Devotees Across India Celebrate Makar Sankranti with Holy Dips and Kite Flying

Thousands gathered to celebrate Makar Sankranti 2025, marking the Sun's transition into Capricorn and the start of Uttarayan. Devotees braved chilly weather for holy dips at Ganga ghats, participating in rituals, prayers, and traditional festivities, including kite flying and festive dishes across various regions of India.

Thousands of devotees gathered along the scenic banks of the river Ganga throughout India on Tuesday to commemorate Makar Sankranti 2025. This revered festival, which marks the Sun's annual transit into Capricorn, heralds the beginning of Uttarayan. Despite the biting chill, worshippers from Kolkata's bustling Babughat to Varanasi's sacred ghats and Haridwar's Har Ki Pauri braved the cold to take sacred dips and offer prayers.

In Kolkata, West Bengal, the faithful performed heartfelt rituals at Babughat, immersing themselves in the holy waters. The ghats in Varanasi and Patna were also witness to large throngs partaking in traditional customs, with entire families, including children, enthusiastically participating despite the cold grip. Similarly, in Uttarakhand, devotees gathered at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar, taking part in the revered Ganga snan, or holy bath, on this significant day.

In Rajasthan, the Balaji Temple in Jaipur saw devotees offering prayers for Makar Sankranti, while in Bihar, a multitude of people visited Ganga Ghat in Patna for the ritual dip. Families, spanning generations, could be seen taking their ceremonial plunge in the Ganges' cold embrace. Vijaya Laxmi, a fervent devotee, expressed a heartfelt wish for continued joyous celebrations of Makar Sankranti, attributing the warm enthusiasm in the face of cold to 'faith in God.'

(With inputs from agencies.)