Bhogi is the last day of the Tamil month of Margazhi and the first of the four days of Pongal. Houses are cleaned and whitewashed, what is worn out is thrown away, and at first light a fire is lit outside the door while children beat a small drum. By evening the kolam for tomorrow is planned and the new pot is ready.
The story
The day honours Indra, giver of rain, who is also called Bhogi. The fire stands for a clearing-out of more than old mats: the Tamil saying for the day, from the grammar Nannul, is that the passing of the old and the entry of the new is no fault, only the way of time.
It is also the close of Margazhi, the month of Andal's Tiruppavai and Manikkavasagar's Tiruvempavai, sung before dawn in every Vishnu and Shiva temple. In Vaishnava temples Andal's wedding to the Lord, Bhogi Kalyanam, is celebrated tonight.
பழையன கழிதலும் புதியன புகுதலும் வழுவல கால வகையினானே
The passing of the old and the entry of the new is no fault: it is the way of time
Nannul, the thirteenth-century Tamil grammar
How the day goes
- Bhogi fireLit before sunrise with farm waste and discarded things. In the cities the government asks that plastic and tyres be kept out of it.
- Bhogi kottuChildren beat a small hide drum round the fire.
- Kaappu kattuSprigs of neem, avaram and koorai poo are tied at the doorway and at the corners of the roof as protection.
- Cleaning and paintingThe house is washed down and the doorstep drawn with a fresh kolam edged in red kaavi.
- Bhogi feastPoli, vadai and payasam in the evening.
Why this date
Bhogi is the day before Thai Pongal, that is, the last day of the solar month of Margazhi. It falls on 13 or 14 January.
Bhogi in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Monday | |
| 2026 | Tuesday | |
| 2027 | Thursday | |
| 2028 | Friday | |
| 2029 | Saturday | |
| 2030 | Sunday |
More Tamil festivals
14 JanuaryThai Pongalதைப்பொங்கல்
15 JanuaryMattu Pongalமாட்டுப் பொங்கல்
1 FebruaryThai Pusamதைப்பூசம்
25 JanuaryRatha Saptamiரத சப்தமி
15 FebruaryMaha Shivaratriமகா சிவராத்திரி
26 MarchRama Navamiஸ்ரீ ராம நவமி
Where to see Bhogi
In Tamil Nadu
- Mylapore, ChennaiTamil NaduThe old temple quarter, where the Margazhi kolam contests fill the four streets round the tank just before Pongal.
- SrivilliputhurTamil NaduAndal's birthplace, where her month of songs ends with her wedding.
- SrirangamTamil NaduThe Lord of the Tiruppavai; the long Margazhi festival has just closed.
Across India
- TirumalaAndhra PradeshThe Tiruppavai replaces the morning Suprabhatam for the whole month, and ends today.
- AmritsarPunjabPunjab lights its midwinter fire on the same night, as Lohri.
- GuwahatiAssamUruka, the feasting eve of Magh Bihu, ends with the burning of the meji at dawn.