Still, he didn't let the fact that he was in Utah at the time stop him. He gathered with other members of what is known as the Tamil community for a one-night celebration of Pongal Ð a time for gratitude and celebration of the harvest season.
Utah Tamil Sangam, an organization that came together a few months ago, sponsored the event. While Tamil families in Utah have gathered together in small groups for Pongal in the past, this marked the first time the entire community got together to host the event, which took place Jan. 6 at the University of Utah.
Joining others in the spirit of unity is, for Surathy, is what the holiday is about.
"We will forget all of our enemies and all of the differences," he said, explaining the purpose of Pongal. "We will all come together on this day."
Surathy brought his 10-year-old son, Shravan to the Utah celebration to let him know about the traditions of his family.
"It's important so I can pass it on," Shravan said.
The term "Tamil" signifies the culture, language and people from a portion of southern India. Pongal is celebrated under different names and at different times in other parts of India. Pongal is sort of like Thanksgiving and New Year's rolled into one four-day holiday.
"Pongal means 'an abundance of happiness,' " said Sri Lingam of Orem.
Lingam said one Pongal dish is made from boiling milk, rice and sweetener together in a pot.
"The milk boiling out is symbolic," he added. "It means that we expect that abundance of happiness throughout the year."
Pongal involves not only giving thanks for the harvest, but also taking part in events to mark a new beginning in life. Houses and streets are cleaned and people throw old things into bonfires to symbolize departing with old habits and attitudes. Singing, dancing and even debates also are part of the festivities.
Anuradha Narayan of Provo led one of the debate teams at the Utah event in a discussion of thoughts about the past versus dreams of the future. She was well-suited for the task, having been a TV personality, radio host and writer back in India. She said she also was looking forward to being able to read a poem she wrote in the Tamil language Ð not an everyday event in the Beehive State.
"The Tamil language goes back thousands of years,"Narayan said. "Poetry is one of the basic ingredients of our language."
The Utah Pongal celebration also marked the first release of a Tamil newsletter. Information about future Tamil events can be found on the Web at utahtamilsangam.org.
