The early morning campfires on the first day of the festival - and bringing anything and everything from broken chairs to dried tree branches to neighbour's stool to all the dry leaves we could gather from the surroundings to cardboard boxes to....the list goes on.. Anything that can help raze a big fire is put into the pile and it's lit up in the chilly early morning weather. Kids gather around and elders are not far behind...Then the colorful and not so colorful kites we made and bought to fly from the roof tops, on the streets without a care for the passers by or bicycles or rikshaws or the cows/buffalos... trying to fly our kites higher than that of the kid next door... It's usually the not so colorful, home made, news paper kites that generally used to soar high - leaving behind all those beautiful ones with long colorful tails.
I could write more about the fun we used to have for days and days as the schools were usually closed from around Christmas through Pongal/Sankranti (schools these days have no such long vacations). Not a paisa spent usually - as we used to sneak some cooked rice for adhesive, tear down newspapers for the kite (not sure which day's paper that was - who cared? not until dad scolded after realizing his editorial section is flying high in the sky), threads from the grocery packets tied together to make a long line for the kite, and then the brooms made of coconut leaves were there to provide the much needed framework for the kite. Coming back to the present - I wish you all who know what I am talking about a very very happy Sankranti (Harvest Festival in South India) and wish you all the best this year. And for all the girl folks out there...here are a couple of pics of americanized gobbiLLu (big balls made out of fresh cow dung - only, in US we made them with fresh snow).
Have a good day!
Swasti!!
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