Fast Facts :

Region : Entire Andhra Pradesh, India

Celebrated for : Three to four days

Fall on : In the holy month of January

Major Attraction : Kodi Pandaalu

Makar Sankranti is a major festival celebrated in Andhra Pradesh. This is a harvest festival and people of Andhra Pradesh look forward to celebrate this exotic festival. This festival is marked as the thanksgiving festival to the god for a good harvest by the farmers. As the crops are harvested, the farmers are happy and have both leisure and money to celebrate this festival.

Houses are cleaned and decorated, cattles are given shower and decorated with garlands .The women’s and young girls decorate the courtyard with colorful rangoli. Labourers are given sweets and new clothes by the farmers they work for. Many mouth watering dishes are prepared top celebrate this festival. Many of the wealthy families arrange Bommala Koluvu means doll show and invite relatives and friends to witness this grandeur in the evening.

The festival is on for 3-4 days .The days are given names as the Bhogi (1st day), sankranti (2nd day), kanuma (3rd day) and the Mukkanuma (4th day).On the first day each and every member of the family gets up early in the morning and dung cakes are prepared to lit up Bhogi Flames at the courtyard where the entire family gathers. After this, the entire family takes head Bath.

On the second day (Sankranti) known as the main day. The newly wed groom receives enormous courtesy and respect in the house of their in laws. The third day known as the kanumu Festival that is basically festival celebrated by the farmers. The cattles are decorated by garlands and are also offered special treatment without whom the enormous cultivation is not possible and the wealth cannot be generated. Daasarlu, Buda-Budakkalu and Gangirddulu goes around the locality collecting alms and singing songs. On this, day people give alms to the beggars and particularly never deny to any body.

Kodi Pandaalu :

Kodi Pandaalu is also called, as Cock fighting is a popular rural sport involves fight between the huge cocks. This festival is very famous in the rural area of Andhra Pradesh. On this eve People bet on cocks as these cocks are trained for this festival. These cocks are stirred with knife feets and try to attack opponent. The cockfights are basically held at the huge courtyards of the wealthy farmers. The betting is sometimes goes in lakhs as the wealth of the one betting increases. This sport is usually played on the eve of Makar Sankranti and attracts large crowds.