K'taka celebrates 'festival of harvest' sankranti

Bangalore, Jan 15 (UNI) Sankranti, the harvest festival, was elebrated with traditional gaiety and enthusiasm in Karnataka today.

Spirited devotees wearing new cloths offered pooja at various temples and celebrated the arrival of Makara Sankranti a most auspicious occasion for the hindus.

Makara Sankranti marks the commencement of the sun's journey to the Northern Hemisphere.

In Karnataka, men, women and children, attired in colourful tunics visit friends and relatives and exchange pieces of sugarcane, a mixture of white til, molasses, dry coconut and peanuts. The significance of this exchange is that sweetness should prevail in all the dealings.

As part of the festival, cows and bulls were given a wash and the horns are painted with bright orange and decorated with garland, and were taken in a procession in the villages and towns to the accompaniment of pipes and drums. They were made to jump over the bonfire set up at most places.

No any unsavoury incidents were reported during the celebrations of the festival from any parts of the state, the police said.

Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur, Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council Prof B K Chandrashekhar, former chief ministers H D Kumaraswamy, B S Yeddyurappa and Dharam Singh have greeted people on the occasion.

UNI MV RS GM1346