Makar Sankranti in Maharashtra is the festival of tilgul. Small laddoos of sesame and jaggery, and the sugar-coated seeds called halwa, are pressed into every hand with the words "Tilgul ghya, god god bola". Married women hold haldi-kunku gatherings from this day until Ratha Saptami, and alone among festivals it is a day for wearing black.
The story
The Sun enters Makar and turns north. The day before is Bhogi, when bhakri of bajra studded with sesame is eaten with a mixed vegetable of the season's beans, carrots and brinjal; the day after is Kinkrant, named for the demon Kinkarasur whom the goddess Sankranti is said to have killed.
Sesame warms the body in the last cold weeks, and black cloth holds the Sun's heat: the customs are those of a people marking midwinter. The words that go with the sweet ask that any bitterness of the past year be dropped.
तिळगुळ घ्या, गोड गोड बोला
Take tilgul, and speak sweetly
Said with every sweet handed over
How it is kept
- TilgulSesame and jaggery laddoos, tilachi vadi, and gulachi poli, a flatbread stuffed with jaggery and sesame.
- Haldi-kunkuWomen invite one another home, apply turmeric and kumkum, and give a small gift, the vaan: a steel bowl, a comb, bangles.
- SugadSmall clay pots filled with the new harvest, gram, sugarcane, carrot and ber, are worshipped and exchanged.
- Halwyache dagineA new bride and a baby's first Sankranti are marked by dressing them in ornaments made of sugar halwa; small children are showered with ber and sweets at Bornahan.
- KitesFlown from terraces in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.
Why this date
Makar Sankranti is the day the Sun enters sidereal Makar; when that happens late in the day the festival is kept on the next. It stays on 14 or 15 January.
Makar Sankranti in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wednesday | |
| 2027 | Friday | |
| 2028 | Saturday | |
| 2029 | Sunday | |
| 2030 | Monday | |
| 2031 | Wednesday |
More Marathi festivals
13 FebruaryRatha Saptamiरथसप्तमी
6 MarchMaha Shivaratriमहाशिवरात्री
23 MarchHoli and Dhulivandanहोळी · धूलिवंदन
24 November 2026Tripurari Purnimaत्रिपुरारी पौर्णिमा
8 November 2026Diwaliदिवाळी
8 November 2026Narak Chaturdashiनरक चतुर्दशी
Where to see Makar Sankranti
In Maharashtra
- PandharpurMaharashtraWomen bring the sugad to Rukmini and exchange haldi-kunku in the temple courtyard.
- Mahalakshmi Temple, KolhapurMaharashtraNear the end of January the setting Sun's rays reach the image through the west door, the Kirnotsav.
- NashikMaharashtraBathing at Ramkund on the Godavari; nearby Yeola spends the day flying kites.
Across India
- AhmedabadGujaratUttarayan, with kites from dawn to dark.
- PrayagrajUttar PradeshThe bathing fair of Magh at the Sangam begins its main days.
- MaduraiTamil NaduThe same day is Pongal in the Tamil country.