Chennai: All four days of Pongal festival have their own significance and traditional meaning. On Maatu Pongal, we celebrate and honour cattle by offering them special poojas. G Prabhakaran (35), better known as Prabhu in Taramani, is busy making arrangements for this Maattu Pongal.
He owns 25 cows and a cattle shed at Taramani 100-feet road and proudly says that his family has been in the business of selling milk for three generations now.
“The cowshed has been here for 50 years, from the time of my grandfather. My father, N Gnanamoorthy, expanded the business with 70 cows. We used to supply milk to the IIT-M campus. Not just us, many from Velacheri and surrounding areas took their cows to the institute for supplying milk. But 15 years ago, the institute shut the door on us. Following this, we reduced the number of cows and began direct sales.”
Now, Prabhu sells milk to over 60 households. “We begin the day at 5.30 in the morning. People start coming in by 7 am, and by then the cows are cleaned and ready for milking. We also door-deliver to several houses in Velacheri, Baby Nagar and Tansi Nagar. We charge Rs 40 for a litre of milk.”
So, what are his plans for this Maattu Pongal? “We clean the shed and the cows and make them ready for a special pooja. We paint and decorate some of them and treat them by feeding sakkarai pongal.”
Prabhu, a graduate in BBA, says he finds happiness in this business. “This our parambarai thozhil.” Prabhu can be reached at 99403 63564.