For all the posts in this Holidays & Observances series, go here. https://galavantreflections.com/tag/hols-obs/
Prologue: I have been meaning to write a series about Holidays and Observances that we (my family and friends) follow in both India (my birth country) and USA (my adopted country). This series is dedicated to those kids of posts. On a side note, perhaps I might witness some of the celebrations from other countries as well that may get their way into this series. 🙂
Continuing with the four-day Sankrathi festival for people coming from Telugu (Indian language) states in India, the third day is called Kanuma and it was on Jan 16 this year. I am going to post only three days as we never did the fourth day so I don’t know much about it. 🙂
Kanuma is festival of cattle, in other words we worship the cattle to return the favor back to them as they aid the people in farming and in turn help in prosperity. On this day we see cows decked up and strolled through the streets. Food and money are offered in return for blessings from the cow. Here is one that was decorated in my cousin’s apartment complex for the festival this year..
Mythologically, it is said that Lord Krishna had lifted the Govardhan Parbat (= Hill) on his little finger to save the villagers of Gokula from the wrath of Lord Indra who was showering thunder and lighting storms on them. So people perform Govardhana Pooja which is worshipping the cattle.
As the previous two-days there is a feast prepared typically on this day for families to enjoy. There are cock-fights organized around towns and villages as entertainment. Truly speaking I never seen a cock-fight since I always lived in an urban area. 🙂
This concludes the account of the three-day Sankranthi festival. 🙂
Galavant Reflections 