Makar Sankranti holds immense cultural and religious significance in India. I would peg it as one of the major festivals in India even though it is not marked as a government bank holiday. I believe the understanding and categorization of festivals by the Indian Government has been massively flawed – Makar Sankranti should be a national holiday. My reasons for saying so will emerge in this blog post as you read along. In this blog I am writing about the major significance of Makar Sankranti, regional celebrations & how you can participate in this festival.

Significance of Makar Sankranti

There are 3 major reasons that make Makar Sankranti very significant in India. These are agricultural significance as a harvest festival, social importance as winter cold starts reducing and spiritual significance as yogis change their sadhana with the northern movement of the Sun.

Harvest Festival: Makar Sankranti is one of the major harvest festivals of India. And since we are still predominantly an agricultural community, all agricultural festivities should be given importance. Urban folk who are cut off from agricultural pursuits completely must learn and join these festivities as it is core for the Indian mass.

As we struggle with rising food production challenges the world over, larger countries in terms of economy and land are poised to play an important role. I believe agricultural festivities need to be mainstream in India as part of inculcating food consciousness.

Social Importance: Having lived in really cold climate of Chikkaballapur (& also Ahmedabad this year), I must say the change from winter days to summer is a big one. A huge celebration is warranted. Apart from the mood, this change has a lot of impact on people’s lives and health. In a lot of parts of the country, the food habits, clothing, rituals all change with the changing season. So, it is a major reset phase as all these activities start shifting to summer ones.

Spiritual importance: This time is most important for yogis to make a new, fresh effort in their spiritual process. Accordingly, people who have family also make a fresh attempt in whatever they do in their lives. – Sadhguru

These 3 reasons make this festival important. And losing it to the degrading effect of urbanization and western culture would be very sad. This is why I believe this festival needs to be treated as mainstream by the government. And efforts need to be made to not lose it. So, towards this goal, thanks for reading this blog post and looking deeper into this festival.

Major regional celebrations of Makar Sankranti – Pongal, Uttaraan (Kite Flying), Tilgud & Others

There are many major regional celebrations across the country on this day showing its mass relavance. I will mention the ones I know more about and then mention the ones taking place elsewhere in brief. Hopefully, I can go and visit them once and then write more on them.😊

Pongal, Tamil Nadu & Other Southern States:

The Tamil festival of Pongal is quite elaborate. There are rituals to be followed across a few days… the word Pongal literally means “over-flowing” and is symbolized by an overflowing rice pot signifying abundance and prosperity. The traditional Pongal celebration involves cooking rice in the rural method of lighting a wood fire, placing a mud pot over it and cooking the rice in it. This is only one of the celebrations for Pongal. There are other rituals and celebrations which span across a few days. Read more about it here: https://utsav.gov.in/view-event/pongal-festival-every-year

Photo blog on my traditional Pongal celebration at Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore: https://maproute.in/pongal-photo-blog-india-festivals/

Uttaraan (Kite-flying), Gujarat:

Gujarat is famous for international kite festivals across Ahmedabad and Rajkot. Even in Mumbai and other places with a large Gujarati community, you will see a lot of local kite-flying. You will be surprised with the sheer skill some of the local Gujaratis will show with regards navigating the kite and even having tournaments where each team tries to cut-off the kite of the other team – thread to thread fight 😉

Apart from these international festivals, there are specific localities in most Gujarat towns which boast of passionate kite flying. Surat and Bharuch are two cities I know with such local areas. However, to be part of this festivities, it is important to know a local who can help you join in.

Here’s my blog post on kite-flying in Mumbai

Makara Vilakku Darshan, Makar Jyothi & Sabarimala Vrata Closing, Kerala

A bright light can be seen on the hills in Sabarimala. Traditionally considered a divine phenomena, however, recent times have revealed that it is part of a tribal ritual. All Sabarimala devotees wait for a darshan of this Makara Villaku light. And with this the 41 day vrata taken by the Ayyapa devotees comes to an end. Usually, devotees who wish to do Sabarimala darshan every year, need to make it by this time. After this the pilgrimage period is considered closed.

So, in this way, this day is also of significance in Kerala.

Tilgud Ghya God Bola, Maharashtra:

In Maharashtra, on sankranti – sesame and jaggery laddoos are distributed. The greeting is “Tilgud Ghya God God Bola” which literally means eat sesame-jaggery and speak sweetly. It is interesting because Sadhguru mentioned the same thing once… that this is the time of a new start, and we should give everyone a fresh start by seeing the best in them. This maharashtrian saying seems to be telling the same thing. Forget the past – speak sweet sweet!

Other Makar Sankranti celebrations include Lohri of Punjab, Bhogali Bihu of Assam and more. Have you attended any of these festivities? Please share your experience in comments!

Songkran: Thai New Year

Makar Sankranti is also celebrated outside India. The Thai New Year falls on this day and it is called Songkran so we can be sure they are felicitating this important day.

Participate in Makar Sankranti Celebrations Through These Events

Kite flying: Ahmedabad or Rajkot, both the cities of Gujarat hold kite-flying events. International kite flyers come down in both these cities to partake in this event. It can be an enjoyable time… but once you reach there it is also a bit slow if we are to only stare up at the kite which often are like dots in the sky. Rather I suggest taking our own kite and at least flying it a little bit.

Pongal: I am not aware of any specific place to go for the traditional Pongal celebrations. Usually, people will celebrate in their homes or courtyards. But you can try,

Tiruvannamalai they take the main Arunachaleshwar deity from the temple around the Girivalam in procession.

Isha Yoga Center will also usually have a traditional Pongal festival. So, it may be good to book a stay there during those times. Note: This is not like an official event, but usually held inside the ashram which everyone inside can participate.

Songkran Thailand: Here are some ways to participate in the Songkran celebration of Thailand. Being a tourism driven industry they are sure to cater to tourists and ensuring good celebration experience.

Feel anything more should be added to this blog post on Makar Sankranti? Please share with me in comments, I will definitely look at it and consider adding to this blog!