You look up at the sky and are amazed to see that it is no more blue!!! What you see is colors – red blue pink orange.. or should I say you see the color palette. If you happen to visit Jaipur (capital city of Rajasthan – India) you can be a spectator to such a sight. On 14th of January of every year we celebrate Makar Sakranti, when skies are filled with Kites – big, small, different shapes and colors. And what add to the existing glamour are the Hindi Bollywood songs… Truly Indian. ‘Wo Kata – Ye Kataaa’ are the jargon which you hear from every corner.
My family is so crazy that all of us are on the terrace since morning flying kites, and happily tanning our skin. The sun is always smiling in most part of the Rajasthan and this is one of the major festivals in Jaipur. It is known as “Sakrat” in Rajasthani language. And more that adds up to the existing fun is Food – we delight our taste buds with sweets like Ghevar, Til-paati, Gajak and other fried food.
The historical facts tell us that Sankranti or Sakrat is when Sun marks the transition into Makar Rashi (Capricorn) on its celestial path, which is the beginning of the gradual increase of the duration of the day. Scientifically, the shortest day of the year is around December 21st-22nd after which the days begin to get longer, hence actual Winter Solstice begins on December 21st or December 22nd when the tropical sun enters Makar rashi. This was the actual date of Makar Sakranti too. But because of the earth’s tilt of 23.45 degrees and sliding of Equinoxes, Ayanamasha occurs. This has caused Makara Sankranti to slide further over the ages. 1000 years ago, Makar Sankranti was on Dec 31st and is now on January 14th. 5000 years later, it shall be by the end of February, while in 9000 years it shall come in June.
Well, for me this is not a big issue, till the time we see Sakrat coming each year.

Traditionally, this has been one of many harvest days in India. Due to the geography and size of India, this festival is celebrated for innumerable reasons depending on the climate, agricultural environment, cultural background and location.
There this another intresting story in the Hindu mythology, which say that on this day Surya (Sun) visits the house of his son Shani(Saturn), who is the ruler of Makar Rashi (Zodiac Capricorn). Though the father & son duo did not get along nicely, the Sun God made it a point to meet his son on this day. He, in fact, comes to his son’s house, for a month. This day thus symbolizes the importance of the special relationship between father & son. It is the son who has the responsibility to carry his fathers dream and the continuity of the family forward.
This super cool ‘Kite –Flying –Syndrome’ we have for the day continues by the night when instead of kites people leave lite-up kites (called Kandila’s here) in the sky marking the end of a festival or may be welcoming the setting-in of longer days, leaving behind the gloominess of winters. But you know most of the kids just cannot let the hangover vanish. Following days after the 14th are more adventurous, especially in the city area of Jaipur, where the streets are crammed, roofs of the houses are common; traffic is in full swing, but these tiny brave hearts manage to run a marathon to own a kite. They are able to dodge the traffic, jump from the wall, and get into a brawl – just to own a kite!! Lot of them gets hurt, but the aim is to collect as many kites as you can. For many of us it may be chaos but for me it is Spirit of India!