Mysuru gears up for the first festival of the year

Great demand for flowers on the eve of Sankranti festival at Devaraja Market, in Mysuru, on Tuesday.

The people of the city have geared up to celebrate the first festival of the year ‘Makara Sankranti’, on January 15. It is celebrated across the state and in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and also as Pongal in Tamil Nadu, and as Lohri, Uttaryan and Maghi in Northern states, with religious fervour.

Sankranti or Pongal is the harvest festival, celebrated with traditional enthusiasm. It is the festival to offer salutations to the Sun god, who is believed to change his path from Dakshinayana to Uttarayana during Sankranthi.

Bundles of sugarcane, kept for sale, were found at vantage points across the city well in advance, marking the beginning of the festival.

The circles near the railway station, JK Grounds, Agrahara Circle, Surya Bakery in Hebbal, Mathrumandali in VV Mohalla and other places in the city displayed sugarcane, mango leaves, fruits and flowers, with the vendors getting ready for business.

The markets in the city were crowded with the people thronging to make purchases on the eve of the festival on Tuesday evening.

Flower and fruits, vendors selling packets mixed with sesame seeds, copra, jaggery pieces, ground nuts, sugar balls was in great demand. It is a tradition to distribute packets of this mixture among friends and relatives during Sankranti festival.

Freshly harvested rice is cooked with jaggery and milk on the occasion. It is also a custom to offer roots and tubers to the God during the festival.

Cattle fair at KRS

The 38th Basaveshwara cattle fair will begin near Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) dam in Srirangapatna taluk on January 15. The 10-day cattle fair will have thousands of cattle from Mysuru, Mandya, Hassan, Tumakuru, Chikkamagaluru and other districts on display.

Necessary arrangements to tether the cattle and to provide drinking water has been made.

Several competitions are being held for the cattle during the fair, according to Jatra Samiti secretary M B Kumar.