- Abhijit Nath, NET Correspondent, Tripura
Agartala, January 14, 2022 : On the auspicious occasion of Poush Sankranti, also known as Makar Sankranti, tribal and non-tribal people in Tripura celebrated this day with immense euphoria and fanfare. Women cleaned their houses, beautified their courtyard by cow dunk and rangoli, popularly known as ‘Alpanas’.
Rangolis is a traditional decoration and splendid patterns and an Indian folk art, which incorporates of intricate designs been made on floors of living rooms and courtyards.
Nani Gopal Das, a local businessman in the suburbs of Agartala city told Northeast Today that “My wife along with daughter cleaned the house at first, sweeped the courtyard with cow dunk, which is meant to be a sacred one in cleansing the evils. Thereafter, my daughter painted an alpana with powder of rice and fabric colours”.
“In the afternoon of ‘Poush Sankranti’, people comes out in groups singing religious songs and go to every house and pray for peace and prosperity and respective families share fruits and sweets in the name of ‘lutt’, a popular traditional local term in Bengali”, he added.
Speaking about the history of this afternoon ritual, the local businessman said “This ritual had been performed by our ancestors as it was one of their means of enjoyment. Hence, by performing religious songs in group, people visit various house in their locality and the fruits are being shared through the process of ‘lutt’ among the visitors with this religious group of people.”
However, it is a matter of fact that this centuries-old ritual is on the verge of extinction as a very few people are getting involved in these religious groups, claimed Das in a sad tone.