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The period from Makar Sankranti to Rath Saptami is called “Rutu Sandhi” (Transition from one season to another) which means we should gradually reduce the Rutucharya of the Shishir Rutu and start Rutucharyaa of Vasant Rutu slowly.

So now we are going to talk about the traditions and rituals that are followed during this time.

The chilly winter ends and Makar-Sankranti comes in the month of January! In this month, we give Tilgul or Gajjak with a quote ‘Take Tilgul and speak sweetly’. The delicious jaggery roti with pure ghee is prepared in everyone’s house, adds happiness to it. This is the usual picture seen on ‘Makar Sankranti’.

‘Sankraman’ means moving from one place to another. The transition of the Sun to Makar Rashi is called ‘Makar Sankraman’. Sun goes to winter solstice in December. During Sankranti it starts an apparent journey towards summer solstice from south to north. Of course, this change happens slowly. It’s the last phase of winter. The intensity of the cold is still quite high even during this time. The main purpose of the ‘menu’ of Makar Sankranti is to protect health during this period and at the same time make full use of this winter season to increase the strength of the body.

Jaggery poli/roti, sesame-jaggery are the foods that really fulfil this purpose. Jaggery is considered “Ushna” “Guna” (food creating heat in body) food. Jaggery creates heat in the body and protects us against cold. At the same time, Jaggery is very nutritious. Therefore, consuming it in this season also increases the strength of the body. Appetite is best during the winter months and digestion is also good. That’s why jaggery, which is little difficult to digest, is easily digested during this time. To make this digestion easier, we add pure ghee on jaggery roti. As pure ghee increases digestive power. Since jaggery is “Ushna”, the heat in the body is likely to increase more. People having acidity problems might experience a little bit acidity in this season. To avoid such problems, it is advised to add pure ghee to Jaggary roti! Because pure ghee reduces acidity. It also avoids other issues caused by excess heat. Moreover, pure ghee also contributes well to the nutritional values of jaggery roti. That is why ghee should be used a lot along with jaggery roti.

In Tilgul, we also use sesame seeds along with jaggery. Sesame seeds are also “Ushna” as jaggery. Therefore, it helps to increase appetite and create heat in the body. Both sesame and jaggery are “Snigdha” (moist, oily, smooth,) in nature. Winter increases dryness in the body. The skin becomes dry and rough. In such a situation, the jaggary and sesame provide smoothness to the body.

Looking at the winter Rutucharya, during this period we generally experience the diseases of “Vaat” and “Kapha” dosha. Both jaggery and sesame seeds are great foods that reduce “Vaat” and “Cough”. Naturally, they provide great help to reduce diseases of “Vaat” such as joint pain, back pain. It also helps to reduce the diseases caused by Kapha dosha like cough, cold, cough accumulation in chest. Both these foods increase the heat in the body, which reduces the symptoms of feeling cold, numbness in hands and feet. For this, applying sesame oil from outside is also beneficial. It must also be used externally in the case of skin wrinkles or skin cracks due to cold. From this point of view, the choice of sesame and jaggery made by our tradition on Sankranti proves how ‘scientific’ it is. Halwa made from sugar and sesame is also useful in providing smoothness in the body, it is also useful in increasing the strength of the body. Moreover, it is also useful in reducing the problems caused by overconsumption of sesame seeds and jaggery.

Like Sankranti, another traditional custom that is observed in this transition period is ‘Dhundhurmas’ which is celebrated in the month of Paush. ‘Dhundhurmas’ means waking up early in the morning and eating a diet full of bajra roti, jaggery roti, brinjal bharta/bharit. All these foods protect us against cold as they are “Ushna”. However, since bajra is likely to increase the dryness in the body, sesame seeds are mixed to add smoothness to it. Getting up early in the morning and eating such a regular diet increases the strength of the body. These kind of food can definitely pacify the appetite that is highly increased in winter. Fruits such as berries and amla are abundant in nature in this season. We have a custom called “Bor-Nhan”’ which we follow in this season. The thought behind this custom is to bring and consume the berries which are good for our health in this season.! Thus, all the traditions in the month of “Paush” are important for health.

We recommend you to follow them during this Sankraman period before we catch diseases. Do you agree?

Dr Mayuresh Aagte

Human beings are one of the elements of nature. All changes that take place in nature, be it small or large, has an impact on our bodies. The change in nature happens in the form of seasons. In India, we experience Summer, Rainy and Winter seasons. As these seasonal changes alter our environment, they also have a profound impact inside our bodies. Therefore, appropriate changes need to be made in our daily routine i.e in our Dinacharya. To make these changes in our  Dinacharya, let’s first understand more about Rutucharyaa(seasonal guidelines).—

Rutucharyaa means following the guidelines according to the Rutu i.e.,season. Before following these guidelines, we must first ensure that the current weather conditions are in accordance with the present season. For instance, July is considered as the rainy season in India. But if there are no showers and it is infact, sunny outside, we must follow the Summer Rutucharya(Greeshma Rutucharya). In short, the weather conditions must be in accordance with that particular season to follow the corresponding Rutucharya.

Another important aspect is the time of season change, known as ‘Rutu Sandhi’. At the cusp of seasonal change, when we move from one season to the next, the chances of contracting various diseases are higher. During this period, we commonly encounter cases of cold, cough and fever. We must ,therefore, slowly reduce the Rutucharyaa of the previous season and gradually adopt the Rutucharyaa of the next season. This period of seasonal change “Rutusandhi” normally spans from the last week of the ending season to the first week of the next season. While looking at Rutucharyaa, we will also be delving into the various festivals, fasts, rituals and traditions that are followed, as these are scientifically based on Ayurveda. In conclusion, the science of Ayurveda is in harmony with our lives in the form of our festivals and traditions.

Dr Mayuresh Aagte