[The festival of Makar Sankranti holds special value in the states of Delhi
By Rutu Ladage
Makar
Sankranti
It’s
Makar Sankranti today and the festival is celebrated all over India India
1.
Maghe Sankranti – Nepal
Makar
Sankranti is celebrated as Maghe Sankranti and like most regions, they too
celebrate the festival with sesame seeds. One of the legends has it that aeons
ago, a businessman had a sack of sesame seeds which never seemed to end. On
digging through the bag, he found an idol of Lord Vishnu in the bag and hence, sesame
seeds became auspicious. After Makar Sankranti, the auspicious period commences
and all ceremonies are done in Nepal
2.
Makara Sankranti - Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
In
Andhra and Telangana, Makar Sankranti is a 4-day festival and is celebrated
with a lot of excitement. The families come together and celebrate it with a
lot of sweets and in a traditional ways. The first day is Bhoghi, second Makara
Sankranti, third is Kanuma and fourth is Mukkanuma. The traditions and
celebrations on each day are different an while the first three days a strict
vegetarian diet is followed, on Mukkanuma, animal is sacrificed to the God and
meat is savoured.
3.
Sakraat or Khichdi – Bihar and Jharkhand
The
festival is a 2-day festival in Bihar
and Jharkhand where the people take holy dips in the river early in the morning
and then, have bonfires into which they offer sesame seeds. Delicacies are
prepared with sesame seeds and jaggery. The women folk in villages come
together and celebrate the festival while cooking simple but hearty meals of
rice and lentils or curd and rice/puffed rice with some vegetables.
4.
Sakraat - Delhi
The
festival of Makar Sankranti holds special value in the states of Delhi
5.
Uttarayan – Gujarat
Makar
Sankranti is celebrated on a lavish scale in Gujarat and the state also has a special
International Kite Flying festival. People stay at home on leave and after
prayers in the morning, congregate on terrace tops with their kites. There are
lots of kite games and kite wars. People feed each other sweets like chikki and
a special preparation ofUndhiyu (a mix of spcied vegetables is made). The state
celebrates the festival lavishly.
6.
Magha Saaji – Himachal Pradesh
Saaji
is the local word for Sankrant and Magha is the name of the month and the sun-sign
(capricorn) that commences with the arrival of the festival. The day signals a
change in seasons and people welcome spring by taking a dip in the rivers or
bathe in holy water. They visit their neighbours and share sweets like chikki
or khichdi and ghee (clarified butter). The locals also visit temples and do a
lot of charity on this day. The evening is celebrated with folk songs and dances.
7.
Suggi – Karnataka
Suggi
is the harvest festival of Karnataka celebrated mainly by farmers and the women.
The women visit each other’s houses in a ritual known as Ellu Birodhu and they
carry a plate of offerings and sweets with them for exchange. The plate has
sesame seeds and jaggery, and other nuts like fried ground nuts and coconut, sugar-cane
pieces and sugar candies. Women also draw rangolis outside their homes and
decorate the cattle with colourful decorations and paint their horns.
8.
Ghughuti or Kale Kauva – Uttarakhand
In
Uttarakhand, Makar Sankranti is celebrated as the festival of the migratory
birds as they believe it is the season for the birds to end their migration. The
locals give khichdi and other food as charity and organise fairs and meet-ups. Sweetmeats
are made out of sweetened flour by frying them and then asking the children to
offer these sweets to crows as a blessing for the migratory birds on their
homeward journey.
9.
Maghi – Punjab
Also
celebrated as Lohri, Maghi signals the change to warmer weather and the day
holds a special place in the hearts of the residents of Punjab . They bathe early in the morning and light
lamps with sesame oil to drive away the darkness (from life) and bring in the
prosperity. They also have huge bonfires in the evenings and enjoy their day by
socialising and having a hearty meal with sesame sweets.
10.
Pongal – Tamil Nadu
Just
like Andhra, Tamil Nadu also celebrates Pongal for 4 days with each of the days
having a special significance. On the first day, people clean and decorate
their houses, wear new clothes and discard or give away all the unwanted things.
On the second day, that is the main Pongal day, people celebrate by having
sweets and sweet rice reparations. The rice is brought to a boil with milk and
jaggery and allowed to boil over the pot. The minute the rice boils over, there
is a spcial cry uttered and Pongal is celebrated. The rice is offered to the
God and then shared by the people. The other two days involve worshipping the
cattle and viviting the relatives.
11.
Poush Parbon - West
Bengal
Poush
Parbon is celebrated in West
Bengal . The
festival falls on the last day of the Hindu month of Poush and signals the
beginning of Magha and hence, it is named after the month. Special palm jaggery,
Khejurer Gur, that is available only during this period, is used to prepare
sweets and delicacies. Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped on the day of Sankranti. However,
in Darjeeling
