By Honorary Reporter Nandini Iyengar from India

Photo = Nandini Iyengar

Korea next week celebrates Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), one of the country's two biggest holidays of the year. But several of India's 28 states have annual harvest holidays, too.

Most of the holidays fall between January and April, and a good harvest is celebrated with great pomp and joy. Each state has its own name for the festival but the spirit of the celebration is the same. Like Koreans during Chuseok, people in such states visit their hometowns to see relatives and spend time with family.

I am from the state of Tamil Nadu but live in Maharashtra, so I know how both states celebrate their respective harvest festival. Tamil Nadu's festival is called Pongal, whereas Maharashtra has Makar Sankranti. Both festivals mark the entry of the sun in the zodiac sign of Makara (Capricorn) as well as the end of winter solstice and the start of longer days.

Sakare pongal

Pongal comprises the three days of Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal and Mattu Pongal. Cultural sports are held during this festival. The sweet rice dish sakare pongal, or rice boiled in milk and mixed with jaggery, cardamom, raisins and cashew nuts, is made to mark a successful harvest. Beautiful rangoli designs known as kolam are drawn from rice flour. Delicious foods are made and first offered to the gods.

The festival also serves to socially bond residents, who visit their hometowns and offer gifts to each other. Pongal is not only a celebration of the harvest but also symbolizes starting anew, forgetting past anger and moving ahead.

Kolam rangoli

In Maharashtra, the harvest festival Makar Sankranti sees children and adults wake up early to fly kites in the clear morning sky. People decorate their homes with mango leaves and make tilgul, a sweet preparation of sesame seeds, groundnuts and jaggery. When offering tilgul, it is customary to say "May you eat this tilgul and utter sweet words."

The food symbolizes uttering sweet words and forgetting past anger and negativity. Other foods prepared during this time include puranpoli, another sweet dish; puran, a stuffing of lentils, sesame and jaggery; and poli, a flat bread into which puran is stuffed. Of course, delicious food is offered first to the gods and later to a family's ancestors.

Tilgul

enny0611@korea.kr


*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.