Thai Pongal, the secular Tamil festival that gives thanks to the sun and for the harvest, is being celebrated across the North-East today.
The festival dates back in its current form to at least as far back as the Medieval Chola empire. The occasion is marked by boiling milk and rice - the 'pongal' - in a clay pot, often accompanied by various other treats and seasonal fruit. The overflow of the milk symbolises abundance and prosperity for the year to come.
See photographs from the homeland below.
Mannar
Batticaloa
Vavuniya
Jaffna
Mullaitivu