Sharad Malhotra, Alisha Panwar, Meera Deosthale and others share their thoughts on Makar Sankranti

Makar Sankranti is a special occasion. It is the first day of the sun's transit into Makara rashi, according to Wikipedia. Every such event means celebrations. But given the surge in Covid cases now, everyone needs to stay at home and have fun with family, and not step out unless necessary. Talking about the day, celebrities share their special Makar Sankranti memory. They also talk about their love for flying kites and eating mouthwatering dishes and sweets on the day.

Sharad Malhotra

I have been fond of kite flying since my Kolkata days. I used to fly kites even on the sets of Maharana Pratap. This year I would also like to fly kites. I will eat sweets made out of sesame seeds and jaggery without bothering about the calorie intake. Festivities bring positivity, and this year we need it much like the last two years. So, I'll make the most of it.

Angad Hasija

I love to eat Tilkut ladoos and chikki on Makar Sankranti and I would like to have as many as I can. The fondest memory is my mom preparing brunch for us and neighbours in Punjab.  I also used to participate in kite flying competitions in school. I'm shooting this year, so I'm not sure how much I will be able to do. Given the pandemic scenario, I will probably celebrate by eating a box of ladoos.

Aditya Deshmukh

Wishing you all Happy Makar Sankranti! My plan for this year is more or less like what I do every year. My mom makes ladoos made out of sesame seed and jaggery and some of the secret ingredients that she has. She doesn't even tell me. (Laughs) I will also have roti made of Gud, in Marathi we call it ‘Gudachi puri’ and of course fly kites but since last 2 years we couldn't celebrate like before because of Covid… I remember during my childhood days, we used to have this big playground and on that very playground we used to fly kites. We also played with ‘Bhavras’ . I don't know if people still remember and play with it, as it's a very old concept. This is how we used to celebrate it. With all different colours on the sky as well as on the ground, it's an amazing feeling all together to go back home and eat. And in Marathi, there's this one quote, as far as Makar Sankranti is concerned, "Til gud ghya, aani Goad Goad bola", it means eat sesame seed ladoos and say all good and sweet things. So that's the main part of Makar Sankranti.

Vijayendra Kumeria

Makar Sankranti is one festival that we celebrate with full of Dhamaka and fun in Gujarat. Flying kites with friends always adds to the fun. I remember going on my rooftop in Ahmedabad and flying kites no-stop with friends and I used to eat til ke Ladoo and chikkis. I used to love participating in kite flying in school and I used to win all the time. And my favourite kite used to be chandtara. Given the current scenario I'll be in Mumbai only. I will take my daughter to the building rooftop and fly kites with her. The feeling of flying kites used to give me a feeling that I will achieve certain heights in my career one day. I would like to wish everyone a very happy Makar Sankranti. May this Makar Sankranti bring lots and lots of joy and happiness in our lives and soon we get to celebrate every festival mask-free.

Meera Deosthale

I won't be able to go to Vadodara for Makar Sankranti. I'll celebrate it here in Bombay. My best memories of this festival are from Vadodara where I was good at putting thread into the kites. Isko bolte hai tang bandhana. All the boys in the building used to come to me to tie the manjha in the kites. I was also a good kite fliers. In previous years during the shows, I used to fly kites on the set along with the cast and crew and I miss that. Maybe I'll go on the rooftop and fly kites with the building kids and my mom is surely going to make Undhiyo. I hope next year we don't have any pandemic and we will be able to celebrate all festivals mask free life. Here’s wishing everyone a very Happy Makar Sankranti.

Sham Mashalkar

I have a lot of memories from Makar Sankranti. We Maharashtrians say “til gul ghya, ani goad goad bola". That day if anyone has any bad thoughts about anyone, they forget about it and remember only good things. On the day my wife cooks special food that has 60 different ingredients. It is called “Bhugi ki sabzi” with Bajre ki roti with butter. It's so tasty. There's this roti made of gud that we also enjoy. I love kite flying. My son and I did it every year along with our neighbours. It was so much fun. Earlier when Aarav was young and didn't know how to fly kites, I used to bring him gas balloons. These are the best memories I have of Makar Sankranti. On the day we usually wear black clothes.

Aalisha Panwar

I will distribute sweets made of jaggery and til. I will distribute it to beggars and kids on the street and also stray dogs and cats and I will also have it. I will give it to my mom and friends too. This time my whole family is in Mumbai so I will share with them. In my hometown in Himachal I couldn't get an opportunity to fly kites as we don't fly kites there. This year I will go to a friend's place for some time to fly kites as I am not shooting for any show.