Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Marking the end of the Winter Solstice, Lohri—also known as Lal Loi, was celebrated with fervour in Indore on Thursday. With the day marking the passing of the Winter Solstice, the day temperature climbed up to 21.3 degrees Celsius on Thursday from 18.8 degrees Celsius recorded on Wednesday.
Lohri was celebrated as a winter folk festival religiously by Sikhs and Sindhis and culturally by Hindus and people belonging to other faiths.
Also known as Lohadi, or Lal Loi, Lohri is always celebrated a day before Makar Sankranti, which falls between January 14-15 every year, according to the Hindu calendar.
Lohri was celebrated by lighting bonfires, relishing festive foods like Til Laddoos, Gud Gajak and the traditional dishes of Punjab, such Makki ki Roti and Sarson da Saag. People gathered in small groups with only family members to celebrate the festival. They also offered prayers and the festive food to the bonfire. After the worship, community members danced to folksongs and exchanged gifts among family and friends.
“The significance of the Lohri celebrations lies in celebrating the harvest festival every year, which marks the end of the winter season and beginning of harvesting rabi crops,” said Devender Singh Gandhi from the Sikh community.
Shankar Kishanlal from the Sindhi community said, “Unlike other festivals of Hindus, the date for the Lohri festival is fixed and it is celebrated on January 13 every year.”
First Lohri was special for many
‘Special congratulations were proffered to the house in which a new marriage or childbirth has taken place and to those people after whose marriage the first Lohri or the first Lohri of the child takes place,” Gandhi said. He added that the newly married couple walks around the fire, prays for happiness in their coming life and receives blessings from elders by touching their feet
It was first Lohri for the newborn of Ranu and Jitendra Saluja, as well. “The last couple of years have been tough because of the pandemic, but 2022 brought us a delight and we wanted to make it special for our little one, as it’s our Lohri,” they said. The couple organised a Lohri bash and photoshoot for the baby
Among some such couples who got married in 2021, Gurmeet and Gurdeep Singh were one. Celebrating their first Lohri, the couple said, “A new bride is made to never forget her first Lohri in her new family, and we know why now.” They discussed various ceremonies and the attention they received on the occasion
Major celebrations in…
The Lal Loi festival was celebrated in many areas, including Larkana Nagar, Jairampur, Katju, Jayjagat, Sindhi Colony, Sindhu Nagar, Dwarkapuri, Kamla Nehru Nagar, parts of Vijay Nagar, Shanti Niketan and various townships
Narendra Fundwani from a youth organisation said, ‘This time, many organisations of Indore’s Sindhi society had resolved to celebrate Sindhi festivals on Lal Loi following strict Covid-19 protocol, so we ensured that’
Eco-friendly Lal Loi
Prakash Lalwani and Anil Agha from the community said, ‘The Sindhi community in Indore celebrated Lal Loi (Lohri) in an eco-friendly way and is promoting this for other communities to follow.’ The community members used cow dung cakes instead of wooden planks for burning to celebrate the festival. ‘Burning cow dung is good for the environment, whereas chopping off trees is like denying oxygen to our lungs,’ they added
