If the snapshots of a frozen Niagara have chilled you to the bones and the gradual dip in mercury at home keeps you shivering, here is the best remedy to beat the last leg of the icy cold
winter. Celebrate
Lohri this year with
fire and flamboyance – with the beating of
dhol,
bhangra &
giddha dancing, blazing bonfires and
mithas of traditional sweets. Lohri is a popular
harvest festival, celebrated all over
Northern India in the middle of January, and Monday the 13th is the stipulated date this year.
Essentially a
rural festival held in
Punjab,
Haryana,
Delhi and some parts of
Himachal Pradesh and
Jammu, this one celebrates the bountiful harvests as the
ravi crops (winter crops including wheat, barley, mustard,
sesame and peas) are gathered while people unite in thanksgiving and pray for prosperity. Held on the last day of the month
Paush, Lohri also marks the Sun’s entry into the northern hemisphere, popularly known as
Uttarayan. This signifies the end of the cold, dark winter days and bonfires are lit to worship the Sun – the eternal spark of life. Lohri
melas (festivals) are also held every year to celebrate the occasion.
A week before the festival, children start gathering
firewood and go from door to door, singing old folk songs and collecting their
Lohri loot – a wide variety of scrumptious sweets like
rewri,
gajak,
jaggery,
peanut chikki and
til (sesame) barfi. On the D-day, after sundown, people rush to the
bonfire celebration, followed by a gala evening filled with songs, dances and feasting. The festival also holds great significance for the newlyweds and the newborns whose first Lohri is celebrated with pomp and splendour.
This year, too, the Lohri bashes are all set to fire up the festivities in spite of the
biting cold of the past few days. It has been partly cloudy in the national capital of Delhi, along with early
morning fog and a chilly breeze, but the day gets warmer with an occasional burst of sunshine. It has not rained either, as predicted by the MeT department, and the minimum temperature on the Lohri day is expected to hover between 4 and 6°C. Incidentally, the Jaffarpur Kalan area in Delhi has already recorded the lowest minimum temperature of 1.4°C a couple of days ago. The city also witnessed the worst fog in four years, with flight and train operations coming to a standstill.
Such chilly weather means the bonfires must be extra large this time and the celebrations should get bigger as the sun goes down on Monday. Start the ritual with
parikrama – circling the bonfire, chanting prayers, singing folk songs and putting in loads of til (sesame),
moongphali (peanuts),
chirwa (puffed rice) and
maize (
popcorn) into the fire, as the old custom demands. Some even pour milk and water near the circle of fire. These prayers and offerings to the Sun are said to bring peace, harmony and prosperity throughout the year. When the
parikrama is over, it is time to exchange gifts and distribute the
prasad or puja offerings that mostly include peanuts, til, gajak, jaggery and other munchies.
But Lohri also signifies a great celebration of life – dancing, feasting and revelry that bring in good cheer. So it’s time to go
balle balle with some dazzling outfits, lively dance numbers, Patiala pegs and lip-smacking
Punjabi cuisine. Women can’t go much wrong with the
Lohri fashion, though. A
Patiala suit with bright-hued
phulkari work or heavily embellished
zardozi designs, matching dupatta and gold/kundan jewellery complete the
ethnic ensemble for this occasion. Go for bold colours and bright shades – not only for your outfit but also for your make-up. The more adventurous can always try glitter and rhinestone make-up to add some extra dazzle. Sport a front puff or a
chotti (braid) with a
parandi (decorative tassel) and walk out as the belle of the ball – ready to bhangra and giddha all evening, till the fire dies down.
Those in love with gourmet food are also looking forward to the celebrations. Start your evening with some spicy chat and tikka; wash it down with a Patiala peg or two or some sweet/salty lassi, and move on to a sumptuous dinner of
makhani di dal,
sarson da saag and
makki di roti (more here on
top Indian foods), followed by the traditional dessert –
gajar da halwa or
mong dal da halwa.
Although Lohri is mostly celebrated in Northern India, similar festivals are held in the East and the South. In
West Bengal, it is
Makar Sankranti on January 14, just a day after Lohri. It is considered as one of the most auspicious days and lakhs of people from all over India take a
holy dip at the confluence of the river
Ganges and the
Bay of Bengal. In
Kerala, it is
Pongal from January 13 and the four-day harvest festival marks the start of a
new cycle as the Sun enters the northern hemisphere. And in
Assam, people celebrate the
Magh Bihu or
Bhogali Bihu on January 14, an equivalent of Makar Sankranti and Pongal.
With so many festivities coming up in the next few days, we wish all our readers happiness, prosperity, and most importantly, a thawing of the heart. Our emotions freeze up at times; our sensitivity becomes numb and our empathy well often runs dry. So what better time is there than today for a renewal of self? That’s what Lohri or the bonfire celebration is all about – it tells us to thaw out our hearts and celebrate a fresh start, a new cycle of life.
Thelife