spirit resonated just as strongly in PERAK, where close to 1,000 members of the Indian community began arriving from 8 am at the historic Kallumalai Arulmigu Subramaniar Temple in Gunung Cheroh, a site of worship for over 150 years.

Honorary Secretary of the Ipoh Hindu Devasthana Paripalana Sabah V M Thiagarajan noted that the temple’s Ponggal observance is among the largest in the state, faithfully upheld each year through full customary rites.

“We aspire for it to be more than a festival. It is a message of hope and cultural continuity, especially for the younger generation, reminding us of Ponggal’s true essence, which honours the five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space,” he said.

In MELAKA, an estimated 60,000 members of the Hindu community,  including over 60 families in Kampung Chetti, observed the day according to established custom and tradition.

State MIC chairman Datuk VP Shanmugam explained that on this first day of the festival, Hindu families would perform prayers at home or nearby temples, according to their preferred timing.

“There are three designated prayer timings today, two in the morning and one in the afternoon. Kampung Chetti has nine temples where devotees offer prayers and celebrate Ponggal,” he told Bernama.

There were vibrant Ponggal celebrations across PENANG, including at the Sri Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple (commonly known as the Hilltop Temple), Nattukotai Chettiar Temple on Jalan Kebun Bunga, and Visvanather Visalatchi Sivan Temple in Bayan Baru.

The Hilltop Temple committee said the sweet rice offering was prepared at three different locations on the temple grounds, both at the base and summit of the hill, between 6.15 am and 7.25 am. 

Meanwhile, Penang Hindu Endowment Board chairman RSN Rayer said the Ponggal celebration organised by the board will be held tomorrow, scheduled to be officiated by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Ramakrishna in George Town.

A survey by Bernama at the over-90-year-old Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Skudai, JOHOR, found around 500 Hindu devotees observing the festival, which runs from today until Jan 18. 

Married couple, K Genesan and R Minachi, both 46, expressed their joy at being able to participate in the religious events at the temple.

They shared their hope that 2026 would be a year of peace and blessings for all.

-- BERNAMA