Kite-flying, bonfires mark Lohri festivities

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 13

Residents celebrated Lohri with fervour across the city today. The festivities included kite-flying, dancing to the beats of the dhol, savouring sweet delicacies and igniting holy bonfires.

People of all ages could be seen flying kites enthusiastically while some also played music to cheer those participating in kite-flying competitions.

“Kite-flying is incomplete without the beats of the dhol, so we hired a ‘dholi’ and celebrated the festival while flying kites,” said Sunny, a city resident.

Many residents were also seen rushing to stalls and roadside vends to buy sugarcane juice to prepare ‘Rauh di kheer’.

“The kheer is a traditional dish, prepared on Lohri and savoured the next day on Maghi, which is also a festival in the Punjabi calendar. There is a popular saying ‘Poh ridhi, Magh khadi’, which roughly translates to ‘the kheer is cooked on the last day of the Punjabi calendar month Poh and eaten on the first day of the next month Magh’. This day marks the beginning of the new year according to the Punjabi calendar,” said Harbir Kaur, a resident of Civil Lines.

Another city resident, Harvinder Kaur, said while many people prepare sugarcane kheer, in her household there is a tradition of preparing carrot kheer on Lohri. “Today we will prepare carrot kheer and tomorrow we will welcome the new year with jaggery rice,” she said.

In the evening, people lit bonfires and enjoyed the evening with their families, munching on their favourite delicacies, keeping warm in the glow of bonfires.

In some places, people made special arrangements to celebrate the festival in style. “It is the first Lohri after my daughter’s birth and we have arranged a function for our friends and family to mark her first Lohri,” said Amanpreet Kaur.

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