Festive spirit grips India on Makar Sankranti, harvest festivals
PTI
New Delhi
People in most parts of the country were under the grip of festivity Saturday with Makar Sankranti being celebrated in north and eastern states and those in Assam and Tamil Nadu soaking in harvest festivals Magh Bihu and Pongal.
Lakhs of devotees took holy dip in Gangasagar in West Bengal, Sangam in Allahabad - the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical river Saraswati, and other rivers and water bodies on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, braving biting cold.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, many chief ministers and political leaders greeted the nation on harvest festivals.
“On the special occasion of Magh Bihu, my greetings to the people of Assam,” he said. “Uttarayan greetings to the people of Gujarat,” Modi said in another tweet. He tweeted the messages in local languages also.
In Tamil Nadu, decorated earthen pots brimming with boiling rice, beating of drums and offering of sugarcane pieces to the Sun God at streets and temples marked the harvest festival of Pongal.
However, protests over banning of bull-taming sport Jallikattu dampened the festive spirit in Madurai and the drought situation in Cauvery delta districts affected the celebratory mood there.
Streets in both rural and urban areas of the state were decked up with designs made of flour (called 'Kolam' in Tamil). “Samathuva Pongal” (Egalitarian, community Pongal) was celebrated in several towns by local people.
State government-organised Pongal fests were also held in places including Nilgiris where several foreign tourists participated in the celebrations.
Chief Minister O Panneerselvam celebrated Pongal and his 66th birthday Saturday in his native Periakulam in Theni district. DMK working president M K Stalin celebrated Pongal at his residence in Chennai.
People in Assam also celebrated harvest festival Magh Bihu with traditional fervour.
In Kerala, thousands of devotees offered worship at the famous Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala on the auspicious occasion of Makaravilakku, marking the culmination of the over two-month-long pilgrimage.
The holy hill of Sabarimala, atop which the Ayyappa temple is located, reverberated with chants of “Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa” when the portals of the shrine was opened for 'deeparadhana' (arti) in the evening.
Braving severe cold and walking several miles, thousands of devotees took a holy dip in confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical river Saraswati amidst tight security that is in place in view of the ongoing annual religious congregation of Magh Mela.
Stalls selling items made of 'til' (sesame) and jaggery were doing brisk business as consumption of these on this day, when 'Surya' (the Sun) is said to enter 'Makar Rashi' (Capricorn), is believed to bring fortune.
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Woman dies after kite string slits her throat
Ahmedabad: A 30-year-old woman Saturday died after her throat was slit by a kite string when she was driving a two-wheeler here, police said.
Maltiben Langadiya was driving a two-wheeler when she ran into a kite string which slit her throat. She died due to over-bleeding, they added.
“Maltiben was passing through Dharnidhar bridge when a string of a kite slit her throat. She was rushed to the civil hospital where she was declared brought dead due to over-bleeding,” a Paldi police official said.
A resident of Vasna locality, Maltiben was on her way to Ambawadi when she met with the accident, he added.
The incident occurred on the day when Gujarat celebrates Uttarayan festival by flying kites.
In a related incident, a 12-year-old boy died after coming in contact with a live electric wire while chasing a kite at Kankwadi village in Valsad district in South Gujarat, police said.
Victim Achan Tandel (12) was chasing a kite when he entered into a farmland where he came in contact with a live electric wire and died on the spot, an official of Dungri police station in the district said.
