WildFilmsIndia

Pongal celebrations 2014 at Tamil Nadu House, New Delhi.
The thappu, thapu, dappu or parai drum is a frame drum of India.

Viewer Sowmya corrects us that this instrument should only be called a Parai.

It consists of a circular wood frame with one end closed with cow skin membrane and the other end open. Thappu is played with two sticks, being one larger and thinner than the other one. It is performed in dances, funerals, temple festivals and sport events. Thappu drum or Parai drum is also played to invoke the deities at madrasi temples.

Kurunthokai mentions that Parai was used as an auspicious instrument in wedding. It was also used to alert the people in flood time. A type of parai called Ari parai was used in harvest time to make the birds fly off from the fields. Another type of parai called Perum parai is found only in the Kongu Nadu region of Tamil Nadu.

Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamil people at the end of the harvest season. Pongal is a four day festival which usually takes place from January 13 to 16 in the Gregorian calendar i.e., the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of Tamil month Thai.

It is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Tamil people in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry and Sri Lanka.

In Tamil, the word Pongal means "overflowing" which signifies abundance and prosperity. On the day of Pongal, at the time of sun rise there is a symbolic ritual of boiling fresh milk in a new clay pots and when the milk boils over and bubbles out of the vessel, people shout "Pongalo Pongal!". The saying "Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum" meaning "the commencement of Thai paves the way for new opportunities" is often quoted regarding the Pongal festival. Thai Pongal is mainly celebrated to convey the appreciation and thankfulness to the Sun as it act as the primary energy behind agriculture and a good harvest. It is the Surya Mangalyam. Tamilians decorate their homes with banana and mango leaves and embellish the floor with decorative patterns drawn using rice flour.

Source - Wikipedia

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