{"id":10401,"date":"2025-01-14T00:41:29","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T00:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/?p=10401"},"modified":"2026-02-22T20:13:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T20:13:57","slug":"happy-sankranti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/2025\/01\/happy-sankranti\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Sankranti"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Makar(a)Sankr\u0101nti<\/strong>\u00a0(Sanskrit:\u00a0\u092e\u0915\u0930\u0938\u0919\u094d\u0915\u094d\u0930\u093e\u0928\u094d\u0924\u093f,\u00a0romanized:\u00a0Makarasa\u1e45kr\u0101nti<\/em>), (transl.\u2009Capricorn Festival) also referred to as\u00a0Uttar\u0101yana<\/strong>,\u00a0Makara<\/strong>, or simply\u00a0Sankr\u0101nti<\/strong>, is a harvest festival<\/span> (literal: Suggi Habba<\/em> in Kannada<\/em>). <\/strong>\u00a0Usually falling on the date of 14 January<\/span> annually (15 January on a leap year),\u00a0this occasion marks the transition of the sun from the zodiac of Sagittarius (dhanu<\/em>) to Capricorn (makara<\/em>). Since the sun has made this transition which coincides with moving from south to north, the festival is dedicated to the solar deity,\u00a0Surya<\/span>, and is observed to mark a new beginning<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Kalidasa<\/strong>\u2019s<\/em> Ritusamhara<\/em><\/span> (Garland of Seasons<\/em>) is structured around the six seasons \u2013 Grishma (Summer), Varsha (Monsoon), Sharad (Autumn), Hemanta (Pre-winter), Shishira (Winter)<\/span>, Vasanta (Spring) – \u00a0with each section dedicated to that particular season\u2019s unique characteristics and moods. Shishira<\/em> is presented as winter, marked by cold temperatures, misty mornings, and the serene barrenness of Nature. Despite the cold, there is a tranquil beauty in the winter landscape.<\/p>\n

I asked ChatGPT to give me Kalidasa<\/strong>\u2019s excerpt about Winter:<\/p>\n

When winter spreads her silken veil,<\/span>
\nThe earth dons hues both soft and pale.<\/span>
\nCool winds, like whispers, weave and play,<\/span>
\nThrough leaves that quiver, night and day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fields gleam with frost, a silver sheet,<\/span>
\nWhile hearths blaze warm where hearts do meet.<\/span>
\nMen wear garlands of fragrant flowers,<\/span>
\nAnd honeyed wine fills festive hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

The tender moon glows soft, subdued,<\/span>
\nBathing the land in a tranquil mood.<\/span>
\nFur-lined shawls and silks caress,<\/span>
\nShielding all from the cold\u2019s caress.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the stillness, love takes root,<\/span>
\nWith hearts unbound, in winter’s suit.<\/span>
\nNature sleeps, yet dreams unfold,<\/span>
\nIn this season of quiet, stories retold.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let me take the opportunity to give an exciting update – \u00a0which promises to be a new beginning indeed – about the legal case that is central to the documentary film Broken<\/span><\/a>, well summarized by the Boston Globe<\/em>\u2019s Editorial (from last Friday, following the oral arguments made to MA SJC on January 6th<\/sup>, 2025):<\/p>\n

SJC should release court records in Harmony Montgomery case<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

If any case called out for piercing the veil of privacy that covers juvenile cases \u2014 so the press, public, and policy makers can determine what went wrong, call attention to it, and press for systemic changes \u2014 it is this one.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I heard the oral arguments (live, but virtually) on January 6th<\/sup>, and was very impressed with the judges as they probed counsels from both sides. Here is the video<\/a> made available through Suffolk University Law School<\/em>. I think you will also find it very informative.<\/p>\n

Let us see how (and when) the judges give their verdict. In the meantime, Happy New Year<\/em>, and Happy Sankranti<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Update.\u00a0<\/strong>From Carl Blackburn<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\n
Hi Sridhar, Happy Sankranti, a friend from Russia tells me that the Orthodox Christian new year is celebrated at the start of the Julian calender, which in the 20th and 21st centuries also falls on January 14 in the Gregorian calendar. I just checked wiki and lots of countries have a new year festival on Jan 14th too. Must be a deep instinct to celebrate the returning sun.<\/div>\n
\u00a0https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Old_New_Year<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Best<\/div>\n
Carl<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

PS. Some of you may recall my post Tayurian Calendar<\/a> from a few years back!<\/p>\n

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Makar(a)Sankr\u0101nti\u00a0(Sanskrit:\u00a0\u092e\u0915\u0930\u0938\u0919\u094d\u0915\u094d\u0930\u093e\u0928\u094d\u0924\u093f,\u00a0romanized:\u00a0Makarasa\u1e45kr\u0101nti), (transl.\u2009Capricorn Festival) also referred to as\u00a0Uttar\u0101yana,\u00a0Makara, or simply\u00a0Sankr\u0101nti, is a harvest…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,5],"tags":[935,936,64,28,255,281],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10401"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10401"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10413,"href":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10401\/revisions\/10413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myamplelife.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}