So much cultural diversity
Yet bound by eternal unity
A unique and distinct blend
Of practices and traditions
So much pious and cherished
The festival of Makar Sankranti
Coinciding with the Solar cycle
Of the Capricorn or Makara rashi…
Festival one but umpteen names
Uttarayan, Maghi or just Sankranti:
Shishur Sankraat in Jammu & Kashmir;
Makar Sankranti or even Khicheri
In Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
As well as Odisha and Maharashtra;
Popular and nick-named Uttarayan
In Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan;
Makar Sakraat or Til Sankranti in Bihar;
Maghi in Haryana, Himachal and Punjab;
Magh Bihu, Makar Sankranti or Pusna
In Assam and other northeastern states
Or more popular Poush in West Bengal;
Pedda Panduga in Andhra and Telangana,
Makara Sankramana in Karnataka,
Makara Vilakku in far south Kerala,
And Pongal or Thai Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
Alas, but some dark forces and minions
Are out to destroy the age old traditions
Of the Indian culture and religions
Peace, harmony and prosperity of nation
With their alien and ill-conceived notion
Of sectarian God, culture and religion –
“We alone are true, let others be like us”
Spewing venom, expanding in this land
Like Asura “Raktabeej” of Pauranik era
We pray Ma Adishakti to manifest yet again.
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