Aren’T We All The Same? – Pongal & Lohri, Festivals Of Two States

I have worked in a different city, a city I wasn’t born in or spent my childhood in. Although I loved every minute of my stay, I knew ...

I have worked in a different city, a city I wasn’t born in or spent my childhood in. Although I loved every minute of my stay, I knew I was meant to go back to “my” city one day. I found myself celebrating “my festivals” in this city, a practice I never undertook when I was with my family unless pushed by them.

Why do we have this sense of longing for the city we are from? When essentially all of us are the same – Indians.

I am a South Indian, married to a Punjabi. Most of my friends are North Indians as well. I have never understood these brackets of defining a person’s ethnicity. All they lead to is statements like “You are from the North!” (when I visit Chennai) and “You are a Madrasi!” (when I am in Delhi, everyone is apparently a Madrasi in the south). We do try to one up the other in more ways than one. But why?

I celebrated Pongal with my husband last year and also Lohri. It was celebrated with all the fanfare because it was the first Pongal and Lohri after our marriage. The fanfare resulted in a realization that had been dormant all this while, we are all the same.

India being an agrarian country has a lot of festivals centred around the celebration of the harvest. Makar Sankranti, celebrated by the Hindus, is considered one of the most auspicious days and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country with gaiety. Pongal and Lohri are the southern and northern counterparts of this very festival. What surprises me is the striking similarities between the festivals from two considerably diverse regions of India.

3. The harvest festivals: Thai Pongal corresponds to Makara Sankranthi, the winter harvest festival celebrated throughout India. Lohri corresponds to the passing of the winter solstice and the twinning of the festival with Makar Sankranti. All the festivals celebrate the harvest of crops by paying homage to (sun) God. While Pongal celebrates the harvest of rice and sugarcane, Lohri celebrates the harvesting of rabi and sugarcane, the common thread being the harvest of the sugarcane crop.

6. Rangoli: Rangoli adorns the foyer of many houses in India and is not an uncommon sight during festivals. Elaborate designs are made during the celebration of Lohri too, patterns in a myriad of colours. However, the traditional rangoli during Pongal is called kolam and is made from rice powder. They are just as intricate and beautiful as the colourful ones in north

With so many similarities between the festivals of the two regions which are literally poles apart, why the disparity between the people? India is a potpourri of cultures, each bringing its own fragrance to the mix. Time to celebrate them all with equal fervour, as one…