Flying kites on the roof top and gorging on til (sesame) chikki along with Undhiyu has been an intricate part of actor Dilip Joshi's childhood. Having spent his younger days in a chawl in Bhuleshwar, Dilip has quite a few fond memories of the festival of Makar Sankranti. The actor speaks to CS about the festival as he takes a bite of his favourite foodu00a0-- jalebi and fafda and til laddoos.

Childhood memoirs
Every Utran or Makar Sankrant morning would be special. We, all the people in our society, would get up early and get ready before the sunrise. Dressed up in traditional attire, we would head towards the temple to pray to the rising sun. There is a very old Surya mandir in Bhuleshwar where the puja would start sharp at six am.

As a kid, I eagerly looked forward to this day because after the bhog offered to Surya bhagwan we would get to have lots of sweets. The til ki chikki and Undhiyu (Gujarati mixed vegetable dish) were the special recipes that dominated our plates on this day.u00a0u00a0

Kite calls
After the puja and jalebi breakfast, we would all head for a day-long patang (kite) flying session. Flying kites on Utran had a charm of its own. Since I lived in a chawl with row house pattern, we could easily jump from the roof of one house to the next. In those days, flying a kite was as exciting as winning a motor combat today.

The one who cut the maximum kites won. I must have cut so many of them, especially the shiny ones, that I've lost count. The normal crepe paper kites were worth ten paisa, but these shiny ones costed 50 paisa. So we would cut other's shiny kites and fly them with a lot of pride.

The manja, the glass powder coated kite flying strings, are really sharp and dangerous. We would return home after sunset with cuts and bruises on our fingers, hands and legs. But it was an adrenaline rush; the injuries couldn't keep us away.

Grounded advice
Today, the younger generation has forgotten how to play outdoors; they instead play on the Internet. Even my kids are not that hooked on to the traditional games as I was. But it is our responsibility to encourage them to know more about our culture.

I know of so many fanatics who go to Gujarat to buy kites, even today. I too haven't visited the Surya mandir at Bhuleshwar in almost ten years, maybe it's time to start the tradition once again.

However, I'd like to caution all the kids who'll be flying kites to watch their step. I've lost a very dear friend of mine, who lost his balance from the terrace as he ran to catch a kite that he had slashed. Have fun, but with care.

Who: Dilip Joshi
What: Talks about kite flying and Makar Sankrant while enjoying his jalebi and fafda snack