CC Manual Speech # 3 : The festival of Kites

Fellow Rhetoracles and guests. New Year has started and so have the Indian festivals. Yesterday we celebrated the first Indian festival in the New Year which is called Makar Sankrant. I miss my family and folks back home on such occasions. So, I thought the best way to celebrate it would be by sharing with you all about this Indian tradition!

So, tonight I am going to talk to you about the significance of Makar Sankrant, the variations of this festival all across India and how it is celebrated in my home state of Maharashtra.

There are 2 important reasons why we celebrate this day. Sankrant literally means transition. Makar means Capricorn. 14^th Jan is the day when Sun transitions from Sagittarius to Capricorn! So you would ask what is so special about it. If we trace the origins of this festival it was started to observe the Winter Solstice and fell on the 21^st of Dec. Due to the earth’s axis tilt at 23.5 deg the original event has now moved to 14^th Jan and falls on the 15^th  Jan in a leap year. What is interesting is that it is probably the only Indian festival that follows a Gregorian calendar as it is a solar event. Most Indian festivals follow the lunar calendar and therefore do not have a fixed date each year.

The second reason originates from the fact that India is predominantly an agricultural society. Sankrant also marks the end of northeast monsoon season and is celebrated as a harvest festival in most of the southern India.

India is a potpourri of cultures and we celebrate a lot of festivals throughout the year with equal fervor. Similarly Sankrant also finds its way into different states of India in its own way. The festivities mostly begin on the eve of Sankrant. The northern and most fertile state of Punjab calls it Lohri and they celebrate with great enthusiasm. Dressed up in the brightest clothes Punjabis light a bonfire and express their joy through singing and dancing around the Lohri fire.

In the southernmost state of Tamil Nadu it is called Pongal and is celebrated by boiling rice with fresh milk and jaggery in new pots, early in the morning and allowing it to boil over the vessel. This new rice is then offered to Mother Nature during Sunrise to express gratitude for the harvest and pray for continued prosperity.

In the western state of Gujarat this is called Uttarayan and is also popular as the festival of Kites. Sun is considered to be the supreme God. With Sun’s northward movement days start becoming longer and it is the beginning of a warm season. All these are considered auspicious signs .To salute the son God beautiful colorful kites are seen touching the blue skies. Children enjoy this day by participating in various kite flying competitions. It’s a completely charged atmosphere.

And now moving to my state Maharashtra. Our tradition too worships the Sun God. Since it still mid-winter season it is a custom to wear black clothes – the color that absorbs the warmth. Again an exception – as wearing black otherwise is considered a bad omen. Black is a color of mourning but not on this day. Women organize a cultural gathering and exchange gifts. We also share the love of kite flying with our neighboring state of Gujarat.

So much for the rituals but what about food! Of course food forms the most important part of any festival and Sankrant is no exception. Though the rituals vary and the dishes vary the ingredients stay similar – mix of freshly harvested vegetables called bhogi or undhiyu and sweets made of sesame and jaggery – both help retain heat in the winter season and provide high energy.

In Marathi, my mother tongue it is called ‘til-gul’. On the night of Sankrant we distribute this sweet delicacy and there is an interesting greeting as we do this . It goes like ‘til gul ghya ani goad bola’

It literally asks the recipient to speak as sweet as the candy. The underlying concept is to forget any ill-wishes in the past and to maintain cordial relations. Now that you all know the significance of this tradition I offer you this tilgul and say ‘tilgul ghya ani god bola’

Call it Bihu or Sugi or Pongal or Lohri, Uttarayan or Makar Sankrant – the underlying concept is same and the zeal of those celebrating unmatched all over India. Just another wonderful example of India’s unity in diversity.