KRISHNAGIRI: Over 200 residents from Ezhuvankottai village near Kaveripattinam in Krishnagiri celebrated community Pongal on Monday. Over 70 families, including caste Hindu families, live in the village situated in Kalvehalli panchayat in Kaveripattinam block.
Village headman T Chinnaraju (60) told TNIE, “The custom of community Pongal is being followed from many generations. On ‘Suriya Pongal’, Pongal is cooked in my house with the help of ration supplied by every house and it is distributed to all houses. On ‘Maatu Pongal’, Pongal will be cooked in a public place with the help of ration supplied by the villagers and distributed to the residents.”
A villager, N Mariyappan (41), added, “This tradition is being followed to cherish the unity of the village. Over two decades ago, there was a dispute in the village between two groups for three years but even then, community Pongal was celebrated. There are three Scheduled Caste families, one Scheduled Tribe family and other caste Hindu families in the village. We collect ration from each house without any discrimination and celebrate the festival.”