Wycherley celebrates “Pongal Vizha”
Respect for all religions, honour and a peaceful co- existence is what Wycherley has always striven to imbibe in the hearts and minds of her students. With this in mind, the Elementary Section of the school tried to put into the minds of the students, the significance of “Thai Pongal”on January 27th 2012.
The holiday on January 15th denotes the start of the Tamil Month of “Thai” or January, when the sun shifts northwards. It signifies the commencement of the northward journey of the sun. It also signifies thanking the Sun God for agricultural abundance. It is celebrated as a festival by the Tamils in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Sri Lanka. Celebrations cover feasting, giving gifts and visiting homes.
Much enthusiasm and preparation went into getting the celebration off the ground. The Auditorium was decked with a beautiful backdrop of the sunrise and paddy fields to emphasize the significance of the occasion. At the entrance was the ‘ Kolam’ using multi coloured rice grains. This is meant to purify the venue. The parents and teachers were greeted in traditional style with incense water, sandalwood, kum kum and sugar candy. The lighting of the oil lamp by the Principal Mr. Kingsley Jayasinghe, along with the Head Mistresses marked the commencement of the programme. An opening prayer in Vedic Style by the students was in keeping with religious significance. Three little kids enlightened the audience on the aspects of Thai Pongal.
The opening item was a ‘ Pooja Dance’ performed by the students of the UKG and Grade 1. It symbolized a dance offered to Lord Shiva, to obtain his grace and blessings for that occasion. A devotional song followed, done in unison by the students of the LKG, UKG, Grade 1 and Grade 2. They were all attired in traditional colourful clothing that was befitting a celebration.
Thai Pongal is a “Thanks giving Ceremony” celebrated particularly by farmers to thank the sun and the farm animals for bringing prosperity to agriculture with plentiful harvest. They energize the farmers to produce rice plentifully. This is probably the merriest and most popular Hindu Festival celebrated to announce a plentiful harvest. The “Farmers Festivity Dance” was done by the students of Grade 2. The dancers enacted the farmers daily life style.
The “Kummi Dance” was performed by the students of Grade 1 and Grade 2. It is a folk dance popular in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Sri Lanka.
“Pongal Vizha” at Wycherley is an occasion to teach the children about family reunion, and a chance to get together, forgetting all old bitterness and rivalries. It is a festival to indicate peace and compassion crystallized on unity. We at Wy c h e r l e y also want to t e a ch our younger generation to r e s o l ve to defeat all forces endangering disunity and disharmony and march forwards looking at unity and prosperity – a concept that we resolve to follow on all occasions to build a better society.