Lohri parties swing to DJ beats

NEW DELHI: Get ready for a festive weekend. It’s the harvest season and people of all communities have begun celebrating. After the city lit Lohri bonfires on Friday, it is now preparing for Bhogali Bihu and Pongal on Sunday.
“The rhythms of nature are often forgotten in our hectic routines. Besides connecting us to the cycle of seasons, Lohri is a good excuse to have a bonfire party in the cold.Our family got together and we had a great time,” said Ambika Malhotra, a resident of Sarita Vihar.
While many celebrated the harvest festival in the traditional way — dancing around a bonfire and singing folk songs in the praise of Dulha Bhatti — the epic hero — the festival has been modified to suit the urban lifestyle. “DJs are taking over traditional drummers at many Lohri events. The way we celebrate the festival is changing,” said Simran Arora, who attended a newly wed couple’s first Lohri.
Preparations for Bihu and Pongal are also in full swing. Jakoi, a restaurant at Assam Bhawan, has prepared an elaborate Bihu menu. The meji (bonfire) has been prepared and kept outdoors to be lit on Sunday. Small, attractive hampers, containing the traditional pitha (a desert made with the newly harvested rice flour and jaggery), coconut sweets and other goodies are up for sale. “Making these sweets needs experience and expertise. In cities, hardly anyone makes the effort to make them at home. So we thought if we get these sweets from Assam, people will get to taste them,” said Paparee Bezbaruah, director of the restaurant. Jakoi has also lined up some musical performances to pay tribute to the legendary singer, Bhupen Hazarika.
The staff at Tamil Nadu House at Chankyapuri is also busy creating intricate rangoli patterns for Sunday. Around 20 women from the community will participate in a rangoli competition scheduled for Saturday afternoon. This will be followed by Bogi celebrations where old, worn-out objects are thrown in to the bonfire symbolizing doing away with the old and welcoming the new. “The new rice and jaggery is used by farmers to make pongal, the special desert for the festival. Unlike city folk, the farmers make pongal in an earthen pot. I am also going to cook pongal on Sunday for my family, but in a steel vessel,” laughs Hema Raman, special assistant at Tamil Nadu House.