Festivals of India (One) 

Makara Sankranti 

Introduction  Human beings are always in search of fun and joy. There is no human settlement in any part of the world where one will not find any festival. Indians, in general, are god-fearing people and they have thousands of gods and goddesses in whom they have belief and on whom they do depend. Thus any festivals of the Indians, of whom majority are the Hindus by birth, are attached to the religious faith and day to day religious activities. Although most of the people within the fold of the Hinduism are not really aware of the numerous theories in respect of religion propagated and practiced in India from very old days of the Indian civilization they just have faith in something or they just accept what they are taught from the immediate surroundings of their dwelling places. And festivals of the Hindus are always considered, shaped and colored by their religious perceptions and activities or mere rituals of everyday life.  The festival of the Makar Sankranti is worth-mentioning. This is worth-mentioning specially in the present month of January as this particular event or festival is set on 14th of January in every year and with no change in the date at all.  

Important features to note  It is really surprising to think that long long ago people of a part of the world have selected this day for a festival and that they have associated this festival with a good number of things.  a) As during this period the great Himalayas to the north of the entire India remains covered with snow and the entire India, mainly the north, experiences moderate to extreme winter. Still on one such day people have been trained to take a bath early in the morning in either of the rivers of India or in any of the water-bodies from the north to the south.  b) They have involved the earth and the sun and light and water and themselves and their parents and grand parents and grand grand grand parents on this day.  c) They have selected the14th January of every year for this occasion, a day of the sun-centred Gregorian calender, and who knows how, because their other rituals are set following the moon-centred calender which have been traditionally followed in this region.  d) This festival occurs just after the grand harvest of the year and as paddy is the most principal crop of the soil rice has been given an important role in this festival, yes, in most parts of India. and Transition for Sankranti. Most of us consider the apparent movement of the sun as the real movement. Actually during the winter solstice the earth moves to the south and this Sankranti is popularly accepted as the transition of the sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn. Sankranti is thus a celestial event much related to the revolution of the earth around the sun which does not move. After this day of Sankranti winter begins to disappear gradually and we begin to get day with more length and with more warmth gradually.The sun is one of the gods to the Hindus of India and they love to imagine an ascendancy of the sun-god and its stepping into the northern hemisphere.  From the pages of the Puranas, the Indian Chronicles  Puranas, as the old chronicles in India are termed, are rich in tales on the Makar Sankranti. A few of them may be cited for the ones who are interested.  a) Makar Sankranti is the day when the Uttarayana begins, that is, when we watch the sun moving to the northern hemisphere. Purana states that with the Uttarayana the days for the Debatas begin and with the Dakshinayana begins their nights. ( Devatas were gods and goddesses for the ancient Indians.)  b) Makar is the site for Shani or Saturn. Shani is the son of Rabi, that is, of the sun. On the day of Makar Sankranti son the father visits his son the Shani. and sun goes his son's house to stay there for a month. They, in this period, will be in cordial terms as they are not habituated.  c) On the day of Makar Sankranti, Bhagirath, a much-reputed king of the chronicle, was successful in releasing his great forefathers, 60,000 sons of the king Sagar, who were cursed and be-fated enough to get burnt to ashes hundreds of years back in a place where the site for the home of an ancient sage, Kapil Muni by name, is situated. This is the site where an annual religious fair, Ganga Sagar Mela, is held for a period of one month from the day of the Makar Sankranti every year. This site is close to the great Sunderban delta kissing the Bay of Bengal to the south of West Bengal in India. Ganga, the great Himalayan river, was brought to the plane by the king Bhagirath with the power of his meditation in order to liberate his 60,000 forefathers.  d) On the day of Makar Sankanti Lord Vishnu, the supreme of all the gods, punished the miscreants known as Danobas and buried their heads under a mountain called the Mandar Parvat. ( Danobas are what we term as demons in English.)  e) This day is associated withthe demise of Bhishma, one of the principal characters of the Indian Epic called the Mahabharata. Bhisma was the great grand-sire of the Kouravas and the Pandavas of the Mahabharata and he was highly esteemed for his role as the honorable guardian of the royal family of Hastinapur. He was blessed with the fact that he would have the right to select the time of his departure from this planet. In the great Battle of Kurukshetro he was seriously arrowed by Arjuna, one of his grandson in relation, and lower ends of the hundreds of arrows inflicted upon his body had built up his departing bed and he, at this point of life, desired to have his death on the day of Makara Sankranti of the year and finally he died only on that day.  Festivals in India on the day of Makar Sankranti  

Makar Sankranti is celebrated all over India with the following features:  a) Worshipping the sun god early in the morning  b) Worshipping of the rivers ( Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada, Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna and other rivers or water-bodies )  c) Taking bathe in the rivers  d) Remembering and praying for the ancestors and worshipping them  e) Helping the hapless poor people  f) Preparation of the rice cakes and varieties of rice products  g) Fairs, that is Mela, an economic operation with the rural products and in the rural belts  

A short account of the activities in a few states of India may be furnished below.  a) Uttar Pradesh  Maka Sankranti is termed as Khichiri in this region. People belonging to the Hindu frame assemble near Allahabad, at the Sangam or at the confluence of the ganga and Yamuna. They take a bathe and worship the sun and the ancestors in the early morning.  b) Bengal  In Bengal people from all over India assemble at Sagar Mela, that is, at the premises of the home of Kapil Muni and take a bathe in the water of the Bay of Bengal and worshipped the ancestors. Ancestors are worshipped everywhere near any river or anywater-body.  Poush Parvana, an annual celebration after the end of the great harvest, is very important in Bengal. Rice cakes and varieties of rice cuisine are prepared in every house and it is a rural festival.  c) Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh  In this region Makar Sankranti is called Pangal. It is a festival of the farmers here. Rice with pulses and ghee and milk are prepared in varieties and bathing in the morning and worshipping of gods are common.  d) Maharashtra  On this day throughout wide area of Maharashtra multi-colored tilguda, that is, a preparationwith the sesame seeds and sugar, are made and exchanged. It should be noted that this region is not famous for the yielding of rice.  e) Gujarata  This is the day for offering gifts to the relatives and friends in Gujarata. This is the young's day for receiving gifts from the elders. Students who study astrology and philosophy receive scholarships from the Gujarati scholars.  This state is also not in the list of the area where rice is produced in plenty.  f) Punjab  Makar Sankranti in Punjab is termed as Larohi. This day is associated with sweets and sugarcane and rice and a bonfire. In Punjab the just next day is celebrated as Maghi. The festival is celebrated with pomp and fun and with the famous dance called the Bhangra.  g)Kerala:  On this day in Kerala the followers of the deity Ayyappa end the program of forty days and they end it with a grand festival.  h) Assam  Bhogali Bihu is the name of the festival of this day in Assam.  

One word more.  It is clear that this festival has its rot in the agricultural India. India is famous for a large varieties of tribal people and they have dwellings from the north- east to the far south. It seems that the Makar Sankranti, being mainly a festival associated with the annual harvesting, may have a link with the tribals of India in the origin.