Festival · Surya

Pongal

Thai Pongal, the Tamil harvest festival, on the day the Sun enters Makara. New rice is boiled in milk until it overflows, offered to the Sun, and shared; it is the second of four days, after Bhogi.

Pongal 2027: Friday 15 January 2027; New Delhi

City

For New Delhi, Friday 15 January 2027

Sunrise: 7:15 am
Sunset: 5:46 pm
Moonrise: 11:21 am
Moonset: 12:32 am, 16 Jan

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

Full panchang for this day →

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

Boil new rice with milk and jaggery until it overflows
Offer it to the Sun in the open
Draw a kolam and hang sugarcane and turmeric

Kolam designs →

What it remembers

Pongal, or Thai Pongal, is the harvest festival of the Tamils, kept on the first day of the Tamil month of Thai, the same day as Makar Sankranti, when the Sun enters Makara. Its name means boiling over. In the morning, out in the sunlight, families boil the new rice in milk in a new clay pot, let it foam over the brim, and offer it first to the Sun. The festival runs over four days: Bhogi, Thai Pongal, Mattu Pongal for the cattle, and Kaanum Pongal.

The pot that boils over

The heart of Pongal is a pot of new rice and milk, set on a fire in the open. The family watches until the milk rises and spills over the brim, and then everyone calls out “Pongalo Pongal”. The overflow is the point: it is a sign that the year ahead will overflow with food and good things. The rice is then sweetened and given first to the Sun, who ripened the harvest.

Indra and the rain

Bhogi, the first day, belongs to Indra, the giver of rain. In the story told for it, the cowherds once worshipped Govardhan hill instead of him, as Lord Krishna asked. Indra sent days of storm and rain, and Krishna lifted the hill to shelter them and their cattle. Humbled, Indra asked his pardon. Farmers still pray to Indra on Bhogi for the rains of the coming year.

The bull who mixed up the message

The story told for Mattu Pongal says that Lord Shiva once sent his bull Basava to earth with a message: bathe with oil every day, and eat once a month. Basava muddled it, and told people to eat every day and bathe with oil once a month. Now people would need far more grain, so Shiva sent Basava to stay on earth and help them plough. That is why the cattle are honoured on the third day.

When Thai is born

Thai Pongal opens the month of Thai, as the Sun begins its journey north. A Tamil saying, Thai pirandhal vazhi pirakkum, holds that when Thai is born, a way opens. So the first day of Thai is kept as a day of new beginnings.

Keeping the four days

Pongal is kept at home, in the courtyard, with the whole family. Many city and overseas families keep only one or two of the days. Customs differ from district to district and family to family; follow your own where it differs.

On Bhogi, the last day of Margazhi, clean and decorate the house and clear out what is old. Many families burn old things in a fire, and pray to Indra for good rains.
Draw a kolam in rice flour at the door and where the pot will stand. Ants and birds eat the rice flour, and that too is part of the gift.
On Thai Pongal morning, set a new clay pot on a hearth in the courtyard or the open, in full view of the Sun. Tie a turmeric plant round its neck and stand sugarcane beside it.
Boil the new rice in milk. When it foams over the brim, call out “Pongalo Pongal” together, and let it spill.
Sweeten it with jaggery, and add ghee, cardamom, cashews and raisins for sakkarai pongal, the sweet pongal.
Offer the pongal first to the Sun, with the sugarcane, and in many homes to Lord Ganesha. Then serve it to the family on banana leaves.
On Mattu Pongal, bathe the cattle, paint their horns, garland them and feed them sweet pongal. Some families keep Kanu Pidi now or on the next day: balls of coloured rice set out on turmeric leaves for the crows, with prayers for brothers.
On Kaanum Pongal, visit relatives, take the blessings of elders, and go out together for the day.

What you need

A new clay pot and a hearth of bricks
New rice, milk and jaggery
Ghee, cardamom, cashews and raisins
A turmeric plant and sugarcane
Rice flour for the kolam
Banana leaves to serve on
Garlands and paint for the cattle

Across India

Tamil Nadu

Pongal is the great festival of the year. Every courtyard has its kolam and its pot, the cattle are decorated on the third day.

Madurai

Around Madurai the days of Pongal bring jallikattu, the bull-taming sport, at Avaniyapuram, Palamedu and Alanganallur, with thousands of bulls and their tamers.

Sri Lanka

Tamils in Jaffna and across the north and east keep Thai Pongal. Families cook the pongal with red rice, visit the temples, and give thanks for the harvest.

Malaysia and the Tamil world

Tamils in Malaysia, and Tamil families around the world, keep Pongal with the same pot of rice boiled over for the Sun.

When it falls

The day of Makar Sankranti: the day the Sun enters Makara (Capricorn) in the sidereal zodiac, or the day after when it enters after sunset.

These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.

Pongal in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

2027Friday 15 January 2027
2028Saturday 15 January 2028

Questions

When is Pongal in 2027?

Friday 15 January 2027, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.

When does Pongal fall?

The day of Makar Sankranti: the day the Sun enters Makara (Capricorn) in the sidereal zodiac, or the day after when it enters after sunset.

How is Pongal kept?

Families boil new rice with milk and jaggery until it overflows, offer it to the Sun in the open and draw a kolam and hang sugarcane and turmeric. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Pongal?

Surya. Thai Pongal, the Tamil harvest festival, on the day the Sun enters Makara. New rice is boiled in milk until it overflows, offered to the Sun, and shared; it is the second of four days, after Bhogi.

What are the four days of Pongal?

Bhogi, on the last day of Margazhi, for clearing out the old and praying to Indra for rain. Thai Pongal, the main day, when the new rice is boiled over for the Sun. Mattu Pongal, for the cattle. Kaanum Pongal, the day of visiting family and going out together.

Are Pongal and Makar Sankranti the same?

They fall on the same day and mark the same moment: the Sun entering Makara and beginning its journey north. Pongal is how the Tamils keep that day, as the first day of their month of Thai. In 2027, for example, both fall on Friday 15 January.

What does Pongal mean?

Pongal comes from a Tamil word meaning to boil over. It is the name of the festival and of the dish at its heart: rice boiled in milk until it spills over the pot, a sign of plenty for the year ahead.

What is Mattu Pongal?

The third day, when farming families thank their cattle for their work in the fields. The cows and bulls are bathed, their horns painted, and they are garlanded and fed. In some villages it is also a day of jallikattu.

What is Kanu Pidi?

A custom kept by women and girls in many families. Small balls of white, yellow and red rice are set out on turmeric leaves for the crows, with prayers for the wellbeing of brothers and the whole family. Many keep it on Mattu Pongal, some on Kaanum Pongal.

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