Pongalo Pongal! Thai Pongal celebration in Luxembourg

Over 300 guests filled the cultural hall in Limpertsberg to enjoy a day of festive celebration, musical performances and games.

The association also celebrates Diwali in October and Tamil New Year in April every year since its inception in 2018. The event was sponsored by Advanzia Bank and Indian Spice Bazaar Luxembourg (ISBL).

Guests started arriving from 11 am, decked up in traditional attire and were welcomed with a rangoli (an art form with different colours). The event commenced with the State Anthem of TamilNadu called "Tamil Thai Vaazhthu".

It was followed by the Lighting of the Lamp (called Kuthu Vilakku) by Ms. Sara Nobels, our guest of honour from Advanzia Bank and senior members of the association. Mr. Swaminathan, one of the founders of TSL, Mr. Gabriel, President of TSL and Mr. Santhana Krishnan, Vice-President of TSL felicitated the previous board members.

Guests who packed the venue enjoyed spectacular performances by kids and adults. A delicious feast was then served for the guests which included an elaborate menu with 20+ authentic Indian dishes including Vegetable Briyani, Chicken Briyani, Lamb Briyani, Idiyappam Briyani, Chicken kothu parotta, Paneer pepper mushroom, Chettinad Pepper Chicken, Lamb curry, Gobi 65, Basmati rice, methi seeds kulambu, Mor Kulambu, Rasam, Raita and pappad along with many varieties of desserts.

Post lunch, the celebrations kicked off again in full swing including dance and singing performances by kids and adults. The guests also participated in various fun games. Kid's activities such as face painting, drawing and mehendi stall along with other fun activities were also organised. Around 6 pm, Indian tea and snacks (veg roll and lamb roll) were served for the guests and the event came to an end at 19.30.

Overall, it was an exhilarating day and worth the effort of the organizing team. A video of the event can be found here.

We received a lot of appreciation from the members in the association's whatsapp group. Sharing a few of them below:

"Thank you, TSL Board and volunteers, for such a wonderful experience. Everything was well organized, entry was smooth, food was amazing as usual, and overall, a fun filled Sunday. You made us look forward to the next event already "

"Thank you TSL and all organisers for your hard work amidst all other important priorities in making this great event smooth and successful. This is my first participation and felt like going to a kin’s ceremony "

"It was a very nice event and the food arrangements were up to the mark. The taste of the food was also very nice. We had a very nice time as a family together. It was so really nice to see such a big crowd in a different geography who are from my own land. I would like to thank each and every one who were selflessly involved in arranging all simple things. Keep growing. Nice team effort. Big thumbs up. "

"Really well organised event. Thank you for the wonderful food, dances and music. Looking forward for more events from TSL. Great job all the volunteers and thank you so much "

The immense support and active participation by the members together with the growing interest and awareness in the South Indian culture has made the event a huge success. We would like to bid a huge Vanakkam (Salute) and Nandri (Thanks) to all the members on behalf of the TSL Board.

We would like to sincerely thank all the participants, volunteers, caterers, venue providers and RTL Today for covering the event in your voice section. Until we meet again for the next event, we would like to wish you the best.

Tamil Sangam Luxembourg (TSL) was registered in 2018 to represent over 250 members and 80 non-members hailing from the state of Tamil Nadu, India and living in the Grand Duchy. It also includes some Luxembourgish members who are interested in the culture and language.