Originally Posted by
Eastern Mind
Vannakkam all: So it was only about -17 C this morning for Pongal, and a slight northerly breeze that helped the pongal fire, but made aarti difficult later. Two men in veshtis and hooded parkas with shoes took turns stoking the fire while a few others watched out the windows.
The steam from the pot blew away, unlike a few years ago when it was closer to -40 and the steam rose straight up making it practically impossible to see the pot while offering the pongal to it, and placing it in.
But our new priest is a hardy soul. Not sure exactly what or how long he would do the puja outside, devotees weren't prepared enough to at least put a rug for him to stand on. So it was a barefoot 10 minutes on concrete. I hope he didn't get frostbite.
There was something real ethereal about hearing the Sanskrit, and thevarams outside today. Sound carries much differently in dry cold air. Surya was barely peeking out over some rooftops at about a 10 degree angle to the southeast.
May everyone enjoy a year of prosperity and good harvest!
Aum Namasivaya