Viral video shows Canadian officials celebrating Pongal, eating traditional meal with their hands

Pongal has been celebrated with great vigour and enthusiasm by the Tamil population across the world. Now, a video purportedly showing the officials in Canada enjoying the delectable sweet dish pongal as they celebrate the harvest festival has gone viral on social media.

The widely shared clip shows men clad in defence uniform and other officials sitting in a row and enjoying pongal, a sweetmeat made of rice, jaggery and milk. Served on banana leaves, along with idli, chutney and bananas, they are seen savouring the different flavours. A man clad in mundu and shirt is seen asking them if they want anything more and one of the officials is heard saying it is “very good”. While some of them are seen using spoons to have the meals, others ate with their hands.

“TCA Tamil Thai Pongal Celebration (Tamil Thanksgiving) region of Waterloo politicians, Regional Chair City Mayors, councilors and Police Chief and staff,” read the caption of the clip shared by Tamil Culture Waterloo Region, a Facebook page.

The four-day festival is being celebrated from January 14-17. According to the Tamil solar calendar, Pongal is celebrated in Thai month. The ritual of boiling freshly harvested rice with milk and jaggery in a clay till it overflows is observed and the word ‘pongal’ means ‘spilling over’ denoting the key ritual.