Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Singh Chahal (born 23 July 1990) is an Indian cricketer and former chess player who represents India in both One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), and has also represented India internationally in chess at youth levels. He plays for Haryana in Indian domestic cricket and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.[1] He is a leg break bowler. Chahal was second player in T20I history to have taken a 6 wicket haul
Domestic career
Chahal was first signed up by Mumbai Indians in 2008. He appeared in only 1 IPL game for the team across three seasons but played in all matches in the 2011 Champions League Twenty20. He took 2 for 9 in 3 overs in the Final against Royal Challengers Bangalore, helping Mumbai defend the total of 139 and lift the title. At the 2014 IPL players auction, he was bought by the Royal Challengers for his base price of ₹10 lakh. He got the Man of the Match award against Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2014.

For his performances in 2015 and 2016, he was named in the Cricinfo IPL XI for the season.[3][4] He was also named in the Cricbuzz XI for 2016 and 2017.[5][6]

In January 2018, he was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2018 IPL auction.[7]

International career
He was named in the 14-man squad to tour Zimbabwe in 2016. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on 11 June 2016.[8]

In the second match, Chahal took three wickets for just 25 runs and led his side to victory by 8 wickets. In his second over, he delivered a seam-up delivery at a speed of 109 km/h.[9] His bowling performance earned him first international man of the match award as well.

He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut against Zimbabwe at Harare on 18 June 2016.[10]

On 1 February 2017, he became the first bowler for India to take a five wicket haul in T20Is, ending with figures of 6/25 against England.[11][12] Yuzvendra Chahal was also the first legspinner to pick up a fifer as well as 6 wicket haul in a T20I and had the record for the best bowling as a legspinner in T20I history (6/25).

He took the most wickets (23) in T20Is in 2017 by any bowler.[13]

On 18 January 2019, Chahal took his 2nd One Day International 5 wicket haul by taking 6/42 against Australia. These were the joint best figures by an Indian bowler vs Aussies after Ajit Agarkar in 2003/04. These also were best figures by an Indian spinner at MCG in Australia against Australia. In this match, Australia scored 230 in 48.5 overs while India chased it easily by winning it from 7 wickets courtesy fine knocks from M.S. Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav.

In April 2019, he was named in India's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[14][15] He ended his world cup campaign with 12 wickets.[16] In November 2019, during the third T20I against Bangladesh, he became the third bowler for India to take 50 wickets in T20Is

تمثال الوحدة

تمثال الوحدة (بالإنجليزية: Statue of Unity)،(بالهندية: स्टैच्यू ऑफ यूनिटी) هو نصبٌ تِذكاري صُمِّمَ لتكريمِ الزَّعيم السياسي الهندي ساردار فالاباي باتل لدوره الكبير في توحيد الهند بعد استقلالها من الاستعمار البريطاني سنة 1947.صمَّمَهُ النَّحاتُ الهِندي رام فنجي سوثار بأمرٍ من رئيسِ وُزراءِ الهِند السَّابق ناريندرا مودي ونفَّذته شركة (لارسن توبرو) للإنشاءات والهندسة.وهو أطول تِمثالٍ في العالم حيث يبلغ طوله 182 مترًا (597 قدمًا) وهو ما يُعادلُ ضِعفي ارتفاع تمثال الحرية. بُني فوق نهر نارمادا في ولاية غوجارات غرب الهند. وأُزيح عنه الستار في 31 أكتوبر 2018.
مقارنة
تمثال الوحدة 182 مترا.
تمثال معبد الربيع لبوذا 153 مترا.
تمثال الحرية 93 مترا.
تمثال الوطن الأم ينادي 91 مترا.
تمثال المسيح الفادي 39.6 مترا.
تاريخ
كشف رئيس الوُزَراء الهِندي السَّابق ناريندرا مودي عن مشروع إنشاء تمثال الوحدة في 7 أكتوبر 2010 عندما كان يعقد مؤتمرا صحفيا بمناسبة بداية عامه العاشر كرئيس وُزراء لولاية غوجارات في تلك الفترة ، وكان قد أطلق على المشروع اسم (إشادة غوجارات بالأمة) .

