Is dedicated to Gauri, a manifestation of Goddess Parvati and lasts for 18 days. The festival is celebrated by girls and married women throughout Rajasthan. The images of Gauri are ornamented and offerings are made. This is also and auspicious day for young people to select their life partners. Colourful processions with the town band playing, horses and elaborate palanquins make it a fascinating spectacle.




Is dedicated to Gauri, a manifestation of Goddess Parvati and lasts for 18 days. The festival is celebrated girls and married women throughout Rajasthan. The images of Gauri are ornamented and offerings are made. This is also and auspicious day for young people to select their life partners. Colourful processions with the town band playing, horses and elaborate palanquins make it a fascinating spectacle.





(Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh)
In the South Sankranti becomes Pongal. It is a celebration of the harvest which is observed for three days in Tamil Nadu as well as in Andhra Pradesh. The first day is the Bhogi Pongal which is celebrated as a family festival. Surya Pongal, the second day, is dedicated to the Sun (surya) when pongal (rice cooked in milk and jaggery) is boiled by women and offered to the sun. Friends greet one another by asking "Is it boiled?" and the answer given is "It is". It is followed by great rejoicing.

Mattu Pongal, the third day, is a day dedicated to the worship and veneration of cattle(mattu). The pongal that has been offered to the local deities is given to the cattle to eat. The cattle are bathed and decorated. Coloured balls of the pongal are also made and left in the open for birds. In Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and Tanjore, a kind of bullfight, called the "Jellikattu" is held. Bundles containing money are tied to the horns of ferocious bulls, and unarmed villagers try to wrest the bundles from them. With ingredients provided by the freshly gathered harvest, community meals are held at night.