Tripura gears up for celebrating Makar Sankranti
Known with different name in other parts of the state, Tripura is also scheduled to celebrate Makar Sankranti on Monday with zeal and enthusiasm. Women, young girls all are seen busy in designing Alpana-colourful motifs in the courtyard of every house ahead of the Sankranti celebration.
Designing motifs on the occasion of Sankranti is a part of the Bengali rituals but over the years it has turned into a competition on the village.
People from far flung areas visit the village to take a glimpse of these motifs. The women in the villages enjoys designing these motifs as it showers happiness to them and brings joy among them.
To celebrate this harvest festival, in all bengali homes, mothers and grandmothers get busy making a special kind of sweet named ‘Pithe’, which is made with rice flour. Another special thing needed is Palm Jaggery (khejurer Gur), which is only available in the winter season.
The festival commemorates the beginning of the harvest season.
People in Tripura celebrate the festival by offering Pithas and Til Ladoos to the Sun God and then distributing them to friends and family. Puli Pithe, Paatisapta, Maalpoaa, Narkel Nadu, Til Nadu are some of the most famous sweet dishes that mark Poush Parbon. Khejurer Gur or jaggery made from dates is the iconic item of the Poush Parbon. People are witnessed busy in buying sweets, ingredients for the pitha puli. Battala Market and Marajganj Bazaar were also witnessed with huge crowd of people buying sweets.
