Makar Sankranti is one of the most popular festivals of the country and is celebrated with much fervour. These celebrities talk of the significance of the festival in their lives, their memories and plans for this year.
Subuhii Joshii:
Since childhood we’ve celebrated all the festivals. I remember going to my Nani’s house and flying kites with my mother’s brother. He is no more in this world hence this festival will always be way too special because I’ve some very fond memories of it. We used to fly kites on the Terrance and then later we all used to sit together and eat khichdi. It was a Makar Sankranti transition. I’m fond of all the sweets but “pinni” would be my favourite Makar Sankranti sweet.
Priya Paramita Paul:
Makar Sankranti is special to me because this is the first holiday after New Year and I remember in my school days, when 31st and 1st January was over, we used to wait for Sankranti holidays to begin. So that’s the special thing about this festival. And about memories; I’m a Bengali, born and brought up in Assam, so I get to celebrate two festivals on the same day, Makar Sankranti and Bihu which is an Assamese festival. For both the festivals, we prepare sweets in the house. Also in Assamese culture, on 13th January, before Sankranti there is something called Uruka. It is something we celebrate at night where all the family members gather and cook together. It’s like a picnic which is a celebration to welcome Bihu the next day. And I think this time also I have a couple of Bengali friends and Assami friends, so I will celebrate everything. There are 2 sweets that are my favourite, one Bengali cuisine called Patishapta and it is stuffed with maava and sometimes coconut and in Assamese cuisine,Til Pitha. There are different varieties of sweets which I’m fond of and am going to prepare.
Mohit Shewani:
This festival is very important and special for me because I’m very connected with Gujarati people. I used to visit Ahmedabad during this festival. The best part which I like is that the sky is filled with colourful kites. It is giving a message that you can also fly with colours. I know how to fly the kite and in my childhood, I remember my brother, my friends and I used to fly kites but unfortunately this time I’m not able to celebrate it that way because I’m shooting on that day. But if I get time, I’ll celebrate a little bit. I love eating Til ke laddoo, I remember we used to fight for who would eat more. We used to eat many sweets which are made by til. I miss this nowadays keeping health in mind, we do not get a chance to eat sweets that much.
Ekta Sharma:
Makar Sankranti is the beginning of the harvest season. I have tried flying kites when I was a child and I love the festival as you can see all the colourful kites in the sky. As a child, once in my building we had gone and tried flying the kite on the terrace. It was fun but now I enjoy watching people flying kites. I will watch people flying kites and have a lot of sweets. We do pooja and have sweets and on Lohri, we have a bonfire.
Sneha Jain
I have a big brother and a small brother. When we were kids, I stayed in Gujarat for two years. We used to shop for kites during this time and we used to bring the kites with actors’ faces on it. My brother used to teach me how to fly kites while I used to hold the firki. We used to start flying the kites one week before. That one week of fun and laughter was amazing. Now we don’t do the kite thing because being kids we were immature but now we know this is not good for birds who are living out there. So now during Uttarayan we sit and chill and make sweets at home. Still this festival is always special for me. My best memories of Uttrayan are of screaming on the terrace during the pench and then going to other homes to steal the kites that my brother used to cut. It used to be an achievement for us. We have a very big family and all of us getting together on festivals is a very beautiful thing. Touchwood, we have celebrated togetherness in every festival and that is the best memory since childhood till now. I don’t like sweets at all. But sometimes I eat til gud ladoo and coconut burfi and my favourite food during Makar Sankranti is Fafda and Jalebi.
Akash Sharma:
I like Makar Sankranti very much because it is a social festival. During my childhood, my sister and I especially used to decorate the house and fly kites and used to go to people’s houses to distribute sweets. I get a lot of happiness by remembering all of that. I have been very fond of kite flying and whenever I am in India, and I get time, I fly kites. I remember that before Makar Sankranti one year, during my childhood, I had made all the preparations to fly kites. I had also bought many kites and after buying it I had put it on my roof and the next day I couldn’t find those kites! Someone had stolen them. After that my mood got spoiled. But my parents got me another kite! I love to eat gajak and chikki!
Hitanshu Jinsi:
Victory of good over evil makes this festival very special for me. I always try to find positivity in every negative situation. For me, every day is a special day. I am going to go with my plans, as always, work hard and leave the rest to God. I do remember an incident when I was a kid. I used to fly kites on the terrace with no boundaries and I fell down! Luckily, I was saved. My all-time favourite sweets is Gulab jamun and the food dish is yakhni (Kashmiri dish) saag.
Charrul Malik:
Makar Sankranti is a festival that is very special to me because we used to celebrate it when we were in Chandigarh. My parents are from Haryana and their Makar Sankranti is celebrated in a grand way, even today. I don’t know how to fly kites but every year in my show, I do fly the kites. I decorate the kites and hang them on my balcony as well. So that’s what I’m going to do this year too. And as always, festivities means eating food and sweets, but in moderation. My memories of the festival are of family gatherings that used to happen and we used to cook good food and dance and have fun. I also have great memories of every festival with my twin sister. We would get new clothes stitched, be it Lohri or Holi, and we used to wear the same clothes. I have fond memories as we have a big house and open space in Chandigarh. Definitely we used to take precautions as we used to go and fly the kites from the top of our house. My favourite sweets are til ke laddoo, gachak, and I love Boondi and Besan ke Laddoo. We always used to make this.
Aadesh Chaudhary:
During Makar sankranti, We eat a lot of Kadake. It is made of Til and Gud. It is my favourite and I enjoy it the most in Makar Sankranti. It is a special festival because the weather is beautiful and I like flying kites in this weather. I used to fly alot of kites. In my childhood, I remember instead of Makar Sankranti, we used to wait for Janmashtami and Raksha Bandhan because in the North, during that time of the year, all of us used to fly a lot of kites. I have those small good memories where we used to buy Maanja and Kites.
