HAPPY LOHRI AMRITSAR

Written by Administrator

Friday, 13 January 2012 12:59

Lohri is an extremely popular Punjabi agricultural midwinter festival that is close to every Punjabi’s heart. Amritsar is popular for flying kites on this festival. On this day people fly kites at day time and at night sit together, sing “Sunder Mundriye ho! Tera Kaun Vicharaa ho! Dullah Bhatti Walla ho!” along with til, gachak, crystal sugar, gur(jiggery), peanuts & popcorn. This Lohri is then distributed amongst everyone at night during the bonfire and these eatables were traditionally thrown into the fire. The traditional dinner with makki ki roti and sarson ka saag isquintessential.

In Amritsar, Lohri celebrates fertility and the joy of life, and in the event of the birth of a male child or a marriage in the family, it assumes a larger significance wherein the host family arranges for a feast and merry-making with the traditional bhangra dance along with rhythm instruments, like the dhol and the gidda. The first Lohri of a new bride or a newborn baby is considered extremely important.

There are some interesting socio-cultural and folk-legends connected with Lohri. According to the cultural history of Punjab, Bhatti, a Rajput tribe during the reign of Akbar, inhabited parts of Rajasthan, Punjab, and Gujarat (now in Pakistan). Dulla Bhatti, Raja of Pindi Bhattian, was put to death by the Mughal king for revolting against him. The tribal mirasis (street singers) trace the history of the tribe and interestingly, claim Maharaja Ranjit Singh as one of its scions.

Dulla Bhatti, like Robin Hood, robbed the rich and gave to the poor. The people of the area loved and respected him. He once rescued a girl from kidnappers and adopted her as his daughter. His people would remember their hero every year on Lohri. Groups of children moved from door to door, singing the Dulla Bhatti folk-song: "Dulla Bhatti ho! Dulle ne dhi viyahi ho! Ser shakar pai ho!" (Dulla gave his daughter a kilo of sugar as a marriage gift).

According to folk lore, in ancient Punjab Lohri was celebrated on the eve of winter solstice day. It is for this reason that people believe the Lohri night is meant to be the longest night of the year and on the day after Lohri, day light is meant to increase.

But now a days sitting around the bonfire has been replaced by the parties and clubbing.