Vijayawada, Jan 15 : The Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Thursday celebrated 'Makar Sankranti', the colourful harvest festival, with pomp and gaiety.

The countryside in both the states wore a festive look with decorated houses, kite flying, cockfights, bull fights and other sports on Thursday, the second day of the three-day festival.

Villages in both states came alive on Sankranti, considered the biggest festival. The day began with men, women and children attired in their best offering prayers at temples.

The houses were decorated with marigold flowers and mango leaves. Women decked the front yard of their houses with Rangoli. They made cow dung balls called 'Gobbemma' and placed them among the Rangoli patterns, and also put portions of the fresh harvest of rice, turmeric, and sugarcane.

The womenfolk prepared 'chakkara pongal' or rice kheer, a special dish made of new rice, jaggery and milk. The dish is allowed to boil over, which symbolises abundance.

'Haridasus' and 'Basvannas', the uniquely attired alm-seekers with ornately decorated oxen, made the rounds of villages to seek alms.

The farmers decorated their bullocks and worshipped them for their contribution to the harvest.

It was time for the families to take a break and come together in their native towns and villages. People from different parts of the country and even abroad joined their near and dear ones for the festival.

Lakhs of people from Hyderabad left for their homes in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for the celebrations, leaving the city roads almost deserted.

Authorities operated hundreds of special buses and special trains from Hyderabad to various destinations in the two states over the last few days to clear the festival rush.

For the children of those settled in cities and abroad, it is an occasion to have a feel of life in the countryside. They visit the fields and participate in various rural sports.

In Hyderabad and other towns in both states, the sky was dotted with colourful kites. Popular Hindi and Telugu chartbusters blared from speakers as youngsters flew kites from rooftops.

For the second consecutive day, cockfights were organised at several places in the two states despite court orders banning them.

These were organised openly on a large scale at many places in coastal Andhra Pradesh, where punters bet crores of rupees on roosters.

Politicians, including legislators, inaugurated the cockfights at a few places. They claimed that it is part of Telugu culture and Sankranti is incomplete without the cock fights.

Police said they were acting against those tying knives to roosters for the fight and those resorting to betting or other illegal activities.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu celebrated Sankranti with his family at his native Naravaripalle village in Tirupati district. He, along with his wife Bhuvaneswari, son Nara Lokesh, daughter-in-law Brahmani, grandson Devansh and other family members, worshipped village deity Nagalamma.

The Chief Minister greeted people on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. He hoped that the festival would fill their lives with happiness and joy. "I wish that our villages, adorned with crops, shine even more vibrantly, and even as we embrace modernity, that we continue to uphold our traditions without forgetting them. On this Sankranti festival, I assure that farmers will be joyful, labourers will receive the fruits befitting their hard work, and the government will act with greater responsibility through appropriate schemes to support this," he said in his message.

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy also greeted people on Sankranti. He stated that this Sankranti, Telangana under â??peopleâ??s governmentâ?? created a new record by procuring 70.82 lakh tonnes of paddy from farmers by paying them Minimum Support Price (MSP).

/IANS