It is little late to pick up this topic, but could not resist the opportunity to recapitulate last week’s festive mood. Most of us have enjoyed our holiday on the day of Sankranti. What is Sankranti … Is it all about flying kites? Eating sweets made of til? Taking a dip in Ganga? Exchanging sugarcane or painting horns of cows & bulls? The day on which the sun begins it journey northwards is referred to as Makara Sankranti.
Sankramana means ‘to commence movement’. The time when the Sun changes direction from one constellation [from Sagittarius to Capricorn] & winter solstice in the northern hemisphere (Uttarayana) to another is known as Sankranti and hence the name Makara Sankranti given to one of the largest & most auspicious but varied festival in the Indian continent. It also means one meets another. Makara Sankranti is also to honor, worship and to pay respect to Saraswati Maa.
At the start of this significant event, there is also worship for the departed ancestors. The period is also considered an ideal time for aspirants to satisfy ‘the goals of life’. Very significant however, the day preceding Makara Sankranti is when people discard old and derelict things and concentrate on new things causing change or transformation. Sweets in generous quantities are prepared and distributed. Very important though, cooking is done by the women folk on this occasion. Families are joined together for this occasion without fail. Brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as affirmation of their love & affection.
Young girls feed the animals, birds and fish as a symbol of sharing. Travel is considered to be inappropriate, as these days are dedicated for re-union of the families. And finally, the Gurus seek out their devotees to bestow blessings on them. Since the festival is celebrated in mid winter, food prepared for this festival is such that it keeps the body warm and gives high energy. Laddu of til made with Jaggery is a specialty of the festival Traditionally, this period is considered an auspicious time and the veteran Bhishma of Mahabharata chose to die during this period. Bhishma fell to the arrows of Arjuna.
With his boon to choose the time of his death, he waited on a bed of arrows to depart from this world only during this period. It is believed that those who die in this period have no rebirth. In Andhra, people like to call it Pedda Panduga, meaning big festival. The whole event lasts for four days, the first day Bhogi, the second day Sankranti, the third day Kanuma and the fourth day, Mukkanuma. In Assam, it is Bhogali Bihu or Magh Bihu. People take bath in the morning and burn the firewood, called Meji. People gather around the Meji and throw Pithas (rice cakes) and betel nuts to it while burning it at the same time.
They offer their prayers to the God & mark the end of the harvesting year. Thereafter they come back home carrying pieces of half burnt firewood for being thrown among fruit trees for favorable results. In Gujarat, the pandits consider Sankranti an auspicious day to grant scholarships and certificates of merit to students who have successfully completed their studies in philosophy. In a Hindu household, new utensils are purchased and used for the first time. Brightly colored kites dot the skies on this day. In Karnataka, men, women and children in colorful attire visit friends and relatives and exchange pieces of sugarcane, a mixture of fried til, molasses, pieces of dry coconut, peanuts and fried gram.
The significance of this exchange is that sweetness should prevail in all the dealings. As part of the festival, cows and bulls are given a wash and the horns are painted with bright colors and decorated with garland, and are taken in a procession in the village to the accompaniment of pipes and drums. In the night a bonfire is lit and the animals are made to jump over the fire. In Kerala, the famous Sabarimala Pilgrimage comes to an end with sighting of the Makaravilakku at Sabarimala Temple. In Maharashtra, when two persons greet each other on this festive day, they exchange a few grains of multi-colored sugar and fried til mixed with molasses and say ‘til gud ghya, god god bola’ (henceforth, let there be only friendship and good thoughts between us).
For the people in the Indo Gangetic plain, the day begins with taking dips in the Ganga and offering water to the Sun God. The dip is said to purify the self and bestow punya. Special prayer is offered as a thanksgiving for good harvest. In the rice-eating belt of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, people have a special rice-centric meal on this day. In Tamilnadu, it is called Pongal, Pongal, a rice pudding made from freshly harvested rice, milk and jaggery boiled together, in this sense demonstrates their strong cultural values as well as a time for change and transformation.
This four-day festival of thanksgiving to nature takes its name from the Tamil word meaning
