Sankranti Rituals

Makara Sankranti, also called the harvest festival or Pongal, falls

on January, 14 or 15, when the sun passes from one zodiac sign to

another. This festival marks the beginning of Sun’s journey to

northern hemisphere, called utharayana.

Homes are cleaned, white-washed, and red mud smeared along the

walls. In front of the house fresh cow dung is smeared and designer

rangoli designs made. A make-shift stove is built on the verandah

and a new mud pot decorated with turmeric leaf and rhizome used to

cook newly-harvested rice in the presence of sunshine. Sweet pongal

is prepared, offered to Sun God and distributed to all.

In the evening a mixture of roasted gingili seeds, dry coconut

copra, and jaggery is distributed to all friends and relatives along

with sugar candy.

On the third day cows are decorated after bath, their horns painted,

and body smeared with turmeric. A small heap of dry hay is burned.

Each cow is forced to cross the fire at least three times. Then

camphor is burnt and aarthi is shown to the cow, especially to the

udder and back. The cow is fed with sweet pongal and gingili

mixture.

All that is not meaningless tradition. There is hard-core science

behind it.

White-washing the house with calcium carbonate

(collected from molluscan shells) helps to kill spiders and other

insect vectors in house. Fresh cow dung in presence of sunlight

produces methane which forms a thin film in front of our house and

prevents entry of bacterial pathogens and also kills microbes. Red

mud will close all pores in the house which are breeding place for

many vectors.

Cooking rice in presence of sunlight helps to get vitamin – D for

one full year. Gingily is a good antioxidant; dry kenel of coconut

is anti bacterial agent and anti viral agent.  Dry coconut has

saturated fatty acid which prevents infections. Dry coconut has

lauric acid, which is a very good antiviral agent oil in the nut

helps to rejuvenate the muscles and enhances hair growth and

premature aging of our skin.

During this season that signals the end of winter and beginning of

spring followed, is the optimum period for viral and bacterial

colony to breed. Mumps, measles causing adenoviruses breed fast

during this period. These viral infections can even cause damage to

chromosome 17 and create a chromosomal or genetic disorder which can

be passed on to next generation. Eating coconut gingili mixture with

anti viral agent helps to prevent the viral attack. Turmeric used in

pongal is also an antiviral agent.

Cowpox viruses belonging to poxvirus, foot and mouth disease virus

and anthrox leptospirosis are found to breed during this season,

which is their optimum period. These cause disease in cow and

buffalos, encephalitis infection  is transmitted through milking.

Cowpox milker’s node, Orthopox virus causes infections in cows,

buffalos, mouse, monkey, rabbit, camel at  temperatures between 25-

41  degree centigrade. Cowpox is absent in Europe because the

temperatures are lower than the optimum for the virus.

Crossing the fire by the cows reduces the chance of the infection;

camphor arathi will also prevent infection of theses virus because

camphor is an anti viral agent.

So it can be seen clearly that our ancestors had a good reason to

do what they did. It is time we realised that.