Celebrations galore in different parts of the country.
Come January, India gets ready to celebrate a host of harvest festivals.
The spring season, Hindu month of Magh, is welcomed with much pomp and show.
In Maharashtra, people celebrate Makar Sankranti by distributing til gul; while in Gujarat, kite flying is a sport.
Those in Tamil Nadu welcome Pongal by preparing sweet and savoury snacks.
In North India, Lohri involves dancing and feasting, while in the north east, people bond over Bihu.
Take a look at these photographs that capture the myriad moods and traditions of these festivals.
Hindu devotees lead a cow tethered to a rope over a fire during a ritual to mark the Makar Sankranti festival in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Makar Sankranti marks the start of the harvest season.
Photograph: Abhishek N Chinnappa/Reuters
Makar Sankranti marks the start of the harvest season.
Photograph: Abhishek N Chinnappa/Reuters
A paper lantern is released to celebrate Makar Sankranti. In Gujarat, people celebrate the festival by flying kites and lanterns.
Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters
Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters
In Madurai and parts of Tamil Nadu, celebrations include Jallikattu, a controversial bull-taming sport. Villagers try to control a bull ahead of harvest festival of Pongal.
Photograph: Babu/Reuters
Photograph: Babu/Reuters
In parts of northern India, devotees take a dip in the Ganga before an aarti is performed.
Seen here is a Hindu priest lighting a traditional lamp to perform the evening prayers on the banks of river Ganges in Allahabad.
Photograph: Jitendra Prakash/Reuters
Seen here is a Hindu priest lighting a traditional lamp to perform the evening prayers on the banks of river Ganges in Allahabad.
Photograph: Jitendra Prakash/Reuters
In the north-eastern state of Assam, villagers indulge in community fishing to celebrate Bihu. The ritual marks the end of the winter harvesting season.
Photograph: Sringer/Reuters
Photograph: Sringer/Reuters
In Karnataka, farmers participate in Kambala, an annual buffalo race. It is believed to please the Gods for a good harvest.
Photograph: Abhishek Chinnappa/Reuters
Photograph: Abhishek Chinnappa/Reuters
In Tamil Nadu, Pongal celebrations include boiling a pot of rice from the first harvest of the year and offering it to the Sun God.
Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
In Maharashtra, people exchange sugarcane and distribute til gul, a sweet made from sesame seeds.
Photograph: Wikimedia Commons
Photograph: Wikimedia Commons
In Punjab, women perform kikli, a traditional dance, in front of a bonfire to celebrate Lohri. People pop puffed rice, sweets, sugarcane and corn into the bonfire to mark the festival post which til revari, and gachak -- sweets made from sesame seeds and jaggery -- are exchanged.
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