On Makar Sankranti, the festival of kites, and fresh starts, actor Bhagyashree shares her personal rituals and childhood memories associated with the harvest celebration. The actress opens up about tradition, wellness, and the meaning of new beginnings.
Recalling simpler times and how she celebrated Makar Sankranti as a child she says, “When we were kids, we used to go to Vadodara, for Sankranti, which was my naniyal. That was where we would get to see so many different types of kites, amazing unusual shapes and designs. My nanaji and mama would teach us how to fly them, they loved flying kites.”
She adds that times have changed but the festival continues to remain special. “Kite flying was something we did as children, learning how to move and manoeuvre the kite with the manja and make the kite soar into the sky. But now, as one grows up and becomes aware of the harm it can cause to birds while they are flying, it’s something we consciously avoid, even though it is beautiful to see kites in the sky. Makar sankranti is about making tilgul at home and, of course, sharing it with everyone saying, ‘Tilgul ghya ani god god bola.’ In today’s times when everyone seems to have such a short attention span towards one another, and we sometimes say things we don’t mean and end up snapping at each other, I think this is a time when all of us can press the reset button, let bygones be bygones, and start afresh. Let’s speak kindly to one another and allow that sweetness to envelop our homes.”
Speaking about her favourite delacacies she shares, “Tilgul ladoos are, of course, everyone’s favourite, but there is a Rajasthani sweet called til siri, which is similar to til papdi but much finer and thinner, crispy like paper. That is something I really enjoy, and of course, til ka gajak as well.”
Sharing what “tilgul ghya ani god god bola” means her she says, “From a nutritional point of view, til and gud are both warming agents. Since Makar sankranti falls during winter, consuming them helps warm the body from within and provides calcium and iron for the bones and blood. Scientifically too, this is the right time to include til and gud in your diet. When you say “til gud ghya ani god god bola,” it is believed that problems we have in life are represented by the til, which is tiny, a little seed. While the jaggery or Gud, signifies sweetness, represents the solutions to those problems. The binding of til and gud shows us what life is, without problems, we would never understand the sweetness of the other things we have. Gratitude is a big part of that feeling of how lucky we are in life. Experiencing disappointments and obstacles and then having the strength to overcome them, we can truly rejoice in our journey.”