Festival companion · 14–15 January 2027

Makar Sankranti and Pongal

The harvest thanksgiving. Everything for one festival in one place: the story to tell, the puja, a recipe, a craft for children and a shopping list.

Tell the story

The Story of Makar Sankranti

Sankranti marks the day the sun begins its journey north, called Uttarayana. Days grow longer, the harvest is in, and India gives thanks to the sun, the land and the animals that help the farmer.

In the Mahabharata, the great warrior Bhishma waited on his bed of arrows for Uttarayana before leaving his body, because it was considered the most auspicious time.

Each region celebrates in its own way. Tamil Nadu boils pongal and honours cattle on Mattu Pongal. In Karnataka and Maharashtra friends exchange ellu bella and til-gul. Gujarat flies kites for Uttarayan, Punjab sings around the Lohri fire, and Assam feasts for Bhogali Bihu.

How families celebrate

When the sun moves into Capricorn, all of India thanks the sun, the earth and the cattle for the harvest, under many names. In Tamil Nadu it is Pongal, when rice and milk are boiled in a new pot until they overflow. Karnataka shares ellu bella and Maharashtra shares til-gul, both with the words "eat sesame and jaggery, speak sweetly". Gujarat fills the sky with kites for Uttarayan, Punjab lights Lohri bonfires, and Assam feasts for Bhogali Bihu.

Draw a big rangoli or kolam, cook sweet pongal or khichdi, share ellu bella or til-gul, fly kites, sit by a Lohri fire, and give thanks to the sun at sunrise.

At home

The Puja

A home puja anyone can follow, step by step, with the words to say.

Short puja 20 minutes · freeFull puja 60 minutes · members

Before you begin

  1. Prepare

    Bathe, wear clean clothes and clean the puja place. Set out a lamp, incense, flowers, kumkum, turmeric, rice, water in a small vessel with a spoon, a bell and the naivedya (food offering).

  2. Light the lamp

    Light the lamp with ghee or oil and fold your hands.

    SayShubham karoti kalyanam arogyam dhana sampadah, shatru buddhi vinashaya deepa jyotir namostute

  3. Pray to Ganesha first

    Every puja begins with Ganesha, so the rest goes without obstacles. Offer a flower or a little rice.

    SayVakratunda mahakaya suryakoti samaprabha, nirvighnam kuru me deva sarva karyeshu sarvada

  4. Achamana and sankalpa

    Sip a spoon of water three times. Then hold a little water, rice and a flower and say, in your own language, who you are, where you are, and why you are doing this puja today. Let it fall in a plate.

    SayOm Keshavaya namah · Om Narayanaya namah · Om Madhavaya namah

Short puja

  1. Bhogi (the day before)

    Clean the house and burn or give away old things. Draw a big kolam or rangoli at the door.

  2. Surya puja at sunrise

    Face the rising sun and offer water from a copper vessel (arghya) three times.

    SayOm Mitraya namah · Om Ravaye namah · Om Suryaya namah · Om Bhanave namah

  3. Cook the Pongal

    In a new pot decorated with turmeric leaves, boil milk with rice. When it overflows, everyone calls out "Pongalo Pongal!". Add jaggery to make sweet pongal.

  4. Offer to the Sun

    Offer the pongal, sugarcane, banana and turmeric to the sun on a banana leaf, with flowers and a lamp.

    SayOm Hram Hrim Hraum sah Suryaya namah

  5. Ellu bella and til-gul

    Share sesame and jaggery with family and neighbours with the words "Eat sesame and jaggery, and speak sweetly".

    SayEllu bella thindu olle maathaadi · Tilgul ghya, god god bola

  6. Kanu and Mattu Pongal

    The next day, honour cattle (or say thanks for those who grow our food), and sisters pray for their brothers with coloured rice for the birds.

Closing

  1. Naivedya

    Place the food before the deity, sprinkle a little water around it and offer it with your hands open.

    SayOm pranaya svaha · Om apanaya svaha · Om vyanaya svaha · Om udanaya svaha · Om samanaya svaha

  2. Aarti

    Wave the camphor or ghee lamp clockwise in front of the deity, ringing the bell, while the family sings an aarti or bhajan.

  3. Pradakshina and namaskara

    Turn around once clockwise where you stand, then bow or prostrate. Ask forgiveness for anything done wrongly.

    SayYani kani cha papani janmantara kritani cha, tani tani vinashyanti pradakshina pade pade

  4. Share the prasada

    Share the naivedya with everyone at home and with neighbours.

