Sankranthi
|
|
Sankranthi, or Sankranti, is a festival that signifies the beginning of the harvest season for the farmers of India.
Also called 'Makara Sankranthi', it is celebrated primarily in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka & Maharashtra. From this day onwards the sun with respect to the earth starts moving towards north signaling the oncoming of summer. The grand seer of Mahabharatha, Bheeshmacharya, waited for this day to die and ascend to Brahmaloka. The auspicious day of Sankranthi is celebrated as Pongal in Tamil Nadu. Typically in Andhra Pradesh, the festival is celebrated for three days. The day before Makara Sankranthi is known as Bhogi. On this day, early in the morning, old items in the house such unusable clothes, broken furniture are set on fire. Also while the old items are burnt, people start drumming on a small hand-held drum which is also thrown into the fire, in the end. A small twig, with dambar on the end is prepared as the stick used for drumming. On Sankranthi, people wear new clothes and visit temples to celebrate the harvest. The third day is known as Kanuma. As cinema is a highly popular medium in the state of Andhra Pradesh, a bounty of films, featuring the biggest of stars release on this day. The winner of this battle, is generally crowned the "King of the Box Office" for the year.