In Andhra Pradesh, people are celebrating Makara Sankranthi, the three-day post harvest festival with traditional fervor and gaiety. Being an agrarian state, the festival is celebrated across the state but it is predominant in the villages as all segments of society celebrate with much pomp. The first day of the festival, Bhogi is being celebrated today. On this occasion, people get rid of their unused old belongings through a ‘Bhogi fire lit at almost every street corner.<br/>It is on these festive days, farmers bring stock of new grains to their houses and offer them to the God Almighty in the form of Pongali (sweetened rice). Houses were adorned with 'mavidi toranalu' (mango leaves) and flowers. Adorned in new cloths, elders and children are visiting temples, while the traditional folk artists are singing Harikathas moving from one house to another and accepting alms. The front yards of the houses are decorated with colourful ‘rangolis’ and a number of village sports are marking the day in rural areas.