Vo Kata
January … Jaipur … Joy
All the three words go hand in hand for Jaipurites.
Any Jaipurite would miss celebrating New Year’s Eve but none wish to miss the Joy, Fun & Celebrate a historic festival Makkar Sankranti or Utrayan.
Though Makkar Sankaranti/Utrayan has a geographical connection, (It marks the first day of sun’s transit into the Makara (Capricorn), marking the end of the month with the winter solstice and the start of longer days.
For Jaipurites, it has much to do with Flying Kites from the early morning hours to late and yes very late evening.
Caste No Bar | Sex No Bar & Age No Bar
One finds people of all ages, sex, and caste on their terraces on this day.
One does see many photographs of Kites Flying, Sunset, Sweets, and families celebrating the festival.
Much & much more goes behind the scene to make this festival what it is.
Just two days prior to the D Day i.e. 14th Jan’19, the author and the photographer ventured into the famous patang market at Haldiyon Ka Rasta. This is the place which actually shapes 14th Jan for Jaipurites and specially patang & manja connoisseurs.
The market remains open almost 24 hours in the last two-three days. As soon as one enters the market one would find the small lane filled with vendors and people. If the people come from across Jaipur to make a purchase, the vendors come from many parts of India especially Uttar Pradesh to sell their stuff. Bareilly ki Patang and Manja are quite famous.
Let’s start the photo journey.
Makkar Sankranti not only brings kite flying along at the same time it brings the joy of eating Til Ke laddu and Gud ki Gajak.
Ravi who is a sweet seller throughout the year is No longer interested in selling sweets from a week to the festival. Clicking his photograph brings a smile to his face.
Mirza Bhai is busy selling his quota of patangs and is not much interested in getting captured.
Manja a special dor which is made so that one is able to cut others flying kite with much ease.
The shops are adorned with beautiful and colorful patangs. Some of the famous patang designs are Glass Dara, Maangal Dara, Chand Tara etc.
One can see people coming along with their families and friends to buy the necessary stuff.
Until Next Year …
Vo Kata
Penned by:
Anil Khubani
Professional Photographer & a Film Maker
Anil has published four Coffee Table Books in last four years namely “Benaras”, “Carvan-e-Ladakh”, “Aastha”, “Jal Mahal-Jewel of Jaipur” & “Sangam” in the years 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 & 2014 respectively.
He also writes photography training blogs and occasionally writes about social issues too.
He can be contacted at ak@voilaindia.com
All Photographs by Anil Khubani
