Day 24: Makar Sakranti

The 100 Day Writing Project

Makar Sakranti is known by a number of names like Uttarayan, Lohri, or Pongal amongst others. It is celebrated across the country as the start of the harvesting season and end of the winter solstice citing longer, and warmer days. It is dedicated to the Sun God and sees one of the world’s largest mass pilgrimages-the Kumbh Mela.

Like every year, we dressed up and performed small ceremonies celebrating the festival with good food and bright clothes. Lot of people take a dip in the Ganga as it is said to wash off all sins and people do charity to earn good karma as well. This year, there was also a new moon yesterday, a day before Sakranti and for the first time in years I was looking forward to today as a day of new beginnings and truly a new year. The year 2021 has gotten off to a rocky start and I take this day to pray for letting fresh warm sunshine into my life and letting new beginnings and good change to enter my day to day in a hope for a better year and a better future.

I have never been one to consider festivals as reason to pause and breathe, at least not in recent times, but I pray today-for truly warmer, happier days and I am hopeful that the new moon and end of the winter solstice will truly mark new beginnings for me this year.