Tomorrow 14th January 2019 is Makar Sankranti and it is celebrated all over India but every state has their very own traditions in Makar Sankranti. So, Today Budget Indian Traveler brings you such five places where Makar Sankranti is celebrated in their way.
Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious festivals in India according to the Gregorian calendar. It marks the entry of Sun in the astrological sign Capricorn, which is ruled by Saturn. The festival is celebrated in myriad ways, since India is a nation where different cultures and communities exist. If you want to partake Makar Sankranti celebrations in India this year, make sure you consider the top five destinations we zeroed on for you.
Significance
Importance of the day is signified in the epics Mahabharata and holds a historical and religious significance,festival of Sun God regarded as the symbol divinity and wisdom, also beginning of warmer and longer days.
Haridwar, Uttarakhand
Makar Sankranti celebrations in Haridwar are extraordinary. Being one of the most ancient and holy destinations in India, Haridwar is thronged by pilgrims for the most important event of the day–taking a dip in the Ganga river at an auspicious time as per the astrological signs. The Ganga ghats remain busy throughout the day with people offering oblations to the Sun and performing charitable deeds. Also, the Ganga aarti is an unmissable sight on Makar Sankranti in Haridwar.
Amritsar, Punjab
Not only Amritsar but it is also Ludhiana, Jalandhar and other cities and towns are on fire when it comes to the enthusiasm to celebrate Lohri, the festival that falls on the same day as Makar Sankranti. It is the harvest season for Rabi crops in Punjab. On this day, the farming community as well as the general population wears traditional festive clothes, lights up bonfires and offers peanuts, popcorn and sesame sweets as an oblation while singing Punjabi folk songs. Lohri celebrations are incomplete without the beats of dhol, the bhangra and gidda dances.
Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
Allahabad aka Prayagraj is an important destination to visit on Makar Sankranti. It is revered as a blessed city due to the passage made by Ganga river through it. Lakhs of people bath in the river at Triveni Sangam, perform charity and partake in the feast of khichdi (made from rice, lentils and condiments). Kite-flying is also a part of the Makar Sankranti celebrations in North India.
Bengaluru
Makar Sankranti is celebrated in the form of Ellu Bella festival in Karnataka. On this day, cows and bulls are worshipped. The womenfolk participate in Ellu Birodu ritual, which requires women of marriageable age and married women to dress up in festive clothing and visit their relatives with auspicious articles such as fruits, vermillion, turmeric, saree, bangles, sugarcane, flowers etc. A feast made of sugarcane, sesame seeds, jaggery and coconut is made to serve as many as ten households!
In Assam, Makar Sankranti is celebrated as Bhogali Bihu or Magh Bihu by the locals. It is a day full of feasts and festivities, and people dress up in traditional garb to celebrate the harvest season. There are delicious meals, bonfires, folk dances and community gathering on this day. Women especially prepare a dessert pudding made of rice, coconut, sugar/jaggery and sesame seeds. People burn mejis made from bamboo, hay and dry leaves and then after sit down to enjoy authentic homemade Assamese cuisine.
Kolkata
Kolkata and the whole of West Bengal celebrates Makar Sankranti as the Ganga Sagar Mela. The participants in the mela take a holy dip in river Ganga or in the Bay of Bengal. After bathing in the sacred waters, people offer worship at the Kapil Muni Ashram at Ganga Sagar. Kapil Muni is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who was born as the son of sage Kardam. The Ganga Sagar Mela is the largest assembly of pilgrims in India after the famous Kumbh Mela.
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