Berhampur (Odisha), Jan 14 (PTI) The Telugu communityin this Silk City of Odisha celebrated the Pongal festivalwith pomp and gaiety.
Colourful rangoli, traditional bonfire and culturalshows marked the three-day festival that began yesterday inthe city, located close to Andhra Pradesh.
Pongal is known as the harvest festival by the Telugucommunity. The first day of the festival was celebrated asBhogi yesterday.
Bhogi also marked the closing ceremony of 'Gobbi', amonth-long ritual celebrated by the women.
The second day of the festival today is MakaraSankranti. In Berhampur, several people will also celebratethe Makara Sankranti tomorrow.
"Pongal is the biggest annual festival of the Telugupeople who celebrate it across the country with enthusiasm andgaiety in association with others," said T Gopi, a resident ofDesibehera Street here.
Several Telugu people, including woman and childrenassembled near a temple at Dimond tank road yesterdayafternoon to celebrate the festival. Cultural functions andbonfire were the main attractions.
"We perform Dandia as we believe that Lord Krishna andRadha liked this dance very much," said a dancer.
People in different localities lit the traditionalbonfire to mark the Bhogi. The Bhogi, however, was affected inseveral localities this time due to the shortage of firewood.
Telugu girls decorated their houses with colourfulrangolis, while many of them staged the cultural shows.
Clad in new attire, the Telugu people of all agegroups greeted each other in the town. They distributed the"pongali" - the food prepared by the newly harvested rice,dal, jaggery, dry fruits, sugar and milk.
While celebrating the harvest, people thank the SunGod.
"Pongal is an auspicious day for us. We invoked theforefathers of the family and offered foods to them," saidShankar Rao, a businessman here.
On the last day, kanuma is celebrated. But inBerhampur, this festival is celebrated by the Telugu people ina low key. Kanuma basically is a festival of farmers when thecattle and the cattle-sheds are cleaned. PTI COR SKNMM.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.