UTTRAINI (MAKAR SAKRANTI)

 According to the Hindu religious texts, on the day of Uttarayani, the sun enters the Zodiacal sign of 'Makar' (Capricon) from the Zodiacal sign of the Kark (Cancer), i.e. from this day onwards the sun becomes 'Uttarayan' or it starts moving to the north. It is said that from this day, which signals a change of season, the migratory birds start returning to the hills. On Makar Sankranti people give Khichadi (a mixture of pulses and rice) in charity, take ceremonial dips in holy rivers, participate in the Uttarayani fairs and celebrate the festival of Ghughutia or Kale Kauva. During the festival of Kale Kauva (literal translation 'black crow') people make sweetmeats out of sweetened flour (flour and gur) deep fried in ghee, shape them like drums, pomegranates, knives, swords etc.

They are strung togather and worn as necklace-in the middle of which an oragne in fixed. Early in the morning children wear these necklaces and sing "Kale Kauva.." to attract crows and other birds and offer them portions of these necklaces, as a token of welcome for all the migratory birds, who are now coming back after their winter sojourn in the plains.

Wearing garlands of the above eatables the children come out calling the crows with following song on their lips:

Kale Kale, bhol bate aile

bor puwa Khale

Ie Kauva bara, mai ke de sunu gharo

Ie Kauva dhal, mai ke de sunu thai.

(come dear crow, come daily

you will enjoy eating bara and puwa.

Take the bara and give me a pitcher full of gold Take the shield and give me a golden plate).

Uttarayan is known as Uttraini in uttrakhand.


So, 

Stay home and stay safe. 

Do read, comment and subscribe my blog. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TRADITIONAL DRESS OF GARHWAL

Image
Uttarakhand is home to Garhwalis and  Kumaon is depending on which part of Uttarakhand they belong to. It has a rich culture of which, music and dance are an integral part. Various languages are spoken here like Garhwali, Kumaoni, Bhoti and even Hindi. Silver and gold jewellery is a significant part of traditional Uttarakhand attire. If you visit Uttarakhand, you will find women wearing gold kundal (earrings) and often having multiple piercings in their ears. Uttarakhand inhabits people from different ethnic backgrounds like Rajputs, Brahmins and tribal population like Tharu, Jaunsari, Bhotia, among others. Therefore the traditional attires do have a lot of variation.    GARHWAL'S TRADITIONAL DRESS Garhwali Traditional Dresses Women's Traditional Dresses In the Garhwal region of this Northern state, women usually wear sari tied in a particular way, the pallu going from the front and knotted on the shoulder, with a waistband made of cloth. This is considered co
Read more

KAAFAL, HISSAR, BEDU, DADIM,KILMODE,GHINGARU AND TIMULU

Image
KAAFAL KAFAAL Kaafal is one of the extreme delicious fruit found in uttarakhand. Scientific name is Myrica Esculenta. It is not very juicy citrus fruit but the taste of this fruit is amazing with tangy sweet and sour pleasure. The red coating contains some sugary juices when chewed not fully as behind the red coat a solid seed is present which is thrown out. Kafal is the state fruit of Uttarakhand. HISSARS Most of the Uttarakhand is mountain and is blessed with variety of fruits among them wild fruits play a major role as they serve as the free energy packets for the people travelling mountains as they can be find everywhere, one of such fruit is Hisalu (wild fruit berry). Hisalu is a yellow colored small fruit which can be found mostly in summers in both Kumaon and Garhwal regions of Uttarakhand. It is also known as HISSARS .The taste of hisalu makes one to wonder as it is difficult to say hisalu taste better or nectar!,Earlier hisalu used to ripen in the month
Read more

5 DAY POOJA IN MY VILLAGE (NAIL)

Image
We had a collective 5 days pooja in our village (Nail). Ever since I can remember, it was the first such event. This pooja started on 19 April 2022 and lasted on 23 April 2022. In our village, it was pran pratistha of lord shiva's temple.  We had this great opportunity to see many people of our village. Many married daughters and sisters came and participated actively in this pooja. Lunch and dinner were made by the cook (halwai). The pooja started in the morning around 08:00 am, and it lasted till noon. Around 01:00 pm, we had our lunch on a big lawn, where we all were served by our brothers and uncles. From 02:00 pm to 04:00 pm, it was the resting time for people, where they could go to graze their cattle. From 04:00 pm, musical kirtan started and it lasted till 06:00 pm. Meanwhile, others used to help the cook, and entertain their brother-in-laws.  It was a good time in our village, where magnificence is just like heaven. Around 08:15 pm , we had our dinner. Even without garlic
Read more