Monday 15th January 2024

Today was Thai Pongal, and Daya was home for the morning, helping the family make the preparations for all the rituals that go with it. Having been here for Thai Pongal this time last year, I knew what to expect, and that made it even more enjoyable this time, I think. I was given a vesti to wear, so that I could join in fully, and it was fun watching everyone get ready for the ceremony - such a friendly family and neighbourly atmosphere everywhere around.

Thai Pongal celebrates the Tamil Hindu New Year, whilst incorporating something which feels a bit like a Harvest Festival - thanking the gods for the gift of good food. There is an outside ceremony where they cook in a pot over an open fire what can best be described as a thick, sticky rice pudding. This is presented to you on a banana leaf with dates, nuts, and a little fruit, like apples and tangerines. It was quite sweet - even for me - but very tasty!

After the ceremonies were over, a few of us went for a walk to where Daya's parents are buried. It is just off the road in the open countryside, but in a quite beautiful spot. It was very overgrown, so you could hardly see the graves, but Hindu tradition dictates that you can only tend the graves on birthdays and death days, so Daya will try to come on 21st February if he can, which is the day that his father would have been 64 (he was only 2 years younger than me).

Daya is in the middle of a film production, so he had to go around 11:00. I stayed at his house for lunch with his brothers, Ragu and Rasi, plus a few friends, then left just before Ragu and Afwaj, a close family friend, went back to Colombo. I had such a welcome from everyone, and it was it was quite sad when it came to leave, especially saying goodbye to Daya this morning, as I have no idea if, or when, I will see him again during this visit to Sri Lanka.

Today's photos show the Thai Pongal ceremony, with the final photograph showing the resting place of Daya's parents. In that photograph you can see a grave that is over 100 years old, and his parents are buried very simply in a field behind that. It is a resting place for many people in that area, but nothing like the cemeteries that we have in the UK.







                                        

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