ثم بدأ مودي حملة التوعية التي أطلق عليها اسم حركة تمثال الوحدة من أجل بناء التمثال. حيث تم جمع الحديد اللازم للتمثال من تبرعات  المزارعين  بأدواتهم الزراعية. ومع حلول عام 2016 ، تم جمع  135 طنًا متريًا من الحديد الخردة ، حيث استُخدم منه حوالي 109 طن منها لإنشاء أساس التمثال بعد المعالجة.  ثم تم إجراء سباق للماراثون يحمل شعار الجري من أجل الوحدة(باللغة الانجليزية :Run For Unity) في 15 ديسمبر 2013 . 

التصميم والبناء

رئيس وزراء الهند السابق ناريندرا مودي يضع حجر أساس تمثال الوحدة
يجسِّدُ تمثالُ الوِحدة الرَّجل الحديدي في الهند ساردار فالاباي باتل، الذي استطاع بحِنْكتِهِ أن يُساعد في توحيد الولايات الهندية البالغ عددها 562 ولاية.تم بناؤُه من حوالي 1850 طنا من الخرسانة المسلَّحة و الصلب و البرونز والمعادن التي تم جمعها من أدوات زراعية كان المزارعون الهنود قد قاموا بالتبرع بها.وبلغت تكلفة بناءه 29,9 مليار روبية أي ما يعادل (405 ملايين دولار) وهو ما أثار معارضة الجماعات القبلية المحلية في الهند.استغرق بناء تمثال الوحدة 33 شهراً حيث شارك في بناءه 250 مهندسا وما يقارب الــ3400 عامل.ولأن الهند تقع في منطقة تُعرف بكثرة الزلازل والأعاصير فقد تمَّ بناءُ التِّمثال ليتحمل رياحًا تصل سُرعتُها إلى 220 كيلومتر في الساعة (140 ميلاً في الساعة) وزلازل قوَّتُها 6.5 على مقياس ريختر. ويغطي التمثال، مع السّاحة المحيطة به، مساحةً تزيد عن 20 ألف متر مربع، تمَّت إِحاطته ببُحيرة اصطناعية تبلغ مساحتها 12 كيلومترا مربعاً، إلى جانبِ مُتْحفٍ تذكاري ،من المقرَّر أن يحوي 40 ألف وثيقة وما يقارب الألفي صورة.

التمويل
تم بناء تمثال الوحدة بتمويل من شراكة القطاع العام بالخاص ، حيث  قامت  حكومة ولاية غوجارات بجمع وتخصيص مبلغ 6 مليار رويبة (أي ما يعادل 83 مليون دولار) لهذا المشروع في ميزانية(2012-2015).كما تمَّ تخصيص 2 مليار رويبة للمشروع من ميزانية الاتحاد الهندية سنة 2014. كما قامت شركات القطاع العام بالتبرع بالأموال تحت نظام المسؤولية الاجتماعية للشركات .

السياحة
خلال أحد عشر يوما من افتتاح تمثال الوحدة قام بزيارتها أكثر من 128،000 سائح، وكانوا يتنقلون من موقف السيارات نحو التمثال عن طريق حافلات خُصِّصَت لنقل السُّيَّاح، لعدم توفر خدمات السيارات الخاصة بالمنطقة. وُضِعت المصاعد في الخدمة من الساعة 3 إلى 5 مساءً حيث يتم نقل السيَّاح إلى سطح المراقبة في الأعلى.لا يتم استقبال السياح يوم الاثنين إذ خصص لأعمال الصيانة.

Statue of Unity

The Statue of Unity is a colossal statue of Indian statesman and independence activist Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950), who was the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home minister of independent India and the chief adherent of Mahatma Gandhi during the non-violent Indian Independence movement. Patel was highly respected for his leadership in uniting the 562 princely states of India to form the single Union of India. It is located in the state of Gujarat, India. It is the world's tallest statue with a height of (597 ft) 182 metres. It is located on a river facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam on river Narmada in Kevadiya colony, 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of the city of Vadodara[2] and 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Surat.

The project was first announced in 2010 and the construction of the statue started in October 2013 by Larsen & Toubro, It was designed by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar, and was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October 2018, the 143rd birth anniversary of Patel.
History
Narendra Modi first announced the project to commemorate Vallabhbhai Patel on 7 October 2013 at a press conference to mark the beginning of his 10th year as The Chief Minister of Gujarat. At the time, the project was dubbed, "Gujarat's tribute to the nation".[4]

A separate Society named Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET) has been formed under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister, Government of Gujarat, to ensure seamless execution of the entire project.[4][5]

An outreach drive named the Statue of Unity Movement was started to support the construction of the statue. It helped collect the iron needed for the statue by asking farmers to donate their used farming instruments.[4][6] By 2016, total 135 metric tonnes of scrap iron had been collected and about 109 tonnes of it was used to make the foundation of the statue after processing.[7] A marathon entitled Run For Unity was held on 15 December 2013 in Surat and in Vadodara in support of the project.[8]

Design and construction
Design
The statue depicts Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement, the first Deputy Prime Minister of India, and responsible for the integration of hundreds of princely states into the modern Republic of India.


