Sankranti is a major festival that highlights the rich culture of various states of India. Makar Sankranti also marks the beginning of harvest season in the country. During this time, farmers from across the country worship nature including cattle, sun, and rain and also pray for bountiful crops. 


All over the country, people celebrate Makar Sankranti with various names. It is known as Magh Bihu in Assam, Ghughuti in Uttarakhand, Uttrayan in Gujarat, and Pongal in Tamil Nadu.


In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Sankranti is celebrated with much fervour. The festival lasts for three days: Bhogi, Sankranti, and Kanuma. 


On the occasion of Sankranti, people decorate their homes with marigold flowers and mango leaf thoranams, put up colourful rangoli in front of their homes and traditionally put a gobbemma (made with cow dung) at the centre of the rangoli.
 
The three-day-long festivities begin with the Bhogi Mantalu (bonfire). During Bhogi, people collect old agricultural wastes and household articles and light them. They also dump other additional waste collected in the year in the burning fire as people sing and rejoice at the end of the year and the coming of the new harvest season. 


Later, the people also cook Pongal, a type of porridge, with rice, milk, and jaggery.


On the main Makar Sankranti Day, the people perform pooja and offer prayer. They also wear new clothes, participate in kite flying competitions and have elaborate feasts. One can see Haridas and Basvannas visiting every home in the villages. 


Kanuma is observed on the third day of the festival. On this day, cattle are worshipped and people also pay homage to the elements of nature for a good harvest. Some of the villages organise Cockfights and bullfights in the state. 


To bring prosperity and happiness, people donate wheat and sweets to those in need. This festival is also celebrated with sweets made of rice flour and jaggery.


As per astrology and the Vedic scriptures, Sankranti marks the movement of the sun from one Rashi (constellation of the zodiac) to the next. Hence, there are 12 Sankranti in a year. The Makar Sankranti is the most auspicious of these and it is one of the few Hindu festivals that is aligned with the solar cycle.


The first day of the Sankranti festival, known as Bhogi falls on January 14, 2023, Sankranti is observed on January 15, 2023, and Kanuma is observed on January 16, 2023.