This Pongal, missing on the platter is fresh rice direct from farm

TIRUCHY: The traditional use of Puthu Arisi (fresh rice) will be missed this Pongal as the harvest has been delayed due to various factors, including delay in cultivation due to a lack of water and crop damage due to heavy rains. The frustrated farmers said that this time they are unusually depending on the raw rice distributed from the PDS outlets as the Pongal gift.

Traditionally, the Pongal festival would begin with the preparation of the ritual dish with freshly harvested rice as a form of thanksgiving and the formal commencement of the samba harvest.

Against the tradition that many generations have followed, this year’s Pongal celebration would miss the farm fresh rice for preparing Pongal due to the failed monsoon in the beginning that resulted in a shortage of storage in the Mettur reservoir forcing the government to release the water on September 17 against the customary release of water on June 12.

This delay in the release of water from Mettur prompted most farmers to quit kuruvai cultivation while only handpicked farmers who had borewell facilities went ahead. This considerably delayed samba cultivation in the Delta region as late as October and November.

Though a few farmers from the region undertook samba cultivation a little earlier with the support of groundwater, the harvest is yet to happen. Thus, in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai and Nagapattinam districts, only 25 per cent of harvest has been completed. This has resulted in the absence of fresh rice for Pongal this year.

“It is a customary practice in villages that a portion of rice harvested during kuruvai season would be stored for Pongal and those farmers who could not go for Kuruvai would prefer to store rice from the early samba but this year, there is neither Kuruvai stock nor early samba stock. So the farmers who traditionally use farm fresh rice for Pongal, are forced to use the raw rice distributed through the PDS outlets as Pongal gifts and this is so pathetic on the part of the farmers,” Swamimalai Sundara Vimalnathan, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association said.

He said that the samba cultivation that has been undertaken so late this year should have been in the milking stage but due to a shortage of water, the crop had withered away in several areas.

“Though the recent rainfall was beneficial for the Delta cultivation, the water submerged many areas damaging standing crops and this is likely to have an impact on the yield,” he said.

Meanwhile, the officials from the agriculture department said that only 40 per cent of the samba harvest would be completed in the region by the end of January.

“These crops are raised by the borewells and the farmers who undertook the conventional method of cultivation should wait for a few more months as the cultivation started a little later than usual,” an official said.

HARVEST HOPES

10,42,500 acres: Total samba cultivation in Delta

Thanjavur- 3.36 lakh acres: In Thanjavur

3.62 lakh acres: In Tiruvarur

1.72 lakh acres: In Mayiladuthurai

1.62 lakh acres: In Nagapattinam

(Harvest expected to happen from February to April)

A few families keeping traditions alive

When Pongal approaches, around 25 families in Tippirajapuram village near Kumbakonam are busy making garlands made of ‘Netti’ plant that would be adorned to the cattle particularly, bulls during the Maattu Pongal days. Despite poor earnings, these people continue to do the festoon for ages.

Netti is the Tamil name for the flowering plant Aeschynomene aspera, which is part of the Fabaceae family and is also known as sola plant, shola plant and pith plant and is widely available across the State.

These families in Tippirajapuram who are mostly agricultural labourers collect the plant soon after the Deepavali festival and get ready for making Netti garland for the Pongal festival, particularly during the Maatu Pongal.

The Pongal festival would be celebrated for at least three days. On the first day, the farmers thank nature by making Pongal with fresh rice from the farm and on the second day, the farmers celebrate Maatu Pongal to thank the cattle that supported them on the field.

During this day, they decorate their dear cattle, colour the horns, offer them sweets and decorate them with Netti garland. Though artificial flowers are available in the market as an alternative, most of the farmers prefer garlands made of real Netti plants.

 “The Netti garland making is the traditional work of our family and we have been making these garlands for generations. As soon as Deepavali festival gets over, we skip agricultural works and go in search of Netti plant and collect them for at least three months and start processing the plant and make garlands well before the Pongal festival,” said K Rajamurthy (55) from Thippirajapuram who has been making garlands for several decades.

Rajamurthy recalled that every household in the village was once busy making the Netti garland during the festival but gradually, the people lost interest due to poor earnings and the time-consuming job.

“Now there are around 25 families involved in the work in our village,” Rajamurthy said, adding that the people would go in search of Netti plant in waterbodies across the State and collect them.

“Apart from the Netti plant, the Thalampooo strings are used for making garland for which we go to Aranthangi, Athirampattinam and Mallipattinam. These Netti and Thalampoo strings are processed for several weeks and then, we would dye the materials before making the garland,” he said.

When Pongal approaches, they would go across the Delta region, particularly in Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Kudavasal, Valangaiman and Natchiyarkoil for sales.

“A pair of Netti garlands is sold between Rs 10 and 50. Though it is a time-consuming job and poor income-generating trade, we continue to make the garlands for our self-satisfaction as it was a custom for several decades,” Rajamurthy stressed.

Like any other farming-related business, the Netti garland makers too face difficulties nowadays due to the shrinking availability of the Netti plant.

“Now, the people prefer aqua farming in the waterbodies, they remove the Netti plants and so we find it very difficult to collect the plant,” he added.

NETTI NOTES

Botanical name: Aeschynomene aspera (Fabaceae family)

Availability: Found in Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai and Nagapattinam

Processing period: Three months

Marketing locations: Kumbakonam, Valangaiman, Natchiyarkoil, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Tiruvarur

Price: Between Rs 10 to 50 (per pair)

Festive giveaways and sense of satisfaction

Despite all odds, residents of a village in Thanjavur continue the practice of making wooden ladles and distributing them to the residents of neighbouring villages for several decades to upkeep the Pongal tradition.

There are around 20 families involved in carpentry works in Vengarayankudi village on Marungulam-Thanjavur Main Road. These families spend time making wooden ladles and distribute a pair of ladles to each neighbouring family free of cost which they had been practising for over 100 years.

“We mainly involve ourselves in carpentry works on the construction sites. Amidst the routine work, we allocate time for making wooden ladles during the Pongal days. Our forefathers followed this tradition and now we carry forward it during every Pongal festival,” says M Ganapathi who has been in this practice for more than 30 years.

Ganapathi says that at present, the people who receive the free ladles give them back with gifts like bananas, raw rice and flowers.

“We start the works one month before Pongal with the collection of bamboo sticks and coconut shells and process them for two weeks and mould them with fitting sizes,” he said.

“In order to ensure prompt distribution, each family makes 50 to 60 ladles and covers 25 to 30 families and we would distribute it among all the 300 families residing along with us,” Ganapathi said.

 He also said that they spend Rs 60 for a pair of ladles and they are very particular about the finishing work of the ladles. “Only when we are satisfied with the size and appearance, we would start the distribution,” he said.

“Though it is time-consuming work, these Vengarayankudi residents are satisfied with the work which helps in upholding the age-old tradition,” that was in practice for decades, added Ganapathi.