The theme of Bhogi Pandigai is to throw away and burn old and unwanted stuffs to bring in spiritual bhogam (prosperity) into our house and heart.
| In 2023, Bhogi Pandigai will be celebrated on Jan 14 (Saturday) |
The history behind the word Bhogi has too many accounts. The widely reckoned etymology to the word Bhogi is that the word Bhogam entails receiving pleasure from divinity and the day offering that divine pleasure is named after Bhogi . Another legend accounts that Bhogi Pandigai is celebrated in the name of Lord Indhra (god of rain and thunderstorms).
The celebrations of Bhogi Pandigai usually start early in the morning where homes are usually cleaned and washed. Subsequently, women and girls decorate the houses with beautiful kolam (rangoli) drawn out of rice flour and kaavi (red-oxide). People take head baths on this day as a part of the Bhogi festival celebrations.
The next step is performing pujas and offering ‘Bholi’ (battercake with lentil or coconut filling prepared with jaggery) to the almighty as naivedhyam (food offered to god as a part of ritual). Later people assemble to light up a large outdoor fire to burn old and unwanted stuffs.
Bhogi Pandigai is also celebrated in Andhra Pradesh in a grand manner on the same day as Bhogi and as Lohri in Punjab and Magh Bihu/Bhogali Bihu in Assam.
A very delicious and rich meal is prepared and served on plantain leaf on this day which includes Pachadi, Parupu, Kootu, Poriyal, Varuval, Apalam, Vadai, Payasam, Bholi, Rice, Sambar, Rasam, Thayir and so on.
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