This Pongal, do the ‘Bogi’-woogie!

We all know what Pongal is, but are you aware that the day before this South Indian festival is called Bogi? “It is a time when old clothes and other unnecessary items are burned in a huge fire, signalling the burning of the ego and marking the beginning of a new life. And while the fire burns away, members of the community beat a special drum called the ‘bogi drum’,” explains musician Sivamani, continuing, “So in essence, the festival starts off with a drum and that’s what I am going to do in Mumbai as well.The music maestro is slated to perform with mandolin expert U Shrinivas at the Bandra Fort on January 12th, at the Times Pongal Kondattam concert, starting 7 pm.
And just as Pongal is a very special festival for Sivamani, so it is for Shrinivas. But what’s got the mandolin maestro even more excited is the fact that he’s going to perform along with Sivamani. The two have performed together before, and their musical mantras are in perfect harmony. “Sivamani is extremely talented, he does something different everytime!” smiles Shrinivas.
So while Sivamani will beat his bogi drums and play a song titled ‘bogi’ — especially dedicated to this joyous festival — from his second album, Shrinivas, too, has some new compositions lined up keeping the Pongal feel in mind. Who says you’ve got to be in Tamil Nadu to celebrate Pongal, when the Times of India brings Pongal to your doorstep!