TL;DR
64 original Makar Sankranti wishes for January 14: short English lines, Hindi in Devanagari, Marathi til-gul lines, one-line greetings in Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali and Assamese, Hinglish one-liners for WhatsApp status, kite-themed wishes and lines for family. Tap to copy — native scripts copy with their romanized versions. For Tamil Pongal greetings, see happy Pongal wishes; for kite photos, kite festival captions.
One sun, many names
Makar Sankranti marks the sun's entry into Makara rashi — sidereal Capricorn — and the turn toward longer days. Because it follows the solar calendar, it falls on January 14 in most years (occasionally the 15th). Almost every region of India keeps it, under its own name:
| Region | Name | What people do | Greeting | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Maharashtra | Makar Sankranti | Til-gul, black clothes, haldi-kunku | Tilgul ghya, god god bola | | Gujarat | Uttarayan | Kites from every terrace, undhiyu, chikki | Kai po che! | | Karnataka | Sankranti / Suggi | Ellu-bella exchange, decorated cattle | Ellu bella thindu olle maathadi | | Andhra & Telangana | Sankranti | Bhogi fires, muggulu rangoli, Haridasu | Sankranti shubhakankshalu | | Tamil Nadu | Pongal | The boiling-over rice pot | Pongalo Pongal! | | Punjab | Maghi (after Lohri) | Gurdwara visits, kheer and khichdi | Maghi diyan vadhaiyan | | UP & Bihar | Khichdi | Ganga snan, khichdi, dahi-chura | Sankranti ki shubhkamnayein | | Bengal | Poush Sankranti | Pithe-puli, Gangasagar Mela | Poush Sankrantir shubhechha | | Assam | Magh / Bhogali Bihu | Meji bonfires, community feasts | Bhogali Bihur shubhechha |
A good Sankranti wish knows which column it's in. If you don't know, the English and Hindi lines below are safe everywhere.
Short wishes in English (12)
देवनागरी — मकर संक्रांति की शुभकामनाएँ (10)
For a card, the family group or the caption under the khichdi photo. Each line copies with its romanized version attached.
Marathi — तिळगूळ घ्या, गोड गोड बोला (8)
In Maharashtra, Sankranti is the day you hand someone til-gul and ask them to speak sweetly — a small peace treaty in a sweet. Each line copies with the Devanagari underneath.
The sixth line is for a new bride's first Sankranti: in Maharashtra, black clothes are traditional on this day, and a first Sankranti often comes with a black saree and halwyache dagine, jewellery made of sugar-coated sesame.
Across India — one line in each language (8)
Native script on the second line of the copied text. Short and correct beats long and guessed.
The Kannada "ellu bella thindu olle maathadi" — "eat sesame and jaggery, and speak good words" — