The rain stopped and the sun came out as the SOAS Tamil Society and TSI prepared to celebrate one of the biggest festivals in the Tamil calendar which gives gratitude to the sun - Thai Pongal.
Written by soas
January 18th, 2015
The rain stopped and the sun came out as the SOAS Tamil Society and TSI prepared to celebrate one of the biggest festivals in the Tamil calendar which gives gratitude to the sun - Thai Pongal.
Written by soas
A marquee decorated in bright bunting and thoranums (decorations made of coconut leaf blades) was set up right infront of the statue of the famous Tamil poet and philosopher, Thiruvalluvar. In keeping with tradition, a clay pot surrounded by sugar cane sticks was used to cook pongal (sweet rice) using the expertise of representatives from the Tamil Community Centre in Hounslow.
Meanwhile parai drummers from Parai – Voice of Freedom energised the crowd and passers by with the ongoing and uplifting beat of their drums. An abundance of free yummy pongal, sundal, aval and payasam, courtesy of Ruby’s catering, was then served to the crowd. This was followed by the honouring of Thiruvalluvar with a maalai (flower garland) by the new Tamil language teacher at the SOAS Language Centre, who has received much positive feedback from her Tamil and non Tamil students. 
The event closed with a reminder to university students on the importance of learning and of that- learning well, with a representative from TSI reciting a kural (literary couplet) from Thiruvalluvar’s work on ethics: “Let a man learn thoroughly whatever he may learn, and let his conduct be worthy of his learning” (391: Thirukkural). Overall the event was praised for being colourful, joyous and displaying a great sense of community.
A marquee decorated in bright bunting and thoranums (decorations made of coconut leaf blades) was set up right infront of the statue of the famous Tamil poet and philosopher, Thiruvalluvar. In keeping with tradition, a clay pot surrounded by sugar cane sticks was used to cook pongal (sweet rice) using the expertise of representatives from the Tamil Community Centre in Hounslow.
Meanwhile parai drummers from Parai – Voice of Freedom energised the crowd and passers by with the ongoing and uplifting beat of their drums. An abundance of free yummy pongal, sundal, aval and payasam, courtesy of Ruby’s catering, was then served to the crowd. This was followed by the honouring of Thiruvalluvar with a maalai (flower garland) by the new Tamil language teacher at the SOAS Language Centre, who has received much positive feedback from her Tamil and non Tamil students.
The event closed with a reminder to university students on the importance of learning and of that- learning well, with a representative from TSI reciting a kural (literary couplet) from Thiruvalluvar’s work on ethics: “Let a man learn thoroughly whatever he may learn, and let his conduct be worthy of his learning” (391: Thirukkural). Overall the event was praised for being colourful, joyous and displaying a great sense of community.
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