The Statue of Unity is an enlarged version of this statue in the Ahmedabad International Airport.
After studying numerous statues of Patel across the country, a team of historians, artists, and academics chose to proceed with a design submitted by the Indian sculptor, Ram V. Sutar.[a] The Statue of Unity is a much larger replica of a statue of the leader installed at Ahmedabad International Airport. Commenting on the design, Ram Sutar's son, Anil Sutar, explains that "the expression, posture and pose justify the dignity, confidence, iron will as well as kindness that his personality exudes. The head is up, a shawl flung from shoulders and hands are on the side as if he is set to walk". Three models of the design measuring 3 feet (0.91 m), 18 feet (5.5 m), and 30 feet (9.1 m) were initially created. Once the design of the largest model was approved, a detailed 3D-scan was produced which formed the basis for the bronze cladding cast in a foundry in China.[11][7]

Patel's dhoti-clad legs and the use of sandals for footwear rendered the design thinner at the base than at the top thereby affecting its stability. This was addressed by maintaining a slenderness ratio of 16:19 rather than the customary 8:14 ratio of other tall buildings.[7] The statue is built to withstand winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour (110 mph) and earthquakes measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale which are at a depth of 10 km and within a radius of 12 km of the statue. This is aided by the use of two 250-tonne tuned mass dampers which ensure maximum stability.[1][7]

The total height of the structure is 240 m (790 ft), with a base of 58 m (190 ft) and statue of 182 m (597 ft).[1] The height of 182 was specifically chosen to match the number of seats in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.[4][7]

Funding
The statue of Unity was built by Public Private Partnership model, with most of the money raised by the Government of Gujarat. The Gujarat state government had allotted ₹500 crore (equivalent to ₹564 crore or US$79 million in 2018) for the project in the budget from 2012 to 2015.[12][13] In the 2014–15 Union Budget, ₹200 crore (equivalent to ₹239 crore or US$33 million in 2018) were allocated for the construction of the statue.[14][15][16] Funds were also contributed by Public Sector Undertakings under Corporate Social Responsibility scheme.[17]

Construction
A consortium comprising Turner Construction, Michael Graves and Associates and the Meinhardt Group supervised the project. It took 57 months to complete – 15 months for planning, 40 months for construction and two months for handing over by the consortium.[18] The total cost of the project was estimated to be about ₹2,063 crore (equivalent to ₹25 billion or US$350 million in 2018) by the government.[12] The tender bids for the first phase were invited in October 2013 and were closed in November 2013.[19]

Narendra Modi, then serving as Chief Minister of Gujarat, laid the statue's foundation stone on 31 October 2013, the 138th anniversary of Patel's birth.[20][21]

Indian infrastructure company Larsen & Toubro won the contract on 27 October 2014 for its lowest bid of ₹2,989 crore (equivalent to ₹36 billion or US$500 million in 2018) for the design, construction and maintenance.[22][23] They commenced the construction on 31 October 2014. In the first phase of the project, ₹1,347 crore were for the main statue, ₹235 crore for the exhibition hall and convention centre, ₹83 crore for the bridge connecting the memorial to the mainland and ₹657 crore for the maintenance of the structure for 15 years after its completion.[22][23] The Sadhu Bet hillock was flattened from 70 to 55 metres to lay the foundation.[7]

L&T employed over 3000 workers and 250 engineers in the statue's construction. The core of the statue used 210,000 cubic metres (7,400,000 cu ft) of cement concrete, 6500 tonnes of structural steel, and 18500 tonnes of reinforced steel. The outer façade is made up of 1700 tonnes of bronze plates and 1850 tonnes of bronze cladding which in turn comprise 565 macro and 6000 micro panels. The bronze panels were cast in Jiangxi Tongqing Metal Handicrafts Co. Ltd (the TQ Art foundry) in China as suitable facilities were unavailable in India.[24][25][7] The bronze panels were transported over sea and then by road to the workshop near the construction site where they were assembled.[7]

