Journalism of Courage
The year has just began and with that a string of festivals have also started. People in different parts of the country are busy celebrating Makar Sankranti and Pongal, marking the onset of spring and the harvest season. Keeping with the traditions, people in different parts of the country are celebrating Makar Sankranti by taking holy dip in rivers, flying kites and preparing sweets made of jaggery and sesame seeds. Pongal, that is celebrated by Indians all across the world, but especially in south India is a four-day festival, celebrated in the month of Thai, when crops such as rice are harvested. People during the festival, show their gratitude to the almighty and the generosity of the land. Here are some pictures of how people are celebrating these festivals.
Hindu devotees taking a dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati River, during the Makar Sankranti festival in Allahabad, on January 14. 2018. (Source: AP Photo)
People celebrating Makar Sankranti in Varanasi. (Source: AP)
Tamil Hindu women cooking special food to celebrate the harvest festival of Pongal at Dharavi, one of the world's largest slums, in Mumbai, on January 14, 2018. (Source: AP)
Devotees taking holy dips in river Ganga on the occasion of Makar Sankranti in Varanasi. (Express photo by Anand Singh)
People taking dips in river during Makar Sankranti in Varanasi. (Express photo by Anand Singh)
Devotees celebrating Pongal in Mumbai. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)
Tamilians celebrating Pongal, the harvest festival, in Mumbai. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)
Pongal, starts on January 14 this year and will culminate on January 17. Devotees celebrating the festival in Mumbai. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)
Makar Sankranti celebrations in Ahmedabad on January 14, 2018. (Source: Express photo by Javed Raja)
Makar Sankranti celebrations in Ahmedabad on January 14, 2018. (Source: Javed Raja)
People celebrating Makar Sankranti at Girgaum Chowpatty in Mumbai. (Source: Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)
Women celebrating Pongal in Mumbai. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)
Thousand of people, mainly tribals gathered at Kangsabati river Deulighata near Jaipur, Purulia to celebrate Tushu festival. (Source: Express Photo by Subham Dutta)
The Tusu festival also known as Tusu Parab is a tribal festival in rural Bengal. It is celebrated in districts of Purulia, Bankura and Midnapur. The key features of the entire one month of celebrations are the Tusu songs which are folk music, the food and the fair. It ends on Makar Sankranti, with the immersion of Tusu structures. (Source: Express Photo by Subham Dutta)
