SPEECH OF HON’BLE GOVERNOR PUNJAB AND ADMINISTRATOR, UT CHANDIGARH, SHRI BANWARILAL PUROHIT ON THE OCCASION OF PONGAL CELEBRATIONS AT BHARATHI BAHWAN, SECTOR 30B CHANDIGARH ON JANUARY 21, 2023 AT 11.00 AM

I extend warm greetings on the occasion of Pongal and Makar Sanikranthi to all.

I am pleased to take part in the Pongal Celebrations at Chandigarh with you all.

Friends,

Chandigarh City offers a vibrant, cosmopolitan culture where everyday people from diverse walks of life engage and mingle with each other . This invariably creates a culture milieu that exudes warmth and a unique sense of harmony.

Chandigarh is indeed a mini India where people from different states live in harmony truly showcasing the India’s vision of Unity in diversity. All the communities have contributed immensely to the progress of this City beautiful including the Tamil community.

I know that Tamils came to Chandigarh nearly 5 decades ago when the City Beautiful was established after independence and stayed on.

Your hand in building and maintaining the city beautiful is sincerely appreciated.

You have been helping society through activities such asadult education,health and blood donation camps,regular langar for the needy, distributing text books and other accessories to school children etc.

Recently you have celebrated FESTIVAL OF CHARITY in which you have assisted many differently abled individuals and helped them to lead normal routines.

You have always been in the fore front to the Governments of different States in times of Natural calamities such as earthquake, tsunami, Cyclones and floods.

Your involvement in serving the humanity in distributing food(Langar) on all Fridays, throughout the yearat hospitals and at your Bhawan and distributingwoolen cloths to needy people by the name of FESTIVAL OF CHARITY is setting an example to others to follow.

When I was a Governor of Tamil Nadu, I witnessed your services at Pudukkottai and Thanjavur districts in Tamil Nadu after the devasting flood and Gaja-Cylone hit at the eastern coastal area of Tamil Nadu.

You are working as the nucleus for various Seva activities. Your involvements in helping fellow Indians at the time of need is highly appreciated.

I am happy to see your involvement in building future India by assisting needy children for their education requirements, through the Bal Vikas program. You distribute text books, note books & stationery to the children from economically poor background. I am sure your continuous efforts must have assisted in curtailing the dropouts from school.

Saint Kabir in his beautiful poetic expression said that a river or stream does not dry up if a sparrow lifts a drop of the water through its beak. Similarly, the wealth of a person does not get drained out or exhausted by charity to fellow human beings. So carry on with you noble gestures. The more you give the more you get !

I came to know that you also invited poets, folk artists and drama troupes from Tamil Nadu and Delhi for performing in Chandigarh from time to time. Local talents were encouraged to participate in these programmes. This Sangam, I believe can boast musicians, vocalists as well as instrumentalists, dance masters and aspiring local children in the specific disciplines.

I gather, Chandigarh Tamil Sangam also celebrates Thiruvalluvar day (in memory of the saint-poet Thiruvalluvar), Tamil New Year day (ChiththiraiThiruvizha), and Bharathiyar day ( on the birth anniversary of the Great Tamil Poet) besides Pongal.

Pongal basically a harvest festival but I believe that it can be considered as the thanksgiving festival because this festival is celebrated to thank the Sun God and Lord Indra for helping farmers in getting better yielding crops. It is a celebration also to thank the Mother Nature and the various farm animals that help to contribute to a bountiful harvest.

It is the occasion to rejoice the gifts of nature that support and enrich our lives . The festival marks a period of plenty, peace and happiness.

This festival is celebrated, in all parts of the Country from Kanyakumair to Kashmir and Kutch to Kamrup with regional variations though all rooted in the shared cultural spirituality of Bharat – reflecting the inherent oneness underlying the rich diversity of our people. It is enthusiastically celebrated by Tamil people all over the world.

May this festival fill everyone’s lives with abundant prosperity in health, wealth and happiness.

Friends, we are living in an age of considerable climate change. For the past several centuries, we exploited natural resources indiscriminately, disrupting delicate ecological balances and setting loose forces that can wreak unimaginable havoc. And the consequences of this presumptuously proprietary predisposition toward nature are evident in the climate specters threatening us.

But, all the religions teach respect for nature and the necessary balance of nature and spirit.

All religions and cultures have something to offer to conservation and environmental protection.

Vedas command the knowledgeable to keep the environment free from all impurities.

Vishnu Purana says that God is pleased with a person who does not harm or destroy other non-speaking creatures or animals.

Durga Saptsati says that so long the earth has mountains, forests, trees plants etc human race will continue to survive.

In Buddhism the rivers, forests, mountains are highly respected and regarded as bliss bestowers and Buddhists had great respect for the sun, Moon and other planets.

For the Jains environmental harmony through spirituality should be pursued by all.

Sikhs believe that the universe was created by the Almighty God. A balance between all the elements of nature is necessary for the continuation of the universe. Any disruption in balance brings distress and disaster.

I can go on and on giving you innumerable examples of the need to acknowledge the bounties of nature and to conserve and preserve them. After all “God has made enough for everyone’s Need but not enough for everyone’s Greed” . On this Pongal celebrations let us thank Mother Nature for its bountes and pledge to save them.

Simultaneously, continue your charitable initiatives!

परोपकार : पुण्याय , that is, helping others brings the greatest good to the person who helps .

Before I conclude, I wish to say that seeing the Tamil community at home in the City Beautiful reinforces faith in the country’s diversity, ability for tolerance and pluralism . After all, love of one’s own place and culture does not prevent one from appreciating those of others.

Once the great Tamil writer Indira Parthasarthy was asked- How it was possible to be a Tamil Writer based in Delhi since, a plant can grow only in its own soil. He replied and I quote “All are my regions, everyone is my kin”.(unquote)

So, it’s time to salute to our Country’s multi-culturalism . It gives immense pleasure to be with you on the occasion of Pongal celebrations.

I extend my warm greetings, felicitations and best wishes to all of you who are assembled here for the celebrations.

On this auspicious occasion, let us commit ourselves to return to our roots and preserve our glorious culture, traditions, customs, arts and festivals.

I wish that this festival brings prosperity, peace and joy to our country!

Once again I wish you all the best in all your endeavours and my best wishes and blessings are always with you all.

Thank you,

Vanakkam

Jai Hind.