Local tribals belonging to the Tadvi tribe opposed land acquisition for the development of tourism infrastructure around the statue.[26] They have been offered cash and land compensation, and have been provided jobs. People of Kevadia, Kothi, Waghodia, Limbdi, Navagam, and Gora villages opposed the construction of the statue and demanded the restitution of the land rights over 375 hectares (927 acres) of land acquired earlier for the dam as well as the formation of new Garudeshwar subdistrict. They also opposed the formation of Kevadia Area Development Authority (KADA) and the construction of Garudeshwar weir-cum-causeway project. The government of Gujarat accepted their demands.[27]

Construction of the monument was completed in mid-October 2018; and the inaugural ceremony was held on 31 October 2018, presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[28][29] The statue has been described as a tribute to Indian engineering skills.[30]

Features
The Statue of Unity is the world's tallest statue at 182 metres (597 ft). It rises 54 metres (177 ft) higher than the previous record holder, the Spring Temple Buddha in China's Henan province.[31] The previous tallest statue in India was the 41 m (135 ft) statue of Hanuman at the Paritala Anjaneya Temple near Vijayawada in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The statue can be seen within a 7 km (4.3 mi) radius.[7]

The monument is constructed on a river island named Sadhu Bet, 3.2 km (2.0 mi) away from and facing the Narmada Dam downstream.[1] The statue and its surroundings occupy more than 2 hectares (4.9 acres),[citation needed] and are surrounded by a 12 km (7.5 mi) long artificial lake formed by the Garudeshwar weir downstream on the Narmada river.[32][7]

The statue is divided into five zones of which only three are accessible to the public. From its base to the level of Patel's shins is the first zone which has three levels and includes an exhibition area, mezzanine and roof. Zone 1 contains a memorial garden and a museum. The second zone reaches up to Patel's thighs, while the third extends up to the viewing gallery at 153 metres. Zone 4 is the maintenance area while the final zone comprises the head and shoulders of the statue.[33][7]

The museum in zone 1 catalogues the life of Sardar Patel and his contributions. An adjoining audio-visual gallery provides a 15-minute presentation on Patel and also describes the tribal culture of the state.[7] The concrete towers which form the statue's legs contain two elevators each. Each lift can carry 26 people at a time to the viewing gallery in just over 30 seconds. The gallery is located at a height of 153 metres (502 ft) and can hold up to 200 people.[34][35]

Tourism
Over 128,000 tourists visited it in 11 days after it was opened to the public on 1 November 2018.[36]
The daily average tourist footfall at Statue of Unity during November 2019 reached 15,036, outpacing Statue of Liberty (attracts around 10,000 daily visitors on average).[37]

It is included in the "8 wonders of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)".

راكيش شارما

راكيش شارما (بالإنجليزية: Rakesh Sharma) (و. 1949 – م) هو رائد فضاء، وعسكري من الهند . ولد في Patiala .
يادة الفضاء
شارك في المهمات الفضائية:

Soyuz T-10
Soyuz T-11.
التعليم
تعلم في North Eastern Hill University، والجامعة العثمانية

جوائز
حصل على جوائز منها:

Ashok Chakra Award
Medal "For Strengthening of Brotherhood in Arms"
وسام لينين
بطل الاتحاد السوفيتي
Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration".

Rakesh Sharma

Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, AC (born 13 January 1949) is a former Indian Air Force pilot who flew aboard Soyuz T-11, launched on 2 April 1984, as part of the Interkosmos programme. Sharma is the first and the only Indian citizen to travel in space till date; although there have been other Indian origin cosmonauts and astronauts who were not Indian citizens
Early life
Mr. Sharma was born on 13 January 1949 in Patiala, Punjab, India.[3] He attended St. Georges Grammar School, Hyderabad.[3] He graduated from Nizam College, Hyderabad. He was admitted to the National Defence Academy as an air force plebe in July 1966.[4] Sharma was commissioned into the Indian Air Force to become a pilot in 1970.[5] He was the first man from India to go into space.

