Harvest celebrations across India
The festival of Lohri, marking the beginning of the harvest season, is being celebrated across North India. Traditional celebrations, complete with drums, music and dance, take place around the sacred bonfire.
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The harvest season beckons India. Through this gallery we bring photos of the harvest season celebrations across the country.
Seen here are the traditional celebrations in North India, marking the festival of Lohri, complete with drums, music and dance, taking place around the sacred bonfire.(NDTV Photo)
(Watch: Pongal cheer in Tamil Nadu)
(Read: Jaipur celebrates Sankranti with MJ kites)
(Read: Mahakumbh Mela begins in Haridwar today)
(Watch: Assam's fish feast)
(Watch: Life of a Naga Sadhu) -
Lohri is celebrated a day before Makar Sankranti, as it marks the end of the winter season. There is a pooja, involving parikrama around the fire, followed by distribution of prasad. The festival symbolises a prayer to Agni, the spark of life, for abundant crops and prosperity. (NDTV Photo)
(Watch: Pongal cheer in Tamil Nadu)
(Read: Jaipur celebrates Sankranti with MJ kites)
(Read: Mahakumbh Mela begins in Haridwar today)
(Watch: Assam's fish feast)
(Watch: Life of a Naga Sadhu) -
Lohri was celebrated in full gusto at the Great India Place in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi.
During the day, children go from door to door singing folk songs in praise of Dulha Bhatti, a thief in folklore who helps the poor and fights for their rights. These children are given sweets and savories. These collections are known as Lohri, and they are distributed at night during the festival. (NDTV Photo)
(Watch: Pongal cheer in Tamil Nadu)
(Read: Jaipur celebrates Sankranti with MJ kites)
(Read: Mahakumbh Mela begins in Haridwar today)
(Watch: Assam's fish feast)
(Watch: Life of a Naga Sadhu) -
Lohri celebrations at the India Habitat Center brings respite as the winter season peaks in Delhi.
The central character of most Lohri songs is Dulla Bhatti, a Muslim highway robber who lived in Punjab during the reign of Emperor Akbar. Besides robbing the rich, he rescued Hindu girls being forcibly taken to be sold in slave market of the Middle East. Though a bandit, he became a hero of all Punjabis.
(Watch: Pongal cheer in Tamil Nadu)
(Read: Jaipur celebrates Sankranti with MJ kites)
(Read: Mahakumbh Mela begins in Haridwar today)
(Watch: Assam's fish feast)
(Watch: Life of a Naga Sadhu) -
Punjab being a predominantly agricultural state prides itself on its food grain production.
Lohri is one of Punjab's most significant festival. Thus, the festival is symbolic of ripening of the crops and of copious harvest.
This explains the Punjabi decor of the celebrations in Noida. (NDTV Photo)
(Watch: Pongal cheer in Tamil Nadu)
(Read: Jaipur celebrates Sankranti with MJ kites)
(Read: Mahakumbh Mela begins in Haridwar today)
(Watch: Assam's fish feast)
(Watch: Life of a Naga Sadhu) -
Singing and dancing form an intrinsic part of the celebrations. People wear bright clothes, perform the bhangra and gidda to the beat of the dhol. (NDTV Photo)
(Watch: Pongal cheer in Tamil Nadu)
(Read: Jaipur celebrates Sankranti with MJ kites)
(Read: Mahakumbh Mela begins in Haridwar today)
(Watch: Assam's fish feast)
(Watch: Life of a Naga Sadhu) -
BSF jawans on the border revel in the Lohri celebrations. (NDTV Photo)
(Watch: Pongal cheer in Tamil Nadu)
(Read: Jaipur celebrates Sankranti with MJ kites)
(Read: Mahakumbh Mela begins in Haridwar today)
(Watch: Assam's fish feast)
(Watch: Life of a Naga Sadhu) -
A sadhu gestures while taking a bath on the banks of river Ganges in Haridwar during the Kumbh Mela festival.
Thousands of Hindu devotees took a ritual bath before daybreak on Thursday as one of the world's largest religious gatherings got under way. (AFP Photo)
