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Photo: MURALI KUMAR K.

Sweet beginnings Sugarcane is a key ingredient of the festivities

Celebrated in a myriad ways across the country, Sankranthi is celebrated in a grand manner in the south. Sankranthi is the time for preparing mouth-watering delicacies like pongal, (rice boiled in milk) in Tamil Nadu and yellu-bella, (a mixture of groundnut, jaggery, sesame seeds and desiccated coconut) in our very own state, which is distributed among neighbours and friends.

With elders moaning about “traditions fading out” as Balakrishna V.R., a retired teacher puts it, MetroPlus asks youngsters around the city how important Sankranthi is for them and what they do to make the day special and memorable.

Manaswini Rampath, a commerce student, says, “I am eager to celebrate Sankranthi as always. We celebrate the harvest with the season’s newly arrived crop and believe in sharing this with near and dear ones.”

Medical intern Krishnaveni opines: “Sankranthi isn’t that big an event for us, although I wish it was.” She adds, “Youngsters are generally not too thrilled about celebrating festivals like these. Yet, most participate in the pujas and celebration mainly not to disappoint the elders in the family.”

“Making sugar candies (sakkare acchchu) and distributing them to relatives, with a piece of sugarcane (khabbu) is another custom that youngsters usually assist their parents in,” informs Manaswini.

Although there are quite a few teenagers who claim they enjoy the festivity that revolves around Sankranthi, a good number of them think the merriment is too much of a hassle.

According to 19-year-old Mookambigai, “The highlight of the festival for us is the preparation of Pongal and other sweets.” She admits: “Personally, I am not very interested in these celebrations. I feel that the celebrations are a little too overdone.”

For newcomer to Bangalore and mechanical engineering student, Anand Ganesan, “Bangalore seems pretty dull and lifeless when it comes to celebrating Sankranthi.” He reminisces as he thinks of his childhood days spent in his village when he would gorge on chakra Pongal, and fly kites with his brothers.

Kite flying is a practice that is usually associated with Makara Sankranthi. People believe that the ritual is of great significance as the kites serve as a means to reach out to the sun god or to bring about greater proximity with the one, they believe, represents everything good. However, for many young Bangaloreans, kite-flying appears to be a long-lost tradition. Blaming it entirely on the adverse effects of urbanisation, Harish Jairam, a student of animation says: “We live such different and fast-paced lives in the city that it is only when youngsters go to their native places that they get down to doing fun things like flying kites in the neighbourhood.”

Whether or not all of the umpteen traditions are followed by youngsters today, one thing is for sure. There is no bickering by these youth that Makara Sankranti is a festival that draws the family together.

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