Makar Sankranti is a Hindu festival which is celebrated every year on 14th January, to worship the Sun God, Surya. Also called as Maghi in Punjab and Haryana, people are witnessed celebrating this festival by performing rituals and praying to God, hoisting kites up in the sky and making delicacies. The most prominent delicacy prepared is the Til ka Laddoo (made from sesame seeds) which is considered as an auspicious offering to God and any food offering on this day is considered auspicious. Well, our curiosity peeks as to why a little seed is offered to God and how did this little seed turn out to be so auspicious?
Once upon a time, while the people were celebrating Makar Sankranti, the Gods decided to visit earth to check who were donating to the less privileged. So that no one would recognise them, they disguised themselves as poor kids. They started roaming the village, observing the hustle and bustle of the festive vibe and soon, they stumbled upon a house of an old woman. Now this old woman was the definition of selfish and her mouth was the source of all bitter words. A poor man had once asked her for bread to which she replied saying, “Forget about bread, you won’t even get a tiny piece of it.” When the Gods, dressed as poor kids asked her for food, it was obvious that she wouldn’t give them anything. But her mind being the residence of evil, she decided to make Laddoos (sweets) from mud just to get rid of them. In any normal circumstance, the Gods would have boiled from the anger of being served mud but the old woman somehow had luck on her side. While making the mud Laddoos, the plate had some sesame seeds stuck to it which got mixed with the blob of mud. Unknowingly, she made an offering to God and instead of being punished, she received blessings from the Gods.
It might seem unfair and it might seem like karma didn’t work, but this story tells us that even a small offering is an offering. So this Makar Sankranti, make sure you spread your joy with the ones who don’t have the privilege to celebrate festivals because good deeds are not done for attention, but purely from the goodness of heart.
Writer:
Ulka Mayur
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