Career
An alumnus of the 35th National Defence Academy, Sharma joined as a test pilot in the Indian Air Force in 1970. He flew various aircraft like Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) aircraft starting from 1971. Sharma progressed through numerous levels and in 1984, he was appointed as a squadron leader and pilot in the Indian Air Force.[3] He was selected on 20 September 1982 to become a cosmonaut and go into space as part of a joint program between the Indian Air Force and the Soviet Interkosmos space program.[6]

In 1984, he became the first Indian citizen to enter space when he flew aboard the Soviet rocket Soyuz T-11 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic on 2 April 1984. The Soyuz T-11 docked and transferred the three member Soviet-Indian international crew which also included the ship's commander, Yury Malyshev, and flight engineer, Gennadi Strekalov, to the Salyut 7 Orbital Station. Sharma spent 7 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes aboard the Salyut 7 during which his team conducted scientific and technical studies which included forty-three experimental sessions. His work was mainly in the fields of bio-medicine and remote sensing.[6] The crew held a joint television news conference with officials in Moscow and then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. When Gandhi asked Sharma how India looked from outer space, he replied, "Sare Jahan Se Accha" (the best in the world). This is the title of a patriotic poem by Iqbal that had been written when India was under British colonial rule, that continues to be popular today. India became the 14th nation to send a man to outer space.[6]

He retired with the rank of wing commander. He joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in 1987 and served as the chief test pilot in the HAL Nashik Division until 1992, before moving on to Bangalore to work as the chief test pilot of HAL. He was also associated with the light combat aircraft, Tejas.[6]

Sharma retired from flying in 2001.[1]

Military awards and decorations
Rakesh Sharma was conferred with the honour of the Hero of the Soviet Union upon his return from space. He remains, till date, the only Indian to have been conferred this honour. India also conferred its highest peacetime gallantry award, the Ashoka Chakra, on him and the other two Soviet members of his mission, Malyshev and Strekalov

Pongal

Pongal (பொங்கல், /ˈθaɪˈpoʊŋʌl/, also spelled Poṅkal), is also referred to as Thai Pongal (தைப்பொங்கல், also spelled Tai Pongal), is a multi-day harvest festival of South India, particularly in the Tamil community.[3][4][5] It is observed at the start of the month Tai according to Tamil solar calendar,[4] and this is typically about January 14.[3][1] It is dedicated to the Hindu sun god,[6] the Surya, and corresponds to Makar Sankranti, the harvest festival under many regional names celebrated throughout India.[7][8][9] The three days of the Pongal festival are called Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal and Maattu Pongal.[7]

According to tradition, the festival marks the end of winter solstice, and the start of the sun's six-month-long journey northwards (the Uttaraayanam) when the sun enters the zodiac Makara (Capricorn).[10] The festival is named after the ceremonial "Pongal", which means "to boil, overflow" and refers to the traditional dish prepared from the new harvest of rice boiled in milk with jaggery (raw sugar).[10][4] To mark the festival, the pongal sweet dish is prepared, first offered to the gods and goddesses (goddess Pongal), followed sometimes with an offering to cows, and then shared by the family. Festive celebrations include decorating cows and their horns, ritual bathing and processions.[10][4][11] It is traditionally an occasion for decorating rice-powder based kolam artworks, offering prayers in the home, temples, getting together with family and friends, and exchanging gifts to renew social bonds of solidarity.[1][12]

Pongal is one of the most important festivals celebrated by Tamil people in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in India.[5][13] It is also a major Tamil festival in Sri Lanka.[14][15] It is observed by the Tamil diaspora worldwide,[16][17] including those in Malaysia,[18][19] Mauritius, South Africa,[20][21] Singapore,[22] United States, United Kingdom, and Canada
Etymology and history
Tai (தை, Thai) refers to the name of the tenth month in the Tamil calendar, while Pongal (from pongu) connotes "boiling over" or "overflow." Pongal is also the name of a sweetened dish of rice boiled in milk and jaggery that is ritually consumed on this day.[4]

The Pongal festival is mentioned in an inscription in the Viraraghava temple dedicated to Vishnu (Thiruvallur, Chennai). Credited to the Chola king Kulottunga I (1070-1122 CE), the inscription describes a grant of land to the temple for celebrating the annual Pongal festivities.[26] Similarly, the 9th-century Shiva bhakti text Tiruvembavai by Manikkavachakar vividly mentions the festival
According to Andrea Gutiérrez – a scholar of Sanskrit and Tamil traditions, the history of the Pongal dish in festive and religious context can be traced to at least the Chola period. It appears in numerous texts and inscriptions with variant spellings. In early records, it appears as ponakam, tiruponakam, ponkal and similar terms.[27] Some of the major Hindu temple inscriptions from Chola Dynasty to Vijayanagara Empire periods include detailed recipe which are essentially the same as the pongal recipes of the modern era, but for the variations in seasonings and relative amounts of the ingredients.[27] Further, the terms ponakam, ponkal and its prefixed variants have meant either the festive pongal dish by itself as prasadam, or the pongal dish as part of entire thali (now alankara naivedya). These were a part of the charitable grants received and served by free community kitchens in Tamil and Andhra Pradesh Hindu temples either as festival food or to pilgrims every day.[27]

