Devotees flock Sri Srinivasagar Kaliamman Temple to celebrate Pongal
KUCHING: Hundreds of Hindu devotees flocked the Sri Srinivasagar Kaliamman Temple at Jalan Ban Hock here early yesterday for the Pongal Festival.
Temple priest Phuspharajan led the special prayers, followed by the preparation of the ‘pongal’ (a rice-based dish) and the boiling of milk.
According to Hindu Temple Association Kuching president V Sahundararaju, the festival is observed on the first day of the Thai month on the Hindu calendar, which usually falls in mid-January.
“The festival is considered a traditional and cultural celebration among the Tamil community. It is actually a harvest festival, celebrated by farmers.
“Today, the temple celebrates it to commemorate the occasion,” he said when met yesterday.
Sahundararaju said on the day, devotees would flock to the temple to seek blessings and also to pray for a prosperous year for themselves and their families.
“The key highlight of the occasion is the cooking of rice in milk using a new claypot. When it bubbles up and flows over the rim of the pot, everyone shouts ‘Pongalo Pongal’ (a wish for prosperity to come into the household).
“A er that, the rice-milk porridge is served to the deities and later, shared with the devotees and others,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sahundararaju said the Hindu Temple Association Kuching had requested additional allocation from the state government to facilitate the completion of the Raja Gopuram statue’s construction project at the Sri Srinivasagar Kaliamman Temple.
According to him, the association lacks around RM600,000 for the project, as the total cost stood at approximately RM1 million.
“Previously, we estimated the cost to be only RM900,000, but due to the increase in the prices of building materials, the cost has increased,” he said.
Sahundararaju also said the association had previously received an allocation of RM200,000 from the state government’s Unit For Other Religions (Unifor).
“Upon completion, this temple would become another tourist a raction in Kuching,” he added.