Happy Sankranti
The first festival of the calendar year is all about celebrating harvest and keeping a date with traditions that seem to be fading especially in the light of the pandemic.
Magh Bihu in Assam, Maghi and Lohri in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, Thai Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Ghughuti in Uttarakhand, Makara Sankranti in Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Poush Sankranti in West Bengal, Khichdi Sankranti in Uttar Pradesh and Sankranthi or Pedda Panduga in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. What is common to all these celebrations is that they all celebrate the harvest season.
THE SIGNIFICANCE
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, “Sankranti is Sat Kranti (Good Revolution). As Earth brings out harvest, may today bring about a harvest of human values.” The festival that is celebrated on January 14 or 15 of the solar calendar every year has both geographic and religious connotations. ‘Makar’ refers to the zodiac sign Capricorn and it is said that on this day the sun leaves the Tropic of Cancer to enter the Tropic of Capricorn and travels northwards (which is why it is called Uttarayan). Interestingly there is a school of thought that likens Uttarayan to Thanksgiving as it is all about welcoming harvest, prosperity, and hope. This is a festival where the sun god is worshiped. In the Mahabharata, Bhishma who had a boon to choose the date and time of his death, waited for Makar Sankranti to die.
TRADITIONS
Every part of India celebrates the festival in its own way. In Maharashtra as the first sugarcane crop is harvested in this period, there is a custom of exchanging Til Gul, a sesame jaggery sweet. Flying kites is another popular tradition i n Gujarat a n d
“SANKRANTI IS SAT KRANTI (GOOD REVOLUTION). AS EARTH BRINGS OUT HARVEST, MAY TODAY BRING ABOUT A HARVEST OF HUMAN VALUES.” — GURUDEV SRI SRI RAVI
SHANKAR
SANKRANTI WAS ABOUT FOOD, FLYING KITES, COMING TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY. FOOD COMES FROM OUR FARMS, SEEDS SOWED WITH LOVE WHICH YIELDED CROPS AND VEGETABLES.
Maharashtra. In Uttar Pradesh, a dip in the holy Ganga on this date is believed to be the path for salvation and Khichdi is also donated to the poor. In Punjab, Delhi, and Haryana, brothers visit their married sisters and give them sweets and clothes while married women give their in-laws. In Assam, Makar Sankranti is the beginning of the Assamese New Year while in Uttarakhand it is Gughuti, the festival of welcoming the migratory birds.
SOUTHERN TRADITIONS
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the festivities are spread over three to four days. Bhogi Panduga, when old items are discarded into the bonfire or Bhogi. The second day is Pedda Panduga, the day spent praying, wearing new clothes, and celebrating with family and friends over traditional food. Kanuma usually the third day is celebrated by farmers who worship cattle. Mukkanuma is on the fourth day when farmers pray to the soil, rain, and fire all of which help in the harvest. Karnataka celebrates the festival with much gusto and the yellu bella (sesame, jaggery) tradition where families exchange this and sugar candies with each other. Tamil Nadu has a threeday Pongal festival.
Rangoli or kolam is an important part of the festival. Jitha Karthikeyan, Artist and curator says, “On the day of Pongal, a kolam is usually drawn around the sacred area where the Pongal rice is prepared. It is also drawn in front of the house, as it symbolizes auspiciousness. This tradition is still practiced, though the methods have undergone a change in urban areas with apartment dwellers using readymade kolams due to the lack of space. The younger generation too keenly participate in kolam drawing contests that are widely popular during the Pongal festival. I recently collaborated with VST Titanium Motors and decorated their showroom with traditional kolams."
FADING LEGACIES
A festival that has so many layers and traditions is changing with time. The last couple of years have complicated celebrations due to the ongoing pandemic. Parimala, a septuagenarian homemaker from Bengaluru recollects how her mother painstakingly made sugar candies for the festival. Today hardly anyone makes it at home and instead opt for store made ones that have artificial colours and chemicals.
Meera Kumar a Hyderabad based homemaker recollects that Haridasus who would sing devotional songs were seen commonly on Sankranti. “They would carry a copper vessel on their head, and we would give them rice, sweets or money. However, they are hardly seen anymore.” While some traditions have faded, people are still making a conscious effort to hold on to what is practical and is a reminder of our culture.
As Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Isha Foundation has said, “Sankranti or Pongal is the first step of Mother
Earth towards her springtime. May you also take the first step into a fresh spring. As trees shed old leaves, may you shed old baggage within you and become a fresh life.”
Sankranti is a festival of the first produce (harvest) where we reap the harvest of last year. Likewise, for me, this year will be special because it will symbolically represent my life and work. I want to reap the benefits of my hard work.
In western calendar too, it’s the time of the New Year where people gather and talk about plans for the rest of the year. So this festival is also a time for hope and futuristic plans. I am in Hyderabad celebrating with my family. We follow a tradition like how every typical Telugu family does. We had a bonfire last night. I am looking forward to my new dance academy which I have renovated, looking forward to teaching dance, giving more performances and of course, films too.
ADITHYA REDDY, CHAIRMAN DR MARRI CHANNA REDDY FOUNDATION