Pana Samkranti Festivals - पाना संक्रांति

Pana Samkranti or Chhatua Samkranti is celebrated to mark the first day of the solar month. On this day a small pot with a hole at the bottom filled with 'pana' or sweet drink is hung on a basil (Tulsi) plant. The falling of water from the pot symbolizes the falling of rain and thus this Samkranti marks the commencement of rainy season and of the cultivation cycle. The people of coastal Orissa ceremonially consume the flour of horse gram (chhatua) after offering it to the basil plant.