Harvest! sweet harvest!
work of the whole year
house full of near and dear
and laughter too!
decorated homes and villages bright
time for celebration!
This is the scenario in every home in India once a year. Even if ALL citizens of India are not farmers, we ALL celebrate harvest festival with fervour and gaiety. India was and is an agrarian society. We can all trace our ancestors to farmers!
The agricultural season in India is based on the monsoon. There are two seasons of crops, Kharif and Rabi. Kharif cropping season is from June to October. Since the season of Kharif coincides with monsoon, the crops grown are water intensive crops. The Rabi cropping season lasts from October to March. This is also called winter crop.
The kharif crops include rice, maize, sorghum, pearl millet/bajra, finger millet/ragi (cereals), arhar (pulses), soyabean, groundnut (oilseeds), cotton etc. The rabi crops include wheat, barley, oats (cereals), chickpea/gram (pulses), linseed, mustard (oilseeds) etc.
Agriculture and related sector contributes to almost 20% of India’s GDP. This sector employs almost 70% of the population. So you can imagine the importance of harvest in the day to day lives of the common people of India.
All over India, the harvest festival is celebrated in Jan, on the day when the Sun enters the Makara Raasi or the constellation of Capricorn signalling the start of Uttaraayana or the northward movement of the Earth in its yearly pilgrimage of going around the Sun, towards the north of the equator. The Uttaraayana date generally falls on 14th or 15th of Jan.
This harvest festival is celebrated all over India. It is called Makara Sankranti all over the country. It is generally spread over 3 – 4 days. Great number of delicacies are prepared and partaken.
Some of the other names of this festival are:
- Pongal in Tamilnadu,
- Uttarayan in Gujarat,
- Lohri in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh
- Magh Bihu in Assam
- Poush Sangkranti in Bengal
The Harvest festival is a great occasion for families to get together. In south India, married daughters along with their spouses come to the father’s house. The daughters are given a lot of gifts.
Another unique tradition in South India is the decoration and worship of the cattle of the household. The day after the main festival, there is a dedicated day for the cattle. On this day, after the worship of the livestock, the animals are given a rest and are not put to work. It is their annual holiday! 🙂
An important part of this festival is sharing our bounty with our neighbours too. I remember carrying fruits, and other condiments in large bags and going over to all of my mother’s friends homes to give it to them. I would go to half of them and my sister would go to the other half in the neighbourhood. I continue this tradition to this day and I distribute fruits, haldi, kumkum to all my neighbours.
In Karnataka, this tradition is followed. Apart from fruits, the distribution list includes a mixture of sesame seeds, jaggery pieces, coconut pieces, fried peanuts. This is called “yellu-bella”.
The celebrations and customs too everywhere may not be the same. But the essence of the festival remains the same. It is giving thanks to the Almighty for the bountiful harvest and sharing with family and friends and praying for a good monsoon for the next year.
Thank you for talking about agriculture and farming. Something that is diminishing due to corporate world.
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Yes. What you say is true. Harvest festival is one of the most important festivals in the calendar. More power to our farmers. Thanks for liking.
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H is for hormonal rage Hakuna Matata.. https://syncwithdeep.wordpress.com/2018/04/09/h-hormonal-rage-to-hakuna-matata-blogchattera2z-atozchallenge-atoz/
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Wonderful write-up, Meena! As you well know, farming is one of my favourite topics! Very well done!
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I know. You are such a nature person, Soni. More power to you always!
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Thank you, my dear. To you too! 👍🤗
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Very very nice writeup. I love Sankranti. In fact all the Indian festivals are so totally bound with nature and the celebration of each is associated with that particular season of the year with its unique characteristics.
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Yes, that is true. All festivals have deep meaning and we must teach our kids the significance of each so that they remain as fresh as ever.
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I am really enjoying your series on incredible India. It is informative and nicely written.
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I can’t tell you how happy that make me! Thanks for reading and liking.
(grinning like a Cheshire cat)
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🙂
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Visiting your blog for the first time Meena – Loved the elaborate description of Makar Sankranthi. Reminds me of my days as a kid in Bombay where all festivals were celebrated with fervor
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Thank you Akshata. The fervour of celebrations are same only the flavour has changed. But the significance must remain with us.
Thanks for visiting. Keep coming back! 🙂
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Very nicely explained by you Meena. The whole picture of our crops n festivals coming in front of my eyes . Looking forward for next one .
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Thank you so much! Stay tuned!
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I being a Maharashtrian, I celebrate Makar Sankranti. As a child, I used to visit the friends and families and seek the blessings of the elders. I used to carry home made Til – Gul (sweet made of sesame seeds and jaggery) for sharing it with them. Your post gave me glimpses of past, Meena.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
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Thanks anagha!
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And sadly these traditions are going away from our lives. But hey, as long as we celebrate Valentine’s day and our kids dress up for Halloween, it’s all good right? We must make concerted efforts to educate the next generation about our invaluable tradition. Very good post, Meena
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I know what you say is sarcasm, but Valentines and Halloweens are not rooted with nature. There is no saamarasyam. I sincerely hope traditions remain.
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A very detailed post. Western traditions are actually eating up into our Indian traditions. And yes farming is something we should try going back to and educate people there and use the education and technology for agriculture. Loved the mood of the festival Makar Sankaranti.
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Thank you so much. Yes, we need to use ancient techniques and technology to improve our agriculture. After all we can live without technology but not without food
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Glad you wrote on this meena. All our festivals are meant to celebrate the harvest season, and not the return of the prodigal son, slaying of demons, etc. Hope people understand that festivals are not religious but something to celebrate the mother earth and her offerings to the mankind.
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So well put! Agree 100%
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Farming is linked closely to many festivals.
Makara Sankranti is also called ‘Pana Sankranti’ in Odisha.
A refreshing drink called ‘Pana’ is served to all after offering to God.
Warm wishes in advance!
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Thank you Anitha for the comments. I had never heard of Pana sankranti. Thanks for the info. Thanks for the warm wishes. Best wishes to you too
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What a wonderful thought, to expose people to a slice of a farmer’s life. Excellent.
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Thank you anurag!
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