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| Pongal Greetings In Tamil |
India on Tuesday celebrated the
beginning of its harvest season, with
prayers, singing, dancing and feasting.
Skies were dotted with kites marking
Makar Sankranti of Maharashtrians
and Uttarayan of Gujaratis, and south
Indians churned up Pongal dishes. The
night before, Punjabis and north
Indians danced around Lohri fires, and
north-east Indians celebrated Bhogali
Bihu.
Tuesday's celebrations coincided with
Eid Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of
Prophet Mohammed.
Across the length and breadth of the
country, the mood was festive.
Maharashtrian families distributed the
traditional sweetmeat "tiee-gul
laddoos" among relatives, friends,
neighbours and the casual festival
visitors and greeted all with "Teel-gul
ghya, ani god-god bola" (Have a teel-
jaggery laddoo and talk sweet).
In Gujarat and pockets Gujaratis
elsewhere, the festival, also known as
Uttarayan -- the sun's swing
northward in northern hemisphere of
the earth - was celebrated with
thousands of youth and families
gathering in open grounds and parks
or packing themselves on building
terraces to fly kites and play aerial kite
games.
The Punjabis and north Indians
celebrated traditional Lohri with
dancing and festivities around fires lit
Monday night, and merriment
continued throughout Tuesday.
The south Indian states and
communities elsewhere in the country
also celebrated the day as Pongal and
the north-east Indians feasted on their
Bhogali Bihu.
This year, the day also coincided with
Eid Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of
Prophet Mohammed celebrated with
programmes and processions.
The Muslim-dominated areas of Delhi,
Mumbai and other cities as also the
large tracts of Suarashtra in Gujarat
were decked up with flags, flowers and
buntings. Qawwali programmes were
organised and special prayers held in
mosques to mark the day.
Bollywood celebrities like Amitabh
Bachchan, Sridevi, Madhur Bhandarkar
and Vivek Oberoi conveyed their best
wishes to the fans and people.
Amitabh Bachchan tweeted: "A very
happy and prosperous Makar Sankranti
and a happy Pongal. May all that you
wish fructify. Love and affection,
ever."
Sridevi said in a tweet: "Greetings to all
on the occasion of Pongal. Hope this
festival brings you happiness, peace
and good luck to your lives."
In Andhra Pradesh, harvest festival
Makar Sankranti was celebrated with
fervour and gaiety though the
Telangana issue left its impact.
The countryside wore a festive look
with houses being decorated, kite
flying, cockfights, bull-fights and
other rural sports. Farmers decorated
their bullocks, thanking them for their
contribution to the harvest.
The Bhogi fire was lit in several parts
of the state for the second day
Tuesday as confusion prevailed over
the exact 'muhurta' (auspicious time)
of Sankranti.
The day also saw copies of the Andhra
Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2013,
being burnt in the Bhogi fire in
Seemandhra as Rayalaseema and
coastal Andhra are together known.
However, in most of the villages
women made colourful 'muggu' or
'rangoli' (colourful patterns) in front
of their houses with cow dung, flowers
and mango leaves. They prepared
'chakkara pongal' or rice kheer, a
special dish made of new rice, jaggery
and milk. The dish is allowed to boil
over which symbolises abundance.
In neighbouring Tamil Nadu, people
celebrated Pongal Tuesday by getting
up early, donning new clothes and
visiting temples. The festival is
celebrated to thank the sun, rain and
farm animals.
The aroma of ghee-fried cashews,
almonds and cardamom filled homes
as the traditional dish of rice, jaggery
and Bengal gram was made.
As the ingredients of Chakarai Pongal
boil in milk, people called out 'Pongolo
Pongal, Pongolo Pongal'.
The Pongal dish is offered to the Sun
god as thanksgiving and eaten as
'prasad' (offering).
The state of Odisha saw people taking
a holy dip in ponds, tanks and rivers
and visiting temples as they too
celebrated Makar Sankranti Tuesday.
More than three lakh devotees
converged on the pilgrim town of Puri,
and visited the temple of Lord
Jagannath to witness the special
rituals performed by temple priests on
the occasion.
"Long queues of devotees were seen
at the temple in the morning," a senior
district police official told IANS.
Devotees also thronged the Puri
districts's beach town Konark and
worshipped the Sun God as the sun
started its annual shift towards the
Earth's northern hemisphere.
People prepared a special dish made
with newly harvested rice, sugar,
banana, coconut and black pepper and
offered it to the gods. Some exchanged
a special dish 'Makar Chaula' among
themselves.
Tribal groups lit bonfires, danced and
organised feasts on the eve of Makar
Sankranti in various places of
Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Keonjhar and
Sundergarh districts.
Braving the bitter cold, thousands of
devotees across Himachal Pradesh
took a dip in rivers early Tuesday to
mark Makar Sankranti.
Huge gatherings were reported at
Tattapani, 50 km from Shimla, and
Manikaran, home to a Sikh shrine in
Kullu district, for a holy dip in the
Sutlej and Parvati rivers respectively,
officials said.
Both Tattapani and Manikaran, known
for hot springs with high sulphur
concentration, witnessed a majority of
devotees mainly from Punjab, Haryana
and Delhi.
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