By IANS
New Delhi : Entire families on the terrace cheering as their kites soared higher, mothers and grandmothers making sure the supply of sesame-seed sweets did not run out – that is how parts of India spent a happy Makar Sankranti, the harvest festival, Monday.
The day started early with visits to the temple as the sun started its annual swing northwards, according to various Indian calendars. Harking back to the traditions of the harvest festival, devotees offered fresh sugarcane, rice or sesame to the Sun god. However, many parts of the country will be celebrating the festival Tuesday.
In Kerala’s famed Sabarimala temple, the festival season reached its peak as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathered to witness the annual ‘Makar jyoti’ (miracle light) Monday evening.
The sighting of this light from the temple in Pathanamthita district is the high point of the pilgrimage. Speaking to IANS, Senior Inspector General of Police Arun Kumar Sinha, camping at the temple, said every inch of space had been occupied hours in advance.
“This is unprecedented in the history of the temple. Approximately one million pilgrims are there both at the base camp in Pamba and at the temple top. We have made all security arrangements for the smooth witnessing of the Makar jyoti,” said Sinha.
In Pune, devotees carried clay pots laden with sugarcane, peas and carrots to temples. Then they cooked til-polis (sesame-based sweet rotis) and a mixed vegetable curry for lunch.
In Maharashtra, it is “Til-gul ghya, gode gode bola” (Have sweet, talk sweet) on Makar Sankranti when people forget their quarrels and resolve to speak sweetly to one another. Multicoloured sweets made with sesame were exchanged between relatives and friends.
In Gujarat, people of all ages spent the whole day on the terraces of their homes, flying kites with loud music blaring in the background. They also offered one another fruits and tal-chakkis – sweets made with sesame.
Youngsters in particular began flying kites days ahead of the festival and will continue it on Tuesday, called Vaasi Uttarayan.
Kite manufacturing and toughening the kite thread with ground glass is big business during this time, especially in Ahmedabad and Surat.
On Sunday, enthusiasts from around the world gathered to watch the annual International Kite Flying Festival in Ahmedabad, which was also participated by Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The kite flying started off early in the morning in Jaipur too. By afternoon, the sky was dotted with multicoloured kites of various shapes and sizes.
“Music, kites and fun. This is what Makar Sankranti means to me”, said 16-year-old Khushi.
“I wait for this day as I love to fly kites and love to see people shouting when a kite goes down,” said Rameshwar Singh, an executive in a Jaipur company.
However, the festival has assumed a bit of controversy in and around Agra.
Groups of women in many parts of Agra district, especially in villages bordering Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, have been begging for the last few days to collect money for green bangles to wear on Makar Sankranti.
“Some creative mind has spread the rumour that this year Sankranti will be harmful for husbands, therefore women should beg and collect money for the safety of their husbands,” explained Subhash Jha, a development functionary of Bah area there.
The rumour spread like wildfire and got everyone in its grip, even in Agra neighbourhoods like Arjun Nagar and Shamshabad Road. “Since women from well-off families seem a little reluctant to beg, they are asking their relatives and friends to donate. The amount to be collected is just Rs.7, enough to buy a dozen bangles,” said Hari Dutt Sharma, an Agra resident.
District authorities said they had heard the rumour but there “was little that the administrative machinery can do in such a case”.
Senior Agra schoolteacher Meera told IANS: “Such rumours are the handiwork of characters who want to make money through people’s blind beliefs. The district authorities should have refuted such baseless propaganda, but unfortunately they have chosen to ignore it.”
Agra District magistrate Mukesh Meshram told IANS: “Sensible people should not encourage such unscientific beliefs, though in our country such things do happen periodically.”