MAKARA SANKRANTI/ PONGAL; The Aspects of Human Living - Modern Thought Contours;pseudo-citizens

MAKARA SANKRANTI/ PONGAL

Makara Samkramanam or Sankranti or Pongal, a harvest festival celebrated all over India has astronomical, cultural and social significance.

Makara Sankranti (in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) and Pongal (in Tamilnadu) is celebrated on the same day but with minor variations. The cultural and social activities with which this festival is associated are either no longer practiced or some are controversial to the modern-minded. In most of the states the festival is known as Makara Samkramanam or Sankranti.

And in other parts of India the festival is celebrated as – Magh Bihu in Assam, Sakraat or Sankranti in some states, Magha Saaji in Himachal, Suggi in Karnataka, Kicheri in Uttar Pradesh, Poush Sankranti in West Bengal. It is also celebrated in other countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Sindh region of Pakistan.
In India we have three chief ways of compiling almanacs. One way is following the transit of moon. It is called – Chaandramaana. This calculation is followed in Telugu, Kannada and Marathi speaking people.

The second is following the transit of the Sun. Tamil and Malayalam speaking people follow this calculation. This is called Souramaana.

The third is following the transit of Jupiter. This is called Baarhaspatyamaana. This is widely followed in North India.

Tithi, nakshtram, vaaram, yogam and karanam make up the panchaangam – five wings of astrological calculations – the almanac. Tithi and nakshtram are related to placing and association of moon as “virtual assignments” to movement of moon during its transition.

Tithi, nakshtram, vaaram are same to all the three ways of calculations – i.e. compilation of almanacs.

In Souramaana calculation the Sun will transit in such a way that he enters each of the 12 rasis at an interval of 30 days. The Sun entering a rasi is called Samkramanam. Thus when the Sun enters Cancer – karkaatakaraasi – it is Kartaataka Samkramanam. On this date – normally 16th July – Dakshinaayana starts. When the sun enters the Capricorn – Makararaasi – Makara Samkramanam takes place. This mostly happens on January 14th – Uttarayana starts. And Sankranti is rarely celebrated on January 15th (dependent on when Sun enters Makararaasi when Uttarrayana starts).

Sankranti is a grand cultural and social festival in the areas I mentioned in addition to its astronomical significance. In olden days, all celebrations and happenings I am going to narrate were celebrated with lot of enthusiasm. But that enthusiasm has been waning and is missing presently for various reasons.
I will now narrate how the festival is celebrated in Andhra Pradesh especially in west and east Godavari districts – in January in earlier days the crops were mature and the paddy was cut and brought home in the villages. And the Dhanurmaasam – the month when the Sun is in Saggittarius – Dhanuraasi – is observed by Vaishnavaites very piously. Thus artistes singing Hari’s tales visit every house and they are given alms. Sankranti succeeds this sacred month and both will be coinciding and commonly celebrated for fifteen days. The artistes singing Hari’s glory thus are called Haridasas.

And artistes with decorated ox, called Gangireddu walk from door to door, begging for alms in a cultural way. And the unmarried girls prepare pastes with cow-dung – called gobbillu – adorn them with flowers especially Banti (marigold) flowers and place them on colorful muggulu (rangolis) drawn with rice flour and play around them for getting a good life-partner. Sons-in-law are invited to girl’s house, if this festival falls within one year of consummation of marriage. Infants – up to – four years of age are specially treated on Bhogi – a day before Sankranti –with celebrations by pouring Regi (Indian plum) over their heads in the presence of relatives and women from the neighborhood. All villages used to glow together with the blooming hearts and glow of minds of the people.

Sankranti is especially a village festival for all the reasons and activities mentioned above. Cock-fights are part and parcel of Sankranti in rural areas. Now a days a ban is being imposed and orders issued by both judiciary and executive not to celebrate but the implementation is very poor for obvious reasons.

This is similar to the ban on jallikattu (a play similar to bull fight in Spain) of Tamilnadu; in the sense banned by judiciary and executive but takes place because of patronage of the people. Whether animal lovers and activists approve it or not, these two plays – cock-fights in AP and Telangana and jallikattu in Tamilnadu will take place. This is where “culture” and modernity clash. Many “modern” people do not have any cultural roots and they always insist on rights, wrongs as envisaged by them. What is right and wrong from cultural and modernity point of view will always differ. All Indian festival cultural activities do not appeal to the modern-minded.

Pongal is essentially a Tamil language word. It refers to a food variety. When I was residing at Pondicherry, I was observing the way of celebration of Pongal festival by Tamilians. Just before one day to Pongal the market was inundated with sugar cane stalks and related articles like pots and the like.

The dish Pongal is of two kinds. One is kattupongal (spiced Pongal) and the other is sweet pongal. Both pongals are made with rice and moong (green gram) dal. The Pongal is offered to the goddess and then partaken as prasadam. Thus Sankranti a harvest festival is celebrated all over the Indian subcontinent with fervor and zeal.

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The Aspects of Human Living - Modern Thought Contours

Empowering men and women separately is modern concept. Empowering the family as a whole is ancient concept.

And also one must be sure about what empowerment is. Many modern intellectuals think and propagate that girls getting educated (getting certificates), jobs and standing on their own legs financially is empowerment. They never refer to family and girls' duties as a house-holder and home-maker.

Thus separating men and women from families and estimating their empowerment misses emotional requirements of men and women. But many are either oblivious of this fact or do not care at all for the emotional aspect of our lives.

The concepot that merely earning money alone is empowerment will grossly underscore the emotional and societal and social aspects of human beings. Completely neglecting family aspect and not at all mentioning it in the talk of empowerment of men and women devoid of family responsibilities is the "wisdom" or lack of it today.

We must also give importance to aesthetic and intellectual aspects of human life i.e., the lives of men and women. Sans these two aspects we are more robots tuned to money earning and it will have its own adverse effects on the psychological health of men and women.

It is irresponsibility and ignorance of modern intellectuals about human life and requirements for a harmonious and complete living together of men and women as a family. The non-mentioning of family and responsibilities of men and women towards respective families and confining man and women merely to money earning and so called rights sans any responsibilities is great disservice to society by modern intellectuals and a dangerous trend which make humans more mechanical and beastly rather than human.

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Delivery of justice depends on justness and law not based on democratic process.

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pseudo-citizens

India is becoming a land of pseudo-citizens. Many do not like the idea of India tuned to wisdom of the past generations;.and many "intellectuals", "rationalists" and caste and community leaders are practicing a hatred-centered policy towards all ancient Indian without any commonsense or sense. Their reverse discrimination is obstructing the idea of India and its progress and development. Their idea of India does not exist in a positive way. Their opposition to Ancient Indian thought and culture itself working as their ideology. Very narrow-minded and foolish practice.