Full puja

The full puja follows the sixteen offerings, the shodashopachara, with every mantra in Devanagari, Kannada or Telugu script. It takes about 60 minutes.

  1. DhyanaThink of the deity
  2. AvahanaInvite the deity
  3. AsanaOffer a seat (a flower or rice)
  4. PadyaWater to wash the feet
  5. ArghyaWater to wash the hands
  6. AchamaniyaWater to sip
  7. SnanaA bath (sprinkle water, or abhisheka)
  8. VastraClothes (a cloth or cotton thread)
  9. Yajnopavita / AbharanaSacred thread or ornaments
  10. GandhaSandal paste, turmeric and kumkum
  11. PushpaFlowers and leaves
  12. DhupaIncense
  13. DeepaA lamp
  14. NaivedyaFood
  15. TambulaBetel leaf and nut, or fruit
  16. Nirajana and namaskaraAarti, flowers and bowing

Full puja for members: Devanagari · Kannada script · Telugu script

Members: open the full pujaShort of time? The short puja is complete on its own: flowers, a lamp and food offered with love are enough.

Print

Short puja guide to print

Full puja for members: Devanagari · Kannada script · Telugu script

Every family and region has its own customs, so follow your elders or priest where they differ.

Across India

How Each Region Celebrates

The same festival has many faces. Find your region, and what to do at home.

South India

Bhogi

The day before

  1. Old things are put into a bonfire before sunrise, making room for the new.
  2. Children get a bath of regi pallu (berries) and coins poured over them in Andhra.
South India (Tamil Nadu)

Thai Pongal and Mattu Pongal

Three days

  1. Boil rice, milk and jaggery in a new pot outdoors until it overflows, shouting "Pongalo Pongal".
  2. On Mattu Pongal, wash and decorate the cattle and feed them pongal.
  3. On Kaanum Pongal, visit family and go out together.
South India (Karnataka)

Ellu birodhu

The main day

  1. Mix sesame, jaggery, coconut, peanuts and fried gram (ellu bella).
  2. Visit friends with sugar figures and sugarcane, saying "Ellu bella thindu olle maathaadi".
North India (Punjab)

Lohri

The night before

  1. Light a bonfire and throw in sesame, peanuts, popcorn and rewri.
  2. Walk around the fire and sing; the first Lohri of a newborn or newly married couple is special.
West India (Gujarat)

Uttarayan

The main day

  1. Fly kites from the rooftops all day.
  2. Eat undhiyu and chikki made with sesame and jaggery.
West India (Maharashtra)

Til-gul

The main day

  1. Share til-gul sweets saying "Til-gul ghya, god god bola" (take sweets, speak sweetly).
  2. Married women hold haldi-kumkum gatherings.
East India (Assam)

Magh Bihu

Two days

  1. Build a bhelaghar (hut) for the night feast, then burn the meji bonfire at dawn.
  2. Eat pitha (rice cakes) and laru with the family.

Cook together

Ellu Bella and Til-Gul

More recipes →
Karnataka, Maharashtra, North India · Sankranti

Ellu Bella and Til-Gul

Sesame and jaggery for Sankranti: ellu bella in Kannada, til-gul in Marathi, til ladoo in the north

  • 20 min
  • Serves 10 small bags
Ingredients and method

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white sesame seeds
  • 1 cup roasted peanuts, skins removed
  • 1 cup dry coconut (copra), in small pieces
  • 1 cup jaggery cubes
  • ½ cup roasted gram (hurigadale)

Method

  1. Dry-roast the sesame on low heat until it smells nutty, then cool.
  2. Cut the copra and jaggery into small, even pieces.
  3. Mix everything in a large bowl.
  4. Pack into small bags with a sugar-candy figure (sakkare acchu) if you have one.

Share it with the words "Ellu bella thindu olle maathaadi" or "Tilgul ghya, god god bola": eat sesame and jaggery, and speak sweetly. For til ladoo, melt the jaggery to a soft ball and roll the sesame into it.

For children

Make a paper kite

You need

  • A square of thin paper (40 cm)
  • Two thin bamboo sticks or straws
  • Tape, glue and string
  • Paper streamers for a tail

Steps

  1. Tape one stick from corner to corner.
  2. Bend the second stick into a gentle curve and tape it across the other diagonal.
  3. Tie string where the sticks cross.
  4. Add a streamer tail and fly it on a breezy day.

Get ready

Shopping List

Tick things off as you go, or print the list for the Indian store.

Shopping list

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