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Rejoice with gratitude,
a concept long cherished,
finds expression in a festival
known as Pongal..

It is in the courtyard. Sun's rays
flood. Floors display exquisite
drawings called Kolam.
Silver Lamps sparkle.

The brass stoves and pots
glitter with embellishments.
No modern gadgets are found.
Firewood gleams red.

The lady of the house
places the pot on the stove.
The sound of the conch
reverberates.

Milk boils and spills.
Beautiful! the fuming milk
on the shining red glow
looks picturesque.

Raw rice is steamed
along with desiccated coconut,
jaggery, ghee, cashew and raisins.
Cardamom is sprinkled.

Pongal, documents gratitude,
defines piety. The celebrations
take place to honour God,
one of fulfillment

Lovely piece, Meena. You are on a roll. One of your best...again. I love how much you adhere to details, like “ the fuming milk”. Or this stanza:

Raw rice is steamed
along with desiccated coconut,
jaggery, ghee, cashew and raisins.
Cardamom is sprinkled.

Hi meenas17


this line esp resonates strong:

"No modern gadgets are found."


William Carlos Williams' ekphrastic poem "The Dance" surfaces as a model:

In Brueghel's great picture, The Kermess,
the dancers go round, they go round and
around, the squeal and the blare and the
tweedle of bagpipes, a bugle and fiddles
tipping their bellies (round as the thick-
sided glasses whose wash they impound)
their hips and their bellies off balance
to turn them. Kicking and rolling
about the Fair Grounds, swinging their butts, those
shanks must be sound to bear up under such
rollicking measures, prance as they dance
in Brueghel's great picture, The Kermess.



“Poets are damned but they are not blind, they see with the eyes of angels.” ― William Carlos Williams

^^ Vision over sight

WCW, long time no see
you have been out of sight
but not out of view




Michael (MV)

Thanks, Bob.
Glad you liked the poem.
Your appreciation encourages me to write more.

Michael,
It is how we, the South Indians, celebrate Pongal .
Tomorrow is the day.
A lot of work to do.
Going back to the basics, cooking with firewood in an open courtyard.
Lots of fun and more.

Thanks for dropping .

Bob is right, Meena - you are on a roll. I have seen such an improvement in you writing recently. Your descriptive details are a pleasure to read.


Eira

Great writing, lovely descriptions.

IMO, I would rephrase S1 and S2 to eliminate the word ‘pongal’
I see this in the title, if I need help knowing it’s a festival perhaps title, ‘the festival of pongal, otherwise the first stanza reads like a definition. Perhaps start, ‘

We rejoice with gratitude,
a concept long cherished,
expressed with families
and friends.

Eira,

It is always a pleasure to read your poems as well as your comments.
This one delights me.

Thanks, Dale.
I will consider your suggestions in the revision