Also known as Uttarayana Punyakala, Sankranti is a festival that is celebrated over three days. The Sun is the source of all life on the earth - whether it is physical, mental or spiritual life. So, the Sun is considered as the God of light. People worship the Sun god on the day of this festival.
Sankranti (Sankramana) means movement. This festival is considered to be the festival of the movement of the Sun. The Sun enters the 12 zodiac signs in different months, called Masa Sankranti. Out of the 12 Masa Sankrantis, two are considered auspicious days. This represents the movement of the Sun to two different 'ayanas' (that is Uttarayana and Dakshinayana). Movement of the Sun from Karkataka to Dhanu is called Dakshinayana, while movement of the Sun from Makara to Mithuna is known as Uttarayana. Entry of the Sun into these zodiac signs is considered auspicious.
Three 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 comes during the period of harvesting.
The first day is known as Bhogi. This falls on 'Pushya Masa Shukla Paksha Navami' this is on January 14, 2011. This is the previous day of the festival. On this day, people cook delicious food and sweets at home, and the whole family gets together to enjoy them.
The second day is Makara Sankranti (Pongal), which falls on 'Pushya Masa Shukla Dasami'. This is on January 15, 2011. On this day, in the morning, people get up early, bathe with gingely oil and light a lamp with gingely oil. This festival is also called as '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', and then distributed among the family members.
On this day, people prepare a sweet dish called Pongal (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, children, especially girls, wear new clothes and distribute the sesame mixture to neighbours, friends and relatives. This is done to cultivate the habit of giving in children, to give a little of what you have for your surroundings and to lead a good social life in society, which was followed in the past. Also, on this day, people pay respect to their ancestors.
The third day known as Mattu Pongal (Cattle's Day) falls on 'Pushya Masa Shukla Paksha Ekadasi', which is on January 16, 2011. On this day, farmers wash their cattle and decorate them with colour paper, colours and tie ribbons to their horns, and worship them.
Wishing you a Happy Sankranti...
I wish all readers a very happy Sankranti and the beginning of new hope and prosperity. Sankranti is celebrated in honour of the Sun God who makes his way to the southern hemisphere. We worship the incarnation of Sankranti Devata on this auspicious festival day. After the daily rituals of abhisheka are performed for the deities, we do a 'Mahanaivedhya' for the Sankranti Devata. This is a special offering of white sesame seeds or yellu, powdered sugar or jaggery cubes, dry coconut, dried and salted urad dal and whole chana. We also offer hot pongal.
Each year, it is believed that Sankranti Devata rides a different vehicle in its animal form. This year, it happens to be that of an elephant. Every year she wears clothes of a certain colour and this year it happens to be red. This is why we gift clothes of that sacred colour to young girls.
In the evening, we dress up the bulls in the colours of the goddess. The horns and hooves are painted in red and green. We light up five different types of hay on the ground and make the bull jump over it to the beats of a small drum. This is believed to ward off evil spirits.
Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar , Scion of the royal family of Mysore
As a child I would look forward to spending the day with my grandmother. Since this is a very auspicious festival, we would draw many rangolis and decorate the doorway and the puja room. After worshipping the Sun God, we would have a festive lunch and distribute yellu-bella in the evening.
This year, if I do get time, I would love to spend the festival with my family. I always look for occasions like this to bond with them.
Sharmila Mandre, Actress
Sankranti makes me very nostalgic. I remember my childhood in Gorur in Hassan when I would accompany my mother to the village market to buy sugarcane and copra to make the 'yellu bella' mix. We would visit all the houses in the village to give them this sweet offering. Even now we celebrate Sankranti the traditional way.
My wife prepares for it a month in advance by buying copra to make the yellu bella mix. With Sankranti being a harvest festival, she cooks a traditional meal with fresh vegetables and makes the typical pongal. We decorate our house with rangoli and flowers.
The festival reminds me of a popular poem of Tagore - 'Let the earth and the water, and the air and the fruits of my country be sweet. Let the homes and marts, the forests and fields of my country be full. Let the promise and hopes, the deeds and words of my country be true. Let the lives and hearts of the sons and daughters of my country be one, my God."
Lasting for over four days Pongal, a harvest festival is celebrated in the month of Shravan. Pongal literally means, "boiling over". The Tamil harvest festival is celebrated with decorated cows, processions and decorative Rangoli. Pongal is a sweet porridge made from newly harvested rice and eaten by all, even the animals. Each day of this festival has a special significance, however, it is celebrated more grandly in the villages, while the city folk mainly celebrate on the second day only. It is widely celebrated in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The festival is celebrated for four days. On, the first day, Bhogi, the old clothes and materials are thrown away and fired, marking the beginning of a new life. The second day, the Pongal day, is celebrated by boiling fresh milk early in the morning and allowing it to boil over the vessel - a tradition that is the literal translation for Pongal (in Tamil). People also prepare savories and sweets, visit each other's homes, and exchange greetings.
The third day, Mattu Pongal, is meant to offer thanks to the cows and buffaloes, as they are used to plough the lands. Jallikattu, a violent taming the bull contest, marks this day. On the last day, Kanum Pongal, people go out to picnic. During the Pongal season, people eat sugar canes and decorate the houses with Kolam.
Even though Pongal was originally a festival for the farming community, today it is celebrated by all. Coinciding with Makara Sankranti and Lohri of the north, it is also called Pongal Sankranti and thus celebrated in some form in various parts of India.
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