IANS/New Delhi

 

A ‘sadhu’ takes a holy dip at the confluence of the river Ganges and the Bay of Bengal at Sagar Island, south of Kolkata yesterday

India yesterday celebrated the harvest festival of Makar Sankranti in different forms to mark the end of the winter solstice.
The festival is celebrated as Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Sankranti in Andhra Pradesh and Bihu in Assam. The celebration is also to mark the transition of the Sun into the ‘Makara rashi’ (Capricorn) on its celestial path.
In Gujarat, the sky was a riot of colours as people celebrated ‘Uttarayan’ by flying kites with great gusto. Around 300 enthusiasts from India and abroad took part in the International Kite Festival in Ahmedabad that is fast becoming a major tourism event.
At the ‘sangam’ (confluence) of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh, tens of thousands of devotees took a holy dip on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti. According to officials, nearly a million devotees took a holy dip on Saturday and yesterday.
To the east in West Bengal, 300,000 pilgrims took a holy dip in the Ganges on the occasion of Makar Sankranti at Sagar Island.
Two pilgrims died due to the extreme cold in the area.
In Orissa, over 100,000 devotees from different parts of the country visited the Lord Jagannath Temple at Puri, and worshipped the deities early morning. Thousands of devotees also worshipped the Sun God at Konark with great fervour and enthusiasm. People also organised kite flying competitions in places like Cuttack and state capital Bhubaneswar.
In Assam, bonfires and community feasts were held across the state as it celebrated the harvest festival of Magh Bihu.
Magh Bihu also known as Bhogali Bihu, is a two-day festival and dedicated to Lord Agni, the Hindu fire god.
Sankranti was celebrated with gaiety and traditional fervour across Andhra Pradesh with the rangoli colour patterns, kite-flying, decoration of bulls, cock fight, bull fighting and other rural sports. Towns and villages wore a festive atmosphere with colourful kites dotting the skies and people participating in various competitions organised to mark one of the major festivals of the Telugus.
People across Tamil Nadu got up early, put on new clothes and went to temples on the harvest festival of Pongal. The four-day festival, which began on Saturday will continue until tomorrow.