Makara Sankranti, a festival that marks the beginning of Uttarayana, was celebrated with religious fervour and spirit across the City.

Hundreds of devotees thronged the Gavi Gangadhareshwaraswamy temple in Gavipuram in the evening to witness the annual spectacle wherein the sun rays fall on the Shivalinga. The shrine was adorned with flowers to mark the occasion. People also thronged the Iskcon temple in Rajajinagar. Similarly, a special abhisheka was performed to the deity at the century-old Odukattur Mutt Shiva temple in Ulsoor.  

The festival that marks the entry of the sun into the ‘Mak­ar’ (capricorn) zodiac sign was observed by people with several cultural and religious programmes. ‘Ellu’ comprising chunks of jaggery, split groun­dnuts, roasted channa dal, sesa­me seeds and dried coco­nut was distributed to households. People also made other delicacies such as sweet pongal, chitranna, pay­a­sa, dishes made of avarekai (hyacinth beans) and sweet potato.

Subbulakshmi R, a resident of Vijayanagar, looks forward to this festival every year. She said, “Every year, my family celebrates Sankranti by visiting the temple and later going to households to distribute packets of ellu. It is a festival of joy and happiness.”

Sankranti Seva Samiti conducted a day-long programme with activities such as rangoli, painting competition and a musical evening at the Mahalakshmi temple premises in Banashankari. Another highlight of the event was the ‘Dahi Handi’ competition wherein participants had to break earthen pots filled with curd. 

As part of the Sankranti celebrations, the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Laasya Vardhana Trust felicitated people who have excelled in various fields. It was followed by a literary session attended by poets.

Lisaa School of Design and Creo Valley School of Film and Television organised a series of traditional program­m­es with a modern touch. Students of the institutions who were dressed in ethnic attire took part in pot-making and rangoli com­p­etitions. The students decorated the earthen pots with messages on social issues. They opted to fly eco-friendly kites by avoiding the use of the manja thread which can prove dangerous for birds.

Kite enthusiasts can take part in the kite-flying festival being organised by iPlatform to mark Sankranti at Karle Town Centre near Nagavara on Saturday.