Makar Sankranti also known as Maghi, is a Hindu festival, which is celebrated across India in different cultural forms, with great devotion and fervour. The festival, which marks the start of longer days, is usually celebrated in the second week of January.
Observed in the month of January every year, Makar Sankranti is being celebrated today.
Why is Makar Sankranti Significant?
The festival assumes importance because it is on the day of Makar Sankranti that the Sun's journey towards north (the Uttarayan) begins, as it enters the sign of Makar (the Capricorn).
Every year on Makar Sankranti, thousands of pilgrims gather at Ganga Sagar and Prayag to take a holy dip, seeking absolution. The devotees also offer prayers to Surya Bhagwaan (Sun God).
In southern parts of the country, people celebrate the festival as Pongal, while in Punjab and some parts of Uttar Pradesh, it is celebrated as Lohri and Maghi.
When Will Makar Sankranti 2019 Be Celebrated?
Makar Sankranti will be celebrated on 14 January this year.
How is Makar Sankranti Celebrated?
On this day, devotees light lamps with sesame oil, which they consider auspicious in many ways, including that “it drives away sins”.
To mark this day, people perform “bhangra”, and indulge in traditional food including khichdi and gud (jaggery).
Melas (fairs) are also organised at several places across the country, where people enjoy swing rides and candies alike.
Kite enthusiasts also take part in celebrations, and the sky is filled with kites of different colours.
Kumbh Mela Will Commence on Makar Sankranti
The 2019 Kumbh Mela will also commence on Makar Sankranti which will also mark the first bathing day. And Mahashivratri on 4 March (tentative) will mark the last bathing day.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had recently said that it is the endeavour of the government that the Kumbh turns out to be darshaniye (worth seeing), adbhut (amazing), divya (divine) and bhavya (grand).
“Kumbh will prove to be a confluence of our age-old traditions and culture with modernity and technology. It will be a New India and New Kumbh,” Adityanath had said.
The Mela draws lakhs of pilgrims over the course of approximately 55 auspicious days to bathe at the sacred confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati.
West Bengal Govt Takes Steps for Steady Power Supply at 'Gangasagar Mela'
In order to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the Gangasagar Mela, the state power department has taken up several measures to increase the capacity of the substation at Rudranagar in South 24 Parganas district.
“It has been decided to ensure uninterrupted power supply to 54 points within the mela premises and surrounding areas,” an official said.
“The power department had nearly doubled the power supply from 8.9 million units per day to 16 million units per day, during the Gangasagar Mela last year,” the official added.
An additional 800 KW of power would be generated by the State Electricity Board at the mela ground, along with 150 KW power at Chemaguri and 170 KW power at Kachuberia, the official said.
Uma Bharti to Set Out on a 2,500-km Yatra on Foot
Union Minister Uma Bharti on 4 December 2018 announced that she would set out on a 2,500-km yatra (pilgrimage) along the Ganga River on foot from Makar Sankranti this year.
“I believe that one has to go to the banks of the Ganga River by leaving power and I am doing so for next one-and-a-half years. But I will be campaigning and would do politics till my last and that too with energy.”Union Minister Uma Bharti
"I will not do anything for the next one-and-a-half years except (working) for the Ganga and Lord Rama," she said.
(With inputs from PTI and pongalfestival.org)
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