Indian expats mark harvest festivals with subdued fervour
CONSULATE OFFICIALS HONOURED FOR SERVICE DURING REPATRIATION FLIGHTS
No kite-flying, no song and dance over bonfire and no mega picnic plans. Traditional rituals associated with Indian harvest festivals marking the end of winter were given a miss as Indian expats observed muted celebrations for Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Bihu and Pongal amid the pandemic.
However, expats from Tamil Nadu organised a Pongal event at the Indian Consulate in Dubai and honoured the members of the consulate staff for their service to the community during the peak of the pandemic.
“Usually, we have a grand Pongal celebration at Shaikh Rashid Auditorium [in The Indian High School] with the participation of thousands of people. But, due to the pandemic we cancelled the mega event and organised a small event in the consulate,” said Dr Jayanthimala Suresh, president of the Dubai Tamil Sangam.
Thanksgiving day
She said the purpose of the celebration was to express the community’s gratitude to the officials and mission staff members who toiled day and night for supporting the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Indians during the peak of the pandemic.
“Pongal is a harvest festival. It is also a thanksgiving day for Tamilians as we offer our gratitude to the sun, Mother Earth, farmers and cattle. We decided to express our gratitude to the consulate officials as well.”
Neeraj Agrawal, consul for Press, Information and Culture at the Consulate, said the consulate officials appreciated the gesture from the community members. “This time there are no major celebrations. We request our people to celebrate responsibly at home and we are hopeful that the pandemic situation would improve soon with the massive vaccination drive happening right now.” The mission posted pictures from the event at the consulate and passed its best wishes on the occasion of these harvest festivals. Retweeting the consulate’s post, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi stated: “The rich diversity of Indian community in the UAE allows each flavour of Indianness to be expressed fully.”
Indoor, online festivities
Some other community members, who also used to organise events to celebrate the festival, said they limited the festivities to their homes this year. “Last year, we had a nice celebration at a restaurant… This time we just did puja [prayer rituals] and held a special Pongal feast at home,” said Meenakumari Pathmanathan, president of Tamil Ladies Association.
Kesar Kothari, a senior member of the Rajasthani community, said the community members would miss the kite-flying ceremony they used to hold for Makar Sankranti. “Instead, we are attending a Zoom session where singers from Rajasthan will be performing,” he said.