Dear Users,

Here’s wishing you all a very Happy Makar Sankrant. “Tilgul ghya, Ani god god bola.”

Dhingana Team always likes to celebrate all the major Indian holidays and special days. Most of the time this is reflected through our logo. We try to customize our logo to reflect the true spirits of Indian holidays.

Makar Sankrant is the beginning of all Hindu festivals. This is also known as Uttarayana Punyakalam, which means entry of Sun into Northern Hemisphere and into the zodiac sign Caprocorn or Makar. Days become longer from this day onwards.

Sankrant is celebrated with different name all over India and there is also remarkable difference in the way it is celebrated. In Tamil Nadu it is celebrated as Pongal - festival of harvest. In Andra Pradesh it is celebrated for four days as Pedda Panduga. In Kerla Sankrant is marked as the end of the pilgrimage to Sabarimala Temple. In West Bengal it is Pithey Praban and there is also famous Ganga Sagar mela. In Asam it is Bhogali Bhinu. In Orissa it is Makar Mela. In Punjab, Jammu and other parts of Himanchal Pradesh and Haryana this is cebrated as Lohri, and in most parts of Central India it is celebrated as Sankrant.
In Maharashtra, when two Maharashtrians greet each other or visit each other during Makar Sankranti, they exchange “Til Ladoo” - a special sweet made for this day. When they give the ladoo to an elder they do namaskar and say “til gul ghya, ani god god bola” (let us be sweet to each other and let friendship prevail between us). Til or sesame seeds is one of the important ingredients in this festival. The married ladies in Maharashtra arrange “haldi kum kum“, an auspicious religious get together by way of which they call upon their friends and relatives and distribute sweets and gifts.

Sankrant is also a kite-flying festival celebrated annually on January 14 in Western India. Kite-flying is a traditional activity on this day and it is considered as an art. It’s not mere kite-flying but Kite-fighting The kite flyer must keep his kite aloft while others attempt to sever his thread using their own kites. When someone wins the kite fight, his group celebrates with cheerful shouts and drum beatings. It is a common scene to see people play music, dance and socialize freely.

Oh did I just mention music ? Yesss ! Sooo … lets celebrate this unique day by playing some cheerful and electrifying music and lets have an eventful and musical year of 2007.

Again Happy Makar Sankrant and enjoy the special Dhingana logo for this occasion: