SUGAR CANES AND PONGGAL

I saw quite a number of Indians buying sugar cane at the market today.  While waiting for the traffic light to turn green, I also saw a young man carrying two stalks of sugar cane on his motorbike.  The sugar canes are for the Hindu Festival called Thai Ponggal which is today.  This is a thanksgiving or harvest festival to give thanks to Surya, the Sun God for a bountiful harvest.
The word pongal itself refers to the "boiling over" of milk and rice during the month of Thai.   It is celebrated by the Hindus.  The name Ponggal is derived from the Tamil word pongu, meaning "boil over" or "flourish."  The ponggal should be cooked outdoors on a tri-sugarcane structure using natural fire from charcoal or wood.  That is the significance of the sugar cane during Ponggal.