posted September 29, 2004 02:40 AM         

It is very difficult to find out a festival of Tamilians, the ancient people of Dravidian race. This is because, the people who culturally dominated Tamilians, foisted their own culture on them by totally annihilating the culture of Tamilnadu and Tamilians. Because of this , it has now become very difficult to come to know about the culture of Tamilians. Not only the characteristics of Tamil culture were destroyed and hidden from public view of the world, so too the history of Tamilians has been destroyed.

Therefore, the Tamilian of today is living just like a slave without having any of his own culture, characteristics or history. Not only that, all the culture, characteristics and the history glorified by Tamilians today substantiate their slavery and low status.

All the fine arts now available to him only make him a slave. You can surmise that the Tamilians did not have any religion of their own at all. For the enjoyment , of course, some celebrations are essential. Through such celebrations, people are able to enjoy their leisure chatting and spending time happily with his family, friends and neighbours, to exchange their love, affection and best wishes among themselves and to indulge in independent enjoyments. As festivals provide happiness , we used to call it celebratiion.

The festivals for which the Government of India: declared holidays are Bogi, Pongal, Mattu Pongal, Maga sivarathiri, Tamil New Year, Avani Avittam, Gokulashtami, Saraswathi pooja, Deepavali. There are some other festivals which are not public holidays, such as Pillaiyar Chathurthi, Karthigai Deepam, Panguni Uthiram, Thai Poosam, etc.

Can you name at least one particular festival among all these lot that is suitable to Tamilians, Tamil Race, Tamil Society, Tamil Culture, Tamil Character, Tamil History and their Rational analysis?

The best example to prove the baseness of Tamilians is that they do not have an era of their own. To show the period of Christianity, there is a Christiasn calender calculated with the birth of Christ. Muslims are also having their own calender Hijra. But what the Tamilians do have? What basis they do have?

Similarly, it seems very difficult to find out a god, religion, scripture, historical books and literature of their own. In this context, which festival can I name as the festival of Tamilians? It is not easy to create such a festival for Tamilians, I expressed my opinion thirty years ago that Tamilians can celebrate Pongal as their own festival. Some others also might have told this. Even now, I call this Pongal as a festival in the sense that it is the harvest festival and not in the sense of Sankaranthi, Bogi or Indra Vizha.

All Tamilians should invariably celebrate this harvest festival.

(Viduthalai 3--1-1959)

The Pongal festival is being celebrated on the first of the month of Thai without attributing to any star or a good day based on some religious stories. There is no story behind this festival. Though this festival is applicable to all people in all parts of the world, it is being celebrated on different dates in different months in different places by different people. The theory behind the celebration is based on the harvest of the agricultural produce. The same one is called Harvest Festival in English.

However, Brahmins have created stories about this festival that the rain god, Indiran had to be worshipped by offering the rice and other food prepared out of the agricultural produce for which, he has showers rains. They have not left the story as such. Envying the celebration of such a festival for Indira, it is said Krishna ordered that the people should celebrate this festival for him too. When people started celebrating such festivals for Krishna also, it became the festival of Krishnamoorthy. Seeing all this, Indra got wild and in order to prevent the festival to Krishnamoorthy, he poured heavy contineous rains and tried to destroy all the cattle which were used in agriculture. The people thus affected with heavy rains appealed to Krishna to save them and their cattle. Krishna uprooted the Govarthana hill and shielded them from the rains holding that hill on his little finger as an umbrella. Indira, felt ashamed of this incident, went to Krishna and prayed to him to restore his prestige . Agreeing to the prayer, Krishna grangted Indira that people would celebrate the first day of Pongal for himself and the second day as Mattuppongal for Indira. The Brahmins fabricated all this ridiculous, obscene, foolish , cock and bull stories.

People should realise from these stories what these gods Krishna and Indra are worthy for. They have created one story for the first day festival of Bogi, another story for Pongal or Sankaranthi and made the festival as a three day one and added superstitous beliefs and foolishness to these stories.

So far as the Brahmins are concerned, whatever be the matter or whichever be the suffering of others, their sole aim is to live happily as superior human beings in the society, without toiling physically. For this purpose, they changed the social structure upholding themselves as superior and others as barbarians and ignorant without any rational thinking.

If we have to live happily by liberating ourselves from their clutches and atrocities, we have to celebrate the first day of the Pongal wearing new dresses, having a sumptious feast and spending time happily with our family. Besides , we must help others to the extent possible and associate with them to celebrate this festival happily.