Hello Steemians
Today is Makara Sankranthi, one of the biggest festivals in India. This is also known as Pongal in Tamilnadu and by various names across different parts of the country.
The festival tends to be on the same day every year with little variation of one day and it is a festival of sun and follows solar calendar in contrast to other Indian festivals which follow lunar calendar.
This is a harvest festival, where the families get together and have great fun and feasts. This is typical vegetarian meals served on banana plant leaf on the day. The sweets are sticky symbolising the bonding between the people.
src: teluguthanamu.blogspot.com
src: deccanchronicle.com
People also take a holy dip in the rivers and one of the biggest pilgrimage ( 40-100 million people) called ‘Kumbh Mela’ which occurs every 12 years at the confluence of ganga ( ganges) and Yamuna rivers happens around this time. People believe a dip in the rivers is going to clean their past sins.
src: ndtv.com
Src: stateexpressindia.com
Kumbh Mela: the largest gathering on Earth
Another colourful and entertaining event is kite flying. I used to enjoy this season as a child as this was such a good fun. People fly the kites from the terraces and rooftops of the houses and compete with each other in preparing spread thread to fly the kites called ‘manja’.
src: sandeepchetan.com
Happy Makara Sankranthi everyone.
Have a great day