To all my readers, here’s wishing you a happy Lohri.
It’s indeed a great time to be in Punjab right now. The state will be celebrating with full festive spirit and cheer. For people in Punjab, this festival holds a great significance since it marks the beginning of the harvesting season and the end of winter. It also marks the welcoming of spring and the New Year.
This festival is marked with celebrations on the 13th of every year by lighting a bonfire in the local community area which is symbolic of Sun God thereby bringing in the warmth. By tradition, this festival is associated with the harvest of Rabi crops. Therefore Punjabi farmers celebrate their new financial year with the beginning of the day after Lohri or Maghi.
Some interesting folklore is also associated with this amazing festival. According to the cultural history of Punjab, there was a man belonging to the Rajput tribe during Akbar’s rule and these tribes used to also inhabit parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat (Parts now based in Pakistan)
For revolting against the Mughal emperor, Dulla Bhatti who was the Raja of Pindi Bhattian was sentenced to death. The tribe Mirasis or street singers; they trace the history of these tribes and claim that Maharaja Ranjit Singh as one of their own.
Like the Robinhood we all have read, known in the modern times, Dulla Bhatti robbed the rich and generously gave them to the poor. The people used to love and respect him. Once Dulla Bhatti rescued a girl from her perpetrators and adopted her as his own daughter and this would then become a folklore for life which is recited in the songs even today. Children till date go to each house singing songs of Dulla Bhatti going door to door.
The song goes something like this:
Dulla Bhatti ho
Dulle ne Di vyahi ho
Ser sakar pai ho
Which loosely translates to Dulla Bhatti gave a kilo of sugar as a marriage gift to his daughter
Sweets like Jaggery, peanuts and puffed corns are the three items usually associated with this amazing festival. Alongside these, in Punjab, it is a tradition where people eat Gajjak and Sarson da Saag along with Makki di Roti while celebrating Lohri.
Let’s keep the spirit of the festival alive.
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Lohri and its significance To all my readers, here’s wishing you a happy Lohri. It’s indeed a great time to be in Punjab right now.
