Bhogi

Bhogi festival is the first day of Pongal. On this day, we worship the God of Clouds and Rains, Lord Indra. People honor and worship Lord Indra for abundant harvests, bringing plenty and prosperity to the land. Thus, the day of ‘Bogi’ or ‘Bhogi’ is also referred to as ‘Indran.’ The Tamil festival Pongal begins with Bhogi, which falls on the last day of the Tamil month Margazhi. On this day, families clean their houses and draw kolam to express gratitude to Lord Indra, the God of rain. In villages, people burn unwanted items. In the evening, they perform Kaapu Kattal using poola poo and neem leaves.

Puja on ‘Bogi’/’Bhogi’/’Indran’

On this first day, a special puja is performed before cutting of paddy. Farmers worship sun and earth by anointing all their ploughs and sickles with sandalwood paste. After that they use these sanctified tools to cut newly harvested rice.

The Bonfire:

Another ritual performed on the first ‘Pongal’ day is ‘Bhogi Mantalu’. Useless household articles are thrown into the fire made of wood and cow-dung cakes. Girls dance around this bonfire. They sing songs in praise of Gods, spring and harvest. Main purpose for burning agricultural wastes and firewood is for keeping warm during last lap of winter.

In Andhra Pradesh, first day of ‘Pongal’ is celebrated by girls who burn their old clothes. They go for an oil massage and bath before putting on new clothes. ‘Pongal Panai’, ritual for using new painted earthenware pots decorated with turmeric, flowers and mango leaves.

Sankranti / Pongal different regional names in India:

Makar Sankranti: Chhattisgarh, Goa, Odisha, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Jammu
Pongal, Uzhavar Thirunal: Tamil Nadu
Uttarayan: Gujarat
Maghi: Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The day before, people of Punjab celebrate Lohri.
Bhogali Bihu: Assam
Shishur Saenkraat: Kashmir Valley
Khichdi: Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar
Makara Sankramana: Karnataka

In other countries

Bangladesh: Shakrain/ Poush Sangkranti
Nepal: Maghe Sankranti or Maghi- /Khichdi Sankranti
Thailand: Songkran
Laos: Pi Ma Lao
Myanmar: Thingyan
Cambodia: Moha Sangkran
Sri Lanka: Pongal, Uzhavar Thirunal

On this day, we make upputtu or puran boli in their home.