Pongal dish
Main article: Pongal (dish)
The festival's most significant practice is the preparation of the traditional "pongal" dish. It utilizes freshly harvested rice, and is prepared by boiling it in milk and raw cane sugar (jaggery).[10] Sometimes additional ingredients are added to the sweet dish, such as: cardamom, raisins, Green gram (split), and cashew nuts. Other ingredients include coconut and ghee (clarified butter from cow milk).[7][27] Along with the sweet version of the Pongal dish, some prepare other versions such as salty and savoury (venpongal). In some communities, women take their "cooking pots to the town center, or the main square, or near a temple of their choice or simply in front of their own home" and cook together as a social event, states Gutiérrez.[27] The cooking is done in sunlight, usually in a porch or courtyard, as the dish is dedicated to the Sun god, Surya. Relatives and friends are invited, and the standard greeting on the Pongal day typically is, "has the rice boiled"?[10]

The cooking is done in a clay pot that is often garlanded with leaves or flowers, sometimes tied with a piece of turmeric root or marked with pattern artwork called kolam. It is either cooked at home, or in community gatherings such as in temples or village open spaces.[28] It is the ritual dish, along with many other courses prepared from seasonal foods for all present. It is traditionally offered to the gods and goddesses first, followed sometimes by cows, then to friends and family gathered. Temples and communities organize free kitchen prepared by volunteers to all those who gather.[10][29] According to Andre Bateille, this tradition is a means to renew social bonds.[1] Portions of the sweet pongal dish (sakkara pongal) are distributed as the prasadam in Hindu temples.[7]

According to Anthony Good, the dish and the process of its preparation is a part of the symbolism, both conceptually and materially.[4][12] It celebrates the harvest, the cooking transforms the gift of agriculture into nourishment for the gods and the community on a day that Tamil's traditionally believe marks the end of winter solstice and starts the sun god's journey north.[4] The blessing of abundance by Goddess Pongal (Uma, Parvati) is symbolically marked by the dish "boiling over".[28]

Days of the festival
The festival is observed for three[3] or four[5] days in Tamil Nadu, but one or two days in urban locations particularly in the Tamil diaspora community outside South Asia.[7]

Bhogi Pongal
The Pongal festival begins on the day called Bhogi Pongal, and it marks the last day of the Tamil month Marghazi.[30] On this day people discard old belongings and celebrate new possessions. The people assemble and light a bonfire in order to burn the heaps of discards. Houses are cleaned, painted and decorated to give a festive look. The horns of oxen and buffaloes are painted in villages. New clothes are worn to mark the start of the festival.[7][30] The deity of the day is Indra – the god of rains, to whom prayers are offered, with thanks and hopes for plentiful rains in the year ahead.[7][30]

Bhogi is also observed on the same day in Andhra Pradesh. In the ceremony called Bhogi Pallu, fruits of the harvest such as regi pallu and sugar cane are collected along with flowers of the season. Money is often placed into a mixture of treats and is poured over children. The children then separate and collect the money and sweet fruits
Surya Pongal – also called Suryan Pongal or Perum Pongal – is the second and main festive day, and is dedicated to the Hindu god Surya.[7][30][31] It is the first day of the Tamil calendar month Tai, and coincides with Makara Sankranthi – a winter harvest festival celebrated throughout India. The day marks the start of the Uttarayana, when the sun enters the 10th house of the zodiac Makara (Capricorn).[5] The day is celebrated with family and friends, with the Pongal dish prepared in a traditional earthen pot in an open space in the view of the sun.[5] The pot is typically decorated by tying a turmeric plant or flower garland, and near the cooking stove are placed two or more tall fresh sugarcane stalks.[5]

The pongal dish is traditionally prepared by boiling milk, in a group setting. When it starts to bubble, freshly harvested rice grains and cane sugar jaggery are added to the pot. As the dish begins to boil and overflow out of the vessel, one or more participants blow a conch called the sanggu while others shout with joy "Pongalo Pongal"! – lit. "may this rice boil over".[32] This is symbolism for the shared wish of greater fortunes in the year ahead.[7][30] In rural settings, the gathered women or neighbors sing "kuruvai trills" (traditional songs) while the pongal dish is cooking.[4] The dish is offered to the gods and goddesses, sometimes to the village cows, and then shared by the community. Men traditionally offer prayers to the sun with the namaskaram posture in open, and then proceed to eat their meal.[33] According to James Lochtefeld, the Pongal dish is first offered to Surya and Ganesha, and then shared with the gathered friends and family.[34]

Tamilians decorate their homes with banana and mango leaves and embellish the entrance space before homes, corridors or doors with decorative floral, festive or geometric patterns drawn using colored rice flour. These are called kolams.[5]

Mattu Pongal
Mattu Pongal is celebrated the day after Surya Pongal. Mattu refers to "cow, bullock, cattle", and Tamil Hindus regard cattle as sources of wealth for providing dairy products, fertilizer, transportation and agricultural aid. On Mattu Pongal, cattle are decorated – sometimes with flower garlands or painted horns, they are offered bananas, a special meal and worshipped.[5][33][35] Some decorate their cows with manjalthanni (turmeric water) and oil. Shikakai apply kungumam (kumkum) to their foreheads, paint their horns, and feed them a mixture of venn pongal, jaggery, honey, banana and other fruits. Others bathe their cattle and prostrate before them with words of thanks for the help with the harvest.[33]

In cities, the day marks the ritual visit to nearby temples and prayers there. Temples and communities hold processions by parading icons from the sanctum of the temple in wooden chariots, drama-dance performances encouraging social gatherings and renewal of community bonds.[33]

Other events during Pongal include community sports and games such as cattle race, the Jallikattu.[33][36] The major cultural festivals on Pongal occur near Madurai.[5]

Kaifi Azmi

Shaukat Kaifi (21 October 1926 – 22 November 2019)[1], also credited as Shaukat Azmi, was an Indian theater and film actress. Her husband was the Urdu poet and film lyricist, Kaifi Azmi. She and her husband were leading lights of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) and the Progressive Writers Association (IWA), which were the cultural platforms of the Communist Party of India.
Biography
Shaukat Kaifi was born into a shia family of Uttar Pradesh migrants in Hyderabad State. She grew up in Aurangabad, India. At a young age, she was married to the Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi. They had two children together, a boy and a girl. Their son, Baba Azmi, is a noted cameraman and cinematographer. He is married to Tanvi Azmi, a Hindu by birth and the daughter of Usha Kiran, a famous actress of yesteryears. Shaukat and Kaifi's daughter, Shabana Azmi (b. 1950), is an actress of Indian cinema, married to noted poet and film lyricist Javed Akhtar.

Shaukat and Kaifi, who settled in Mumbai immediately after their wedding, endured many ups and downs in life together. Kaifi was a committed member of the Communist Party, so much so that, upon his request, his party membership card was buried with him when he died.

He worked all his life for the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) and the Progressive Writers Association (PWA), and for many years after their wedding, his income was the meagre stipend from the Party. For many years, the couple lived with their two children in accommodation provided by the Communist Party of India, which was one bedroom in an apartment shared with three other families. Since all the other families were also communists and involved with theatre or cinema, Shaukat was also bitten by the bug of theatre. Money was another incentive for her to act, and money was indeed a great problem for the couple after their two children began going to school.

Finally, in the mid-1950s, Kaifi began looking for work in the Mumbai film industry as a writer and songster. He met with success as a songwriter and the family fortunes took an upward turn. Within a few years, they were able to purchase an apartment in the tiny Mumbai neighbourbood of Juhu. Her husband's association with the film industry helped Shaukat to take on roles in films too.

She appeared in about a dozen films, with significant roles in major films like (Garam Hawa and Umrao Jaan). In theatre, she appeared in a dozen plays. All this she could successfully do along with her domestic duties.

After Kaifi Azmi dies in 2002, Shaukat Azmi wrote an autobiography, Kaifi and I which has been adapted to a play Kaifi aur Main. It premiered in Mumbai in 2006 on the 4th death anniversary of Kaifi Azmi.