Wood fire for that old-school Ponggal vibe

GEORGE TOWN: Nothing like properly dried firewood to get a crackling fire going for the Ponggal festival, and seller S. Hemalatha does not disappoint.

While getting a claypot overflowing with boiling milk rice is a joyful ceremony for celebrants, this time-honoured tradition is even more meaningful when using a rustic woodfire stove.

And Hemalatha makes sure she has bundles of dry firewood for sale every year for Ponggal.

“Many do not sell firewood as people usually cook the milk rice on the stoves or make do with what they have.

“I grew up having the claypot always placed on an open fire with firewood.

“So, I want my customers to have the same feel,” she said when met at her shop in Little India.

Hemalatha said she has small charcoal stoves for sale too for those who prefer it.

“That is reusable and many did buy it over the past week.

“Some come earlier to beat the weekend crowd but I am quite sure there will be more customers this weekend,” she said.

The Ponggal festival is tomorrow.

On the water cut here disrupting business, Hemalatha said she was not worried.

“Ponggal requires the use of very little water. We would have all found a way to celebrate it and cook the ponggal milk rice,” she said.

Hemalatha said she ordered the same amount of inventory as she did last year.

“I ordered over a hundred pots as other shops sell it as well,” she said.

Hemalatha said while she does not sell sugarcane, another essential item for making ponggal (the dish) the old-school way, she expects many traders to start selling it over the weekend.

“Usually, they will sell it along the side of the road a day or two before Ponggal,” she added.

Over at a popular sundry shop in Little India, its managing director S. Patmanathen said the crowd was coming in like any other year during Ponggal.

“The shop is crowded with everyone picking out their claypots and spices for the dishes they will cook on the day.

“We expect more people over the weekend.”

Patmanathen said he brought in 4,000 claypots in three sizes.

“We brought in 2,000 cartons of milk as well that people use to make the ponggal,” he added.