Cover Story Pratyush Prashant
On the day of Makar Sankranti, all the conditions of nature are completely favorable for the living world. Therefore, this is the best time to express gratitude and gratitude towards nature. This period fills us with new strength and new energy to keep our lives bright. That’s why for centuries we have been celebrating it as a festival of energy. It also gives us the message of absorbing within ourselves the divine heat of the Uttarayan Sun God.
In Indian culture, worship of Sun has a special place in keeping the human life cycle dynamic. The literal meaning of Sankranti is ‘communication or movement’. In winter, the body stuck in laziness becomes dynamic due to the heat of the Sun, hence it would not be wrong to call Makar Sankranti a festival of proximity to the Sun. In the modern fast-paced life, 90 percent of the time spent in homes, cars and offices does not allow direct exposure to the sun. Due to this, many types of physical and mental problems are besetting us. Therefore, it is important that along with the Sun, which plays an important role in keeping the Earth moving, we should also say ‘Thank you’ to our nature!
divine sun of divine time
From Makar Sankranti, the process of Sun God’s Uttarayan starts, he starts moving towards the north a little bit every day. This is called ‘Uttarayan Punya Kaal’, which is the time of the gods, the time of divinity. The heat of the sun increases and its divinity also increases. Therefore, Makar Sankranti is also called the festival of welcoming the Sun. Only after this all the festivals start. After the intensity of winter, the sun’s rays are soothing. This is the time to celebrate the ripening of crops and keep ourselves healthy by eating prasad of jaggery and sesame seeds. Also, it is time to give up the heavy food that we have been eating till now during the winter days and eat easily digestible food in the form of khichdi, which prepares us for the new season.
Festival of bringing mobility in life
Sankranti means ‘moving from one place to another or changing place’. It is the job of Sun God to give life amazingly. Makar Sankranti starts with harvesting our first crop and distributing it among everyone. Basically it is a festival of sharing. In villages, the first crop of sugarcane and the first batch of rice are dedicated to the divinity and also distributed among themselves. Only then does the farmer use his entire crop. The basic spirit of Sankranti is the culture of sharing and it is not limited only to the harvest. Festivals also remind us to share this rich heritage with those who are less fortunate and may not be able to celebrate festivals. In fact, that is why the provision of donation would have been included in it.
When Shri Ram flew the kite…
How the game of kite flying got mixed with Makar Sankranti, great poet Tulsidas has mentioned in Ramcharitmanas in an incident when Shri Ram had flown kites with his brothers. On the basis of this incident, the antiquity of the kite is revealed. This mention is found in Balkand.
Ram flew away one day.
May you reach Indraloka.
It is said that that kite flew to heaven. Seeing that kite, the wife of Indra’s son Jayant got attracted and caught it.
Jasu chang as sundartai.
So men predominate in the world.
Shri Ram promised to give darshan to the wife of Indra’s son Jayant in Chitrakoot, hearing which Jayant’s wife left the kite.
Then listen immediately,
Leave the kite behind.
I only pulled the bag,
Playing with the child.
Uttarayan of positivity
After Makar Sankranti, the days become longer and the nights become shorter. According to the scriptures, Uttarayan is considered day for the gods and Dakshinayan is considered night. In other words, Dakshinayan is considered a symbol of negativity and darkness and Uttarayan is considered a symbol of positivity and light. Man’s efficiency increases when the Sun comes into Uttarayan position. It has been observed that with increase in light, human intelligence and power also increases.
Importance of sesame and jaggery
Importance of sesame: Sesame is a food full of nutrients like calcium, magnesium etc. Donating sesame seeds is considered important on this day. There is a traditional belief that this increases self-confidence in a person. By eating sesame seeds one gets the special blessings of Shani Dev and Surya Dev, which removes the fear of death and also weakens the troubles coming in life.
Importance of Jaggery: In astrology, jaggery is considered a symbol of Mars and Sun. It is believed that donating and consuming jaggery on this day brings blessings of Sun God. Jaggery contains many nutrients, which are useful for health. Jaggery has been said to be beneficial in stomach, skin and many diseases. Its nature is hot, hence people use it in winter especially in curd-chuda, so that the body remains warm.
Tradition of sending Khichdi to daughter’s in-laws
Earlier, in almost every rural household, new paddy rice, bangles, jaggery, curd, ghee etc. were sent to the daughter’s in-laws along with new clothes. I still remember that mother used to tell interesting experiences related to festivals, Makar Sankranti is also one of them. Mother used to get all these things from her maternal home. Here in grandmother’s house, preparations for sending khichdi to aunt’s house also started well in advance. After finishing the daily work, all the women of the house like grandmother, mother, aunt etc. used to prepare Chuda by pounding green paddy with their hands using a mortar and pestle. Another traditional object was also used for threshing paddy, which is called ‘Dhenki’. Mother used to tell how she used to sing traditional folk songs while making bangles by pounding paddy in mortar and pestle. In these songs, the women of the house used to laugh together and sing traditional songs related to mother-in-law and sister-in-law.