Festival of hope & good harvest

Festival of hope & good harvest
Deccan Herald

January 14 is celebrated as Makara Sankranthi every year. Popularly called Pongal, the festival ushers in spring. Metrolife traces the legends behind the festival of hope.

As the sun passes from the Tropic of Cancer (Karka) to Tropic of Capricorn (Makara), several geographical and climatic changes begin to occur. The most obvious being the receding of winters. And with that, the days start getting longer and nights, shorter.

Ascendancy of the sun and its journey into the Northern Hemisphere is considered auspicious by the Hindus and celebrated as Makara Sankranthi. Makara means Capricorn and Sankranthi, transition. The festival is celebrated in almost all parts of India in various ways and under different names.

In Tamil Nadu, it’s Pongal, in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh it’s Sankranthi, while in Punjab its Lohri and Maghi. Assamese call it Bhogali Bihu. In Gujarat, the festival is famous as Uttarayan where people fly kites as a form of reverence to the sun god.

An interesting aspect of Makara Sankranthi is that its date remains the same on the English calendar, that is January 14. The reason being, that while other Hindu festivals are based on lunar positions, Sankranthi is considered a solar event, celebrated in the month of Magha. From this day, the sun begins its six-month journey towards the Northern Hemisphere.

According to the Hindu mythology, one human year of 365 days is equivalent to one day and night of the gods. Makara Sankranthi marks the 'morning' or the auspicious period of the year. As per the Vishnu Purana, on this day, Lord Vishnu buried the heads of the demons under the Mandara Parvath. So this occasion also represents the end of evil and the beginning of righteous living.

The most well-known reference of Makara Sankranthi is in the Shiva Purana, which depicts the episode of Bhagiratha, who meditated to bring Ganga down on earth. Even to this day thousands of devotees take a dip at Ganga Sagar in West Bengal and offer prayers to their ancestors. At other places like Prayag, Haridwar, Garh Mukteshwar and Patna in North and North-East India people bathe in the Ganges and pray to the sun god.

In Karnataka,Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, Makara Sankranthi is celebrated with religious fervour and devotion. The name Pongal is derived from of a dish made of rice and pulses cooked in ghee and milk and offered to the family deity. In Tamil Nadu, it’s important to cook Pongal in a newly bought earthen pot.

Makara Sankranthi is a big festival in Kerela too as the 40-day anushthana by the devotees of Lord Ayyappa ends on this day in Sabrimala, one of the biggest Hindu pilgrim centres. In Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, Pongal is celebrated as a three-day harvest festival.The previous day of Sankranthi is Bhogi Pongal, attributed to sun. The day after Sankranthi is Mattu Pongal, dedicated to ox and cow - the basic resources of the farmers. People carry home with them the harvest of the season, such as sugarcane, groundnuts, coconuts, sesame and jaggery. Pieces of these are neatly packed in small plastic pouches and distributed among friends and relatives.

Makara Sankranthi is a tribute to the cosmic changes in the universe. It’s a festival of hope and abundant harvest.

Wish you all a Happy Sankranthi.