#lohri

Divine flames

meri mehfil tere jaane se viraan hai.

🪔🌼🍂⋆. 𐙚 ˚ aaj bhi diye jalte hai, log aate jaate rehte hai, lekin wo raunak jo teri hassi me shayari-si leherti thi, wo darmiyaan hi kho gayi hai.

🔥🪁🪵⋆. 𐙚 ˚ aaj bhi patang udti hai, hawaa mere baalo me ulajhti hai, magar dor ab kisi aur ke haatho mein bandhi lagti hai.

🎨💫🌊⋆. 𐙚 ˚ aaj bhi gulaal bikharta hai, paani me teri jhalak si ubharti hai, par wo rang jo tere komal haatho se meri rooh ko chhu kar guzra tha, ab kisi aur ke rukshaar pe tehra hua hai.

🌧️🍃💚⋆. 𐙚 ˚ aaj bhi baarish barasti hai, mehendi tere naam ka rang pakadti hai, par woh hari choodiyon ki khanak ab kisi aur ke haathon mein bajti hai.

Time to thank the sun and soil🌞!!! Happy Pongal😊!!!

The Winter Solstice for 2025 will occur on December 21 at 7:03 AM Why are there so many Holidays and Holy Days at this time of year? Why do so many of them, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, seem to emphasize light, especially light in contrast to the darkness? Likely this is because of the Winter Solstice. Stonehenge, a Celtic monument built for the Solstices, perhaps as much as 5000…

Growing up in North India, it has been a childhood practice to observe that on an arbitrary day in January, the people in my society would gather around a bonfire singing, going around in circles, chanting and putting in peanuts, rewri, and popcorn. Of course, you must've realised that I'm talking about Lohri. Finding its roots in the areas of Punjab and Haryana, this festival marks the harvest of the crops, successively the new year for a lot of communities in these regions.

Whilst there's the idea of new year, it also acts as a day of union for friends, family or even coworkers. Marking the winter solstice, the agelong practices of having roasted peanuts, rewri (an amalgamation of gud-jaggery and til-sesame seeds) and popcorn, also keeps you warm on a cold, wintery night. As far as anecdotal accounts extend, Lohri has always been a chilly night with nuts and seeds that keep one warm accompanied by cups of tea served by my father whilst my grandmother and brother would be working on keeping the fire going along with kapoor, wood and oil. Meanwhile I'd be on the duty of procuring food, and documenting the entire thing and working on music.

This festival, to a lot of people, involves acts of service towards the underprivileged and finding happiness in togetherness as opposed to being consumed by their workaholic, daily lives. In lots of parts of India, Lohri, often, involves a grand celebration to mark the birth of a child, bringing, even the extended family together. Thus, whether or not you belong to the community that celebrates the historical significance of the fête, it still brings about togetherness across boundaries and obliterating the evils of human in the auspicious fire. Oh my, it's already time?! I better go get my popcorn and peanuts! Have fun!

- Gehna