Solar festival of warmth

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Swati Chopra [1]

In a calendar packed with lunar festivals, Makar Sankranti stands out as a prominent solar festival that is celebrated across the Indian subcontinent. Technically, a sankranti marks the passage of the sun from one sign of the zodiac to another. Though there are 12 sankranti in all, Makar Sankranti refers to a particular transition — of the sun from Dhanur (Sagittarius) to Makar (Capricorn). The reason this transition has been granted greater importance than the others is manifold.
For one, it marks the end of winter and the onset of warmer weather. After the winter solstice that occurs around December 21, days begin lengthening with shorter periods of darkness. Makar Sankranti is also the time around which winter crops are harvested, thereby adding festivity to what might otherwise have remained just an astronomical event.
In predominantly agricultural societies, harvest signifies the completion of a cycle when the fruits of hard labour can at last be enjoyed. If the harvest has been plentiful, it means prosperity for the community. It is time to offer gratitude to the natural phenomena that contributed to it – the rain, the sun, the soil, and the gods and goddesses who govern them. It is also an occasion to relax and celebrate life with rituals and festivities, feasts and special foods.
Though it is known by different names, Makar Sankranti is a pan-India phenomenon, another link in the garland of shared culture that brings this vastly varied land into a collective continuum. This festival is celebrated from end to end of the Indian subcontinent as Shishur Sankrat in Kashmir, Magh Saaja in Himachal, Lohri in Punjab, Sankrant or Sankranti across a large swathe of north and central India, Uttarayan in Gujarat and Maharashtra, Poush Parbon in Bengal, Bhogali Bihu in Assam, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Makara Vilakku in Kerala and Suggi in Karnataka, among others.
There is a commonality too in the kinds of meals and sweets that are specially prepared and consumed on this day. Invariably, they fall in the ayurvedic category of ‘warming’ or ‘heating’ foods, such as sesame, gur, jaggery, groundnuts and a ghee-rich preparation of rice and lentils. Because it is winter in many parts of the subcontinent, it is appropriate to both consume these foods that help battle the cold, as well as offer them to deities as consecrated prasad.
As we bathe in sacred rivers, worship the sun, and imbibe the gifts of the earth this Makar Sankranti, let us also reflect on our interconnected reality. Each one of us inhabits a node in the network of nature and through it, is related to everything else. Being mindful of this can help foster a relationship with nature that is based on reverence rather than greed, on custodianship rather than ownership, and on a joyful and balanced reciprocity rather than rapacious consumption.

Swati Chopra writes on spirituality and mindful living. Her most recent book is Women Awakened: Stories of Contemporary Spirituality in India. Website: www.swatichopra.com [2]