Tamils in Eelam and around the world celebrated the festival of Thai Pongal on Wednesday.
The secular festival gives thanks to the sun and for the harvest, and dates back in its current form to at least as far back as the Medieval Chola empire.
Tamil households and workplaces in the homeland and across the world celebrate by boiling milk and rice - the eponymous 'pongal' - in a clay pot, often accompanied by various other treats and seasonal fruits. The overflow of the milk symbolises abundance and prosperity for the year to come.
