What is your favourite festival and how is it celebrated in your region? Do you know whether it is celebrated in any other part of India, maybe under a different name?
Taking Makara Sankrānti as an example: It is celebrated as Makara Sankrānti in many parts of India, marking the beginning of the harvest season on or around January 14.
In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated as Pongal; in Punjab as Lohri; in Assam as Magh Bihu; in Gujarat as Uttarayan; in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as Sankranti.
Though celebrated under different names across regions, the underlying theme of harvest celebration remains the same — another example of unity in diversity in Indian festivals.
Explanation
The chapter uses Makara Sankrānti as an example of a festival celebrated across India 'almost at the same time, though they have different names.' The map in Fig. 8.5 shows different names of similar festivals across India about the same date. This illustrates how the same festival is celebrated across India under different regional names.
Solution Steps
Makara Sankrānti marks the beginning of the harvest season, celebrated on or around January 14
The festival is celebrated across India under different regional names
In Tamil Nadu it is called Pongal, in Punjab as Lohri, in Assam as Magh Bihu, in Gujarat as Uttarayan, in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as Sankranti
Despite different names, the underlying theme of harvest celebration remains the same across all regions
This illustrates the concept of unity in diversity in Indian festivals