“The real Sankranti is always in the village. That’s where everyone greets each other, shares sweets, and celebrates together. That, to me, is what any festival should feel like.

My name is Sanjay Nadagouda and I’m from Shivanagi village in Karnataka, but today, my family and I live in Hyderabad. Work brought us here, and over time, the city has become home. Still, when Sankranthi arrives, our thoughts travel back to the fields we grew up around.
In Shivanagi, Sankranti is celebrated for three days. Like many farming communities, we worship the land and the harvest. Every family grows crops such as sugarcane, wheat, rice, and lentils, and during the festival, we exchange what we’ve grown with our neighbours. Jaggery and sesame seeds are shared too—it’s believed they go well together, just like relationships.

My wife and I come from two different villages in the same district. Even after moving to Hyderabad, we make it a point to take our children back to the village whenever we can. There, life slows down. We walk through the fields, help our relatives with farming, sleep under a neem tree, and attend the village jatra.

During Sankranti, the streets are decorated with flowers and lights. We wake up before sunrise, take a hot bath in the cold, foggy air, and decorate our homes with mango leaves. Huggi is cooked on the first day, followed by wrestling matches in the evening, where everyone who participates gets a mango, whether they win or lose.

Meals are prepared using the season’s fresh harvest—holigey, chutneys, salads, and jowar or bajra roti with brinjal curry. The evenings end at the village fair, among handmade toys and familiar faces.

Living in Hyderabad gives our children opportunities, but the village gives them grounding. No matter how city-centric our lives become, we don’t want them to forget where we come from. This Sankranti, I hope everyone finds time to celebrate their family, their culture, and their roots.”