Many Names, One Festival

The Makar Sankranti: Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious Hindu
festivals in India. The ancient Indian festival, which is celebrated to mark
the beginning of the harvesting season in India, is probably the only
festival that is celebrated in every region of India, on the same day, but in
different manners and names.

From Pongal, Khichdi to Maghi, here's how Makar Sankranti is celebrated in

India:

Thai Pongal, Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu, the South India state, also
celebrates the harvest festival in a grand manner. The festival is
known as Pongal in the state and the Tamil-speaking people
celebrate Pongal, also Tamilian New Year, for a period of four days.
The three days of the Pongal festival are called Bhogi Pongal, Surya
Pongal and Maattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal. The festival is
named after the ceremonial 'Pongal', which means "to boil,
overflow" and refers to the traditional dish prepared from the new
harvest of rice boiled in milk with jaggery (raw sugar).

Uttarayan, Gujarat: One of the major festival for Gujarati people

around the world. The festival lasts for two days, first day is
celebrated on January 14 and is called Uttarayan. On this day, kites
festivals are organized all over the state, that fill the entire state
with colors and echo of ‘kai po che’ can be heard everywhere.

1. “Patang” - kites,
2. “Undhiyu” - a spicy curry made with winter vegetables, and
3. “Chikkis” - sweets made with til (sesame), peanuts and jaggery.
They are a special festival recipe savoured on this day.
 Lohri, Punjab: Makar Sankranti in Punjab takes on vibrancy, dance,
and colours.

1. Lohri is celebrated the night before Sankranti or Maghi. The people

fondly sing the famous folk song “Sunder mundriye, ho!” and
perform “Giddha” , a folk dance by women and “Bhaṅ gṛā” by men.
They dress in bright colours and dance in a circle around the
bonfire.
2. On Maghi, groups of children move from door to door, singing the
folk-song: "Dulla Bhatti ho! Dulle ne dhi viyahi ho! Ser shakar pai
ho!" (Dulla married his daughter off and gave a kilo of sugar as a
marriage gift).

Poush Sankranti, Bengal: In West Bengal, the festival is known as

Poush Sankranti, named after the Bengali month in which it falls.
Mouth-watering sweets like pithe, pathisapta etc with rice and
palm jaggery mark the harvest festival.This part of the country is
known for its Ganga Sagar Mela, an annual celebration held during
Makar Sankranti. This is the place where the sacred river Ganga
merges with the Bay of Bengal (sea). Devotees take a dip in the
holy waters of the river and offer their prayers to the Gods.

Ellu Birodhu, Karnataka: Makara Sankranti is celebrated in

Karnataka with a ritual called "Ellu Birodhu” where women
exchange “Ellu Bella” (regional delicacies made using freshly cut
sugarcane, sesame seeds, jaggery, and coconut) with at least 10
families. At this time, this Kannada saying is popular - "ellu bella
thindu olle maathadi" meaning 'eat the mixture of sesame seeds
and jaggery and speak only good.’ Farmers celebrate as “Suggi” or
 ‘harvest festival’ and decorate their bulls and cows in colourful
costumes. Farmers jump over fire along with their bulls, in a ritual
called "Kichchu Haayisuvudu."

Bihu Magh/Bhogali, Assam: In Assam - the northeastern state of

India - Makar Sankranti is celebrated as Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu.
It is one of the biggest festivals of the Hindu population in
Assam.Like other Indian states, Bihu is associated with agriculture,
and rice in particular. On this day, people wear traditional clothes
like dhoti, gamosa, and saadar mekhela and bonfires are burned in
the fields and people pray to their ancestral gods for blessings.

Khichdi Parv, Uttar Pradesh: In Uttar Pradesh, the festival is commonly

known as Khichd, involves ritual bathing in the holy water and people eat dish,
made from rice and pulses, called khichdi after it's offered to the Sun God. Over
millions of people gather at their respective sacred places for the holy bath.

Bihar and Jharkhand:

1. On the first day, people bathe in rivers and ponds and feast upon
seasonal dishes (made with tilgud) as a celebration of a good
harvest. Kite flying is, again, something to look forward too!
2. The second day is celebrated as Makraat, when people relish
special khichdi (lentil-rice, replete with cauliflower, peas and
potatoes), which is served with chokha (roasted vegetable), papad,
ghee and achaar.

Maharashtra: People celebrate Makara Sankranti in Maharashtra

by exchanging til-gud as tokens of goodwill. The underlying
thought is to forgive and forget the past ill-feelings, resolve the
 conflicts, speak sweetly and remain friends. Women come together
and perform a special 'Haldi-Kumkum' ceremony.

Andhra Pradesh: Makara Sankranti is celebrated in Andhra

Pradesh for four days.

Day 1 - Bhogi Panduga, when people throw away old items into the
Bhogi (bonfire).

Day 2 - Pedda Panduga, meaning ‘Big Festival,’ is celebrated with

prayers, new clothes, and by inviting guests for feasts. The entrance
of the house is decorated with “muggu” designs, i.e. rangoli patterns,
filled with colours, flowers, and “gobbemma” (small, hand-pressed
piles of cow dung).

Day 3 - Kanuma, is very special for farmers. They worship and

showcase their cattle that symbolizes prosperity. Cockfighting was
also held earlier, but now it is banned.

Day 4 – On Mukkanuma, farmers offer prayers to the elements such as

soil, rain, and fire for helping the harvest. People eat meat delicacies
on the last day.

Kerala: Makar Sankranti is celebrated in Kerala as thousands

throng to see the Makara Vilakku (flame on Ponnambalamedu hill)
near the Sabarimala temple when the Makara Jyothi, the celestial
star appears in the sky.

The belief is that Lord Ayyappa Swami shows his presence in the
form of this celestial lighting and blesses his devotees.

Himachal Pradesh: In Himachal Pradesh Makara Sankranti that is

known as Magha Saaja, marks the start of the month of Magha. The
devotees wake up early in the morning and take ceremonial dips in
 the water springs. The day starts with an early morning puja and
burning of paza leaves. In the daytime people visit their neighbours
and feast on Khichdi with loads of ghee and chaas.

A huge number of devotees also visit the famous Tatapani hot

water springs on Makara Sankranti to take a holy dip. Apart from
curing skin diseases (due to Sulphur content) bathing in this water
body is also considered to be auspicious. The devotees make Tula
Daan, where they make offerings of cereals to the priests equal to
an individuals weight. The offerings made on this day hold greater
significance since, this act helps in alleviating ones sufferings.

Makar Sankranti in Kashmir - is also known as Shishur Saenkraat in

Kashmir which marks the solar transition to pleasant and warm seasons
from extremely cold winters and is celebrated with sweets made of
jaggery and sesame. Sankranti is celebrated to welcome spring. There
are many ceremonies and traditions that are followed across temples
and people take bath in holy rivers as well. In Jammu and Kashmir, a
traditional 'Chajja' dance is performed by young boys.

Makar Sankranti: One festival but how many names???-

https://youtu.be/zq_iftT0Ax4?si=oXQUCc8r6Cx64HKe
Map link: https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1VVPF_JAz0-nlhTNa8EfYRb9FJpPUrmGV?
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Sources:

1. festivalsofindia.in
2. hoovufresh.com
3. wikipedia.org
4. wionews.com

By: Darsh Diwan

Class: IX-A

Scholar No: 3021

BT House