Mattu Pongal: Festive cheer sweeps Coimbatore as cattle are worshipped

Mattu Pongal was celebrated with festive cheer across Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore and Tiruchirappalli. People worshipped cattle, their companions in agriculture, with traditional rituals, decorations, and by offering specially prepared pongal.

Mattu Pongal Celebrations in Coimbatore

A wave of festive cheer swept through Coimbatore on Friday as people celebrated Mattu Pongal, a key part of Tamil Nadu's most important harvest festival marking the beginning of the harvest season.

Mattu Pongal was celebrated with devotion, tradition, and heartfelt joy, with family and relatives worshipping the cattle through traditional rituals, festive food, kolams, and prayers.

Earlier, cattle were given a bath, oil was applied to the horns, and they were placed with sandanam and kumkum, and they were garlanded. They were brought to a worship place where family members and relatives prepared pongal and offered prayers.

The family who thanked lord surya for a successful harvest season that supports life and livelihood. The cattle were made to stamp on a patti decorated with plantain and sugarcane sticks. Patti, it is believed that in which cattle lands will be prosperity of the coming year. Followed by the proceedings of pooja, which were done and santhanam & kumkum were kept on the legs of the cattle and were fed with pongal by all. Ladies raised the kulavai sound when pongal was boiling, which is a traditional one. Finally, the raised slogans pongalo pongal and wished everyone a happy pongal.

Cattle Worshipped in Tiruchirappalli

Ahead of the Mattu Pongal festival, special prayers were performed for hundreds of cows at a gosala in Tiruchirappalli.

As part of the Mattu Pongal celebrations, people in Trichy city decorated and worshipped cattle, regarded as farmers' companions and revered as Gomatha. Mattu Pongal, celebrated by Tamils and farmers worldwide following the Thai Pongal festival, is observed as a day to express gratitude to cattle, which play an integral role in agriculture and daily life. On this occasion, cows are worshipped as a mark of respect and thanksgiving.

Rituals and Offerings in Villages

In Tiruchirappalli city, at the centuries-old gosala located in the Palakkarai-Kajapettai area, special rituals were performed for more than 125 cattle. Similarly, in villages, people bathed and cleaned their cattle at their homes.

The horns of the cattle were groomed, painted in bright colours, adorned with tassels or bells, and decorated with sacred ash and kumkum. Pongal was prepared in the cattle sheds and offered as prasadam to the deity, following which deeparadhana was performed for Lord Ganesha and the cows. People of all ages, from children to elders, offered pongal, fruits, and agathi leaves to the cattle and worshipped them with devotion.

Elephant Pongal at M.R. Palayam

At the Elephant Rehabilitation Centre, located in the M.R. Palayam Reserve Forest under the Tiruchirappalli Forest Range, within the Tiruchirappalli Forest Division, elephants are being maintained across 50 acres, with various welfare facilities. The centre has been equipped with amenities such as water sprinklers, mud baths, foot baths, swimming pools, walking tracks, and bathing tanks for the elephants.

Recently, a special Hydro Therapy treatment system has been newly introduced exclusively for aged elephants, along with a treatment hall fitted with a kraal facility to provide medical care. To enhance the elephants' physical and mental well-being, newly developed grassy lawns with play equipment have also been created.

On the occasion of Elephant Pongal (January 16, 2026), the festival was celebrated in a special manner under the leadership of Tiruchirappalli Circle Conservator of Forests, Ms R. Kanchana, IFS. Pongal was prepared and offered to the elephants, along with sundal, fruits, vegetables, tubers, greens, and sugarcane. The celebrations were attended by District Forest Officer Ms S. Krithika, IFS, Assistant Conservator of Forests Khader Basha, Forest Range Officer V.P. Subramaniyam, the Forest Veterinary Assistant Doctor of the Elephant Rehabilitation Centre, and forest staff from the Trichy Forest Range. (ANI)

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