Makar Sankranti has always been a fun festival and these creators share that feeling too!
It's that time of the year when we can see a sky full of kites and our hands full of Ghazaks. Just like most of the festivals in India, Makar Sankranti is all about having fun with family, food and making memories. Not to mention that it is a day to let go of the old and embrace the new, a reminder to always look forward with optimism and gratitude but did we care about it as much as kids? All that we enjoyed was fighting for kites, playing with friends, and having some delicious food.
Growing up, we have learned to cherish these things even more because nothing else matters more than having fun. It's a very simple festival yet has a lot to make us excited. There are different ways to celebrate this festival as rituals vary from region to region. Have you ever wondered how it was for some of our favorite creators? We had a chat with Srishti Garg, Gopali Tiwari, Anushka Hazra,Sumit Mishra,Kushal Mistry and Vishwa Joshi where they shared what has always excited them about Makar Sankranti.
Since I spent 4 years in Jaipur, Makar Sankranti was always such a fun time. I remember going up on the terrace with my family where my dad and brother would fly the kites and my mom would make amazing pulav and I had the duty of getting my Uno cards out. Our days would start by getting dressed where the assignment was to look pretty in jhumkas for me and trust me, I understood the assignment, always. I would help my mom with daal baati where my contribution would be just gossiping about some relatives. We would take our speakers on the terrace and play some good old songs from the 80s where my brother and I would argue and fight to put our favorite songs next. My dad used to tell us how to fly the kite properly and I used to just give in the middle to go back to seeing the sky with every shade of kite out there. I would sometimes bring a book too on the mat to act like that mysterious main character who is just busy reading but we all know I could never pull that off with my attention span and the excitement of seeing a view full of kites. And the sunny afternoon was cherry on the top for Jaipur winters. But for me it was mostly about getting those Insta worthy pictures with my jhumkas.
Makar Sankranti has always been really special to me mostly because this is the first holiday after New Year and I remember how all of my friends and I used to wait for Sankranti eagerly. So that’s what I will always cherish. Also, being a Bengali, Makar Sankranti for me has always been about indulging in a bowl full of ‘pitha’ and ‘payesh’ surrounded by my loved ones while we enjoyed the winter weather. In Bengali culture, we make homemade sweets during Sankranti, and I always associate this festival with the smell of these yummy sweets that my mom and grand mother would make all day. There are two sweets that are my absolute favourites, both Bengali cuisines- called Patishapta and Malpua; I still look forward to Sankranti only to binge on these two delicacies. Years later, I still associate this beautiful festival with love, fun and food!
Kushal Mistry
January is a special month because right after 1 week of Makarsankranti, it's my birthday! Every year I am very much excited in January. Navratri and Makarsankranti are my 2 favourite festivals and as a pure Gujarati we celebrate three festivals in one like we fly kites in the morning, we eat delicious Gujarati special undhiyu and chikki in the noon, and in the evening we play Garba and burn firecrackers. One of the special moments is that I only buy thread and no kites. It's my guilty pleasure. I go to my all friend's houses, fly their kites, have lunch at their house, and enjoy myself with their family and friends, and be part of it without invitation.
Sumit Mishra
Makar Sankranti has always been special and exciting for me because my birthday falls on the same day. For me Makar Sankranti is all about "Tilli ke Laddu" and "Gilli Danda". Though "Patang udaana" is more mainstream, the game of "Gilli Danda" has my heart. Mornings are all about Makar Sankranti and in the evening I celebrate my birthday with my family and friends.
I’m always waiting for two festivals, Navratri and Makar Sankranti, or as we call it, Uttrayan. Every Uttrayan, I visit my mom’s side of the family and bring back loads of memories. It’s hard to mention only one memory, as there are so many! Like how my uncle lets me hold his kite to get some pictures clicked because I don’t know how to fly kites, my nani makes that one gujju dish called “undhyu” and all of us cousins fight over who gets to eat more. We end up playing Garba at the end of the day, like a real gujju family. I love how beautiful the sky looks with all the sky lanterns. Sometimes they have someone’s name written on it, sometimes their wishes, and sometimes little doodles. It’s a really special time of the year for me to spend time with my family, and I could never miss it for my life! Wishing everyone reading this a very happy Makar Sankranti .
Coming from Gujarat where Makarsankranti is a huge festival, I have and I still celebrate it with full joy. It’s a gathering of almost 25 people on our terrace where we start by cleaning up the terrace first and then organising the setup, we make different corners for snacks to relax. People in India actually meet with their families during Diwali but that is what Makar Sankranti is to us. “Kai po che” “Jo jaye” and loud music with some hot yummy unndhiyu, chikki is the mood. The best part comes when our dada dadi get on the floor and they have a kite and we end up having a family kite flying competition. This festival is just about kites, food, cousins and laughter.
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