A homely Sankranti

Bollywood tells us that Makar Sankranti is celebrated with as much pomp and gaiety as Lohri in Punjab and Haryana, with makke ki roti and sarson ka saag. But how many of us know that most of North India celebrates the harvest festival in a rather quiet manner, with a very humble meal?

“Memories of the Sankranti of my childhood are still vivid in my mind. In the foggy winter morning of January 14, we would be made to bathe and dress before being marched to the kitchen to bless portions of khichdi. Plates of black lentils and white rice, dotted with small golden laddus of sesame and jaggery, and two muddy brown potatoes dominated the kitchen counter that day. Mother would line us up, make us touch the plate and say a small prayer thanking God for his generosity. This khichdi would later be distributed among the poor, and fresh khichdi be made in the kitchen to celebrate the festival,” reminisces homemaker Aradhana Srivastava.

The festival hasn’t changed much since then. The day still begins similarly in homes across UP and Bihar. While the more devout travel all the way to Prayag for a holy dip in the Sangam (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers), most people make do with a quick bath at home or in a river close-by. Prayers are said to the Sun god; gratitude is offered to Nature.

The day is then celebrated by feasting on freshly made khichdi.

Bihar, meanwhile, starts its day with dahi-chura, or flat rice mixed with curd. In some parts of the State, breakfast is accompanied by a preparation of mashed red pumpkin. But khichdi dominates the Bihari kitchens, too, accompanied in this case with the quintessential Bihari chokha, or a roasted potato and brinjal mash with green chillies, chopped onions and raw mustard oil.

“If you happen to be in the heart of UP or Bihar on Sankranti, you cannot escape the strong scent of black lentils wafting through the lanes and by-lanes of its dusty towns. Such is the importance of the dish in this part of the country, that the festival is also called khichdi here. While for most of the year, the perception of khichdi is a mish-mash of rice and lentils served to the sick, this khichdi is special, and devoured as a feast by itself,” says Alok Srivastava, a retired engineer and hardcore UPite, who follows the tradition religiously even today, in his upmarket apartment complex in Gurugram, far away from the dusty lanes of Uttar Pradesh. He also offers us the recipe to his favourite khichdi and insists we try it this Sankranti.