MAKAR SANKRANTI AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE THROUGHOUT INDIA

Agriculture is the mainstay of the country’s economy and ‘ Sankranti’- a harvest festival is a harbinger of hope to millions of farmers across the length and breadth of the country.

‘Makara Sankranti’ is broadly celebrated as a harvest festival but has different angles to celebration and even different names in different states. ‘Makara’ means the zodiac sign of Capricorn. ‘Sankramana’ means ‘to commence movement’ and hence the name ‘Makara Sankranti’ given to one of the largest, most auspicious and varied festival in the Indian bub-continent.

Because of the unique geography and size of India, this festival is celebrated for innumerable reasons depending on the climatic, agricultural, environmental and cultural background and position in the context of north or south of India. Thus, the words refer to the movement of the sun northwards from ‘Dhanur’ or Sagittarius sign to the ‘Makar’ or Capricorn sign in its celestial path. This is significant because it marks the gradual end of winter and the beginning of longer and warmer days.

Also known as ‘Uttarayana Punyakala’ , Sankranti is a festival that is celebrated over three days. The sun is the source of all life on Earth- physical, mental and spiritual. Hence, the sun is also considered as the ‘God of light’. People worship the Sun god on the day of this festival. The sun enters the 12 zodiac signs in different months called as ‘Masa Sankranti’. Out of the 12 Masa Sankrantis, two are considered auspicious days. This represents the movement of the sun to 2 different ‘Ayanas’- ‘Uttarayana’ and ‘Dakshinayana’.

·        3 days of festivities

This festival is celebrated for a period of three days in some parts of the country. This festival is also associated with agriculture, since it occurs during the period of harvesting.

The 1^st day is known as ‘Bhogi’. This falls on the ‘Pushya Masa Shukla paksha navami’ according to the Hindu calendar. This is the day previous to the festival. On this day, people cook delicious food and sweets at home and the whole family get together to relish them.

The 2^nd day is ‘Makara Sankranti’ which falls on the ‘Pushya masa shukla dasami’. On this day, people wake up early in the morning, bathe with Sesame oil. Also called ‘the festival of sesame and jaggery’- a mixture of white sesame, groundnuts, fried gram and pieces of dry coconut is kept along with sugarcane, banana and sugar blocks as ‘naivedhyam’ or ‘offering to the Lord’ and then distributed among the family members. On this day, people prepare a sweet dish called as Pongal in Tamil Nadu which is rice cooked with jaggery along with dry fruits and ghee. They also bake the new harvest of raw groundnuts and sweet potato. In the evening, especially girls wear new clothes and distribute the sesame mixture to neighbours, friends and relatives.

The 3^rd day is known as ‘Mattu Pongal’, it falls on the ‘Pushya masa shukla paksha ekadashi’. On this day, the farmers wash their cattle and decorate them with coloured papers, colours and ribbons are tied to their horns and one feels a sense of gratitude towards them; once again a reminder of the agrarian background of this festival.

·        THE DIFFERENT HUES OF SANKRANTI

The harvest festival is known by various names and is celebrated across the country in unique ways.

In TAMIL NADU, the festival is celebrated as ‘Pongal’ and is a 4 day long festival. On the eve of the festival, rice is boiled with milk and other condiments in a new earthen pot and allowed to flow over the vessel’s brim. This symbolises a year that will be flourishing and prosperous.

Celebrated as Sankranti in KARNATAKA, it is also known as ‘yellu-bella habba’in local parlance. ‘yellu’ means ‘seasame seeds’ and ‘bella’ is jaggery. A mixture of sesame seeds, jaggery, coconut and groundnuts are distributed to relatives and friends to spread goodwill. This signifies the spirit of accepting and goodness of life in its full glory and wishing goodness for all.

In ANDHRA PRADESH,          it is celebrated as ‘Bhogi’ on the first day of the 4 day festival. People here invite Goddess Lakshmi-The goddess who bestows wealth, by drawing colourful ‘rangolis’. The 2^nd day is Sankranti, the big festival, when everyone wears new clothes and offers their prayers to their deity. The 3^rd day is called ‘Kanuma Panduga’. Flying kites is another important part of this widely celebrated festival in the Gujrat, Maharashtra, Punjab and Assam states of India.

ARTICLE SUBMITTED BY: MEGHANA SHASHIDHAR

6^TH SEMESTER, B.A. (PJOE)