AGARTALA, Jan 14 (TIWN): Apart from family led celebrations, the Hangrai and Shankranti festivals have started in full wave by the youngsters in form of picnics.

Across Tripura with loud music, non-veg items picnics’ preparations are on peak. People are catching fishes, buying non-veg items and also the farmers are having strict eyes over the cultivated lands as yearly thieves may haunt anytime as a part of celebration.

The Tripuri is the promoter of Hangrai or Sankranti festivals. They have first introduced this festival of immersing of ancestors remains in the holy river. Since than it was adopted by other groups in India and popularized over the years.

Boys  of 7-19 years prepare for Hangrai nok, a small type of hut prepared by bamboo and thatched, just near by any pond or pool. Generally it takes 5 to seven days to make such hut. All the boys of the villages gather make a group and built it collecting thatch from the paddy field or jungle. On day preceding Hangrai, these young boys collect some money; buy some rice, meats, egg, fishes etc. and cook in the hut in the preceding night. Whole day night they have a gala of feast, fun and enjoy and sleep there in the cold chill night. Before the dawn, even before the cock crows, these young boys wake up, take out all the article from the hut and burn it out. When the fire catches the hut, these boys take a holy dip in the pond or near by river.

In Bengali culture it’s called “Sankranti” and the house is known as “Burir Ghor” and burnt in the same process.