Theresa Villiers, Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet, has sent her best wishes to her Tamil constituents as they celebrate the Pongal harvest festival, and issued a message of support for a fair and just political settlement in Sri Lanka. On Saturday, Theresa joined members of the Tamil community as they celebrated Pongal at the Hindu Murugan Temple in Archway.
‘Pongal’, meaning ‘celebration’, is one of the most important festivities in the Tamil calendar. Pongal is a harvest festival thought to date back more than a thousand years, and traditionally involves the cooking of rice. It is celebrated by Tamils around the world and takes place between the 14th and 16th January, dates which are traditionally marked in the Indian sub-continent as a celebration of the days getting lighter after the winter solstice. Similar festivities take place on these days across the Indian sub-continent, Makar Sankranti in India or Shakrain in Bangladesh.
On the eve of the Pongal festival, Theresa issued a video message to the Tamil community which she broadcast on her Facebook page, saying: “I would like to wish my Tamil constituents all the best for the Pongal festival. Pongal is a very important festival for the Tamil community, both in the UK and back in Sri Lanka, and one that people in the UK should know much more about.”
“The Tamil community is a hugely important and valued part of our economic and cultural life. I know that many are saddened by the situation in Sri Lanka at present, and I will continue to work to do all I can to promote a fair and just settlement. I would like to send my best wishes to everyone celebrating the Pongal harvest festival over the next few days.”