Aadar Aye Dilather Jaye – May Honour Come And Poverty Vanish!

In the freezing cold weather,after the harvesting of the Rabi(winter)crop,on Jan13 every year,the people of Punjab,Sindh,Haryana,and Himachal Pradesh celeberate Lohri.

In the morning , children go from door to door singing and demanding Lohri ‘loot’ in the form of money and eatables like til (sesame) seeds, peanuts, jaggery, or sweets like gajak, rewri, etc. They sing in praise of Dulha Bhatti,a Rajput hero from Akbar’s time,who used to free Sikh and Hindu girls destined to be sold as slaves in the Middle East. He then arranged marriages for them and provided  dowries.He also robbed the rich and gave to the poor.

In the evening, with the setting of the sun, huge bonfires are lit in the fields and in the front yards of houses and people gather around the rising flames, circle around (parikrama) the bonfire and throw puffed rice, popcorn and other munchies into the fire, shouting “Aadar aye dilather jaye” (May honor come and poverty vanish!), and sing popular folk songs. This is a sort of prayer to Agni, the fire god, to bless the land with abundance and prosperity. After the parikrama, people meet friends and relatives, exchange greetings and gifts, and distribute prasad (offerings made to god). The prasad comprises five main items: til, gajak, jaggery, peanuts, and popcorn. Winter savories are served around the bonfire with the traditional dinner of makki-di-roti (multi-millet hand-rolled bread) and sarson-da-saag (cooked mustard herbs).

In Punjab Bhangra dance by the men begins after the offering to the bonfire. Dancing continues till late night with new groups joining in amid the beat of drums. Traditionally, women do not join the Bhangra. They hold a separate bonfire in their courtyard orbiting it with the graceful gidda dance.

Lohri celebrates fertility and the joy of life, and in the event of the birth of a male child or a marriage in the family, it assumes a larger significance wherein the host family arranges for a feast and merry-making with the traditional bhangra dance along with rhythm instruments, like the dhol and the gidda. The first Lohri of a new bride or a newborn baby is considered extremely important.