<span style="color: #222222;">The Tamil community in Sri Lanka is celebrating Thai Pongal with fervour and gaiety. Observed at the start of the Tamil month Thai, Pongal is a multi-day harvest festival dedicated to Sun God. The festival is named after the ceremonial "Pongal", which means "to boil, overflow" and refers to the traditional dish prepared from the new harvest of rice boiled in milk with jaggery under the sunlight. As devotees prayed to the sun-god, Pongal overflowed from the pots along with chants of Pongalo Pongal. Devotees also thronged the temples across the island since morning today to thank for the abundance of the previous year's harvest and pray for a successful one in the coming year. The multi-day celebration of Pongal, marks the beginning of the sun's journey northward, signalling the end of the winter solstice. In addition, the Assistant High Commission of India at Kandy also celebrated Pongal with traditional festivities at Elu Muga Kaali Kovil at Matale yesterday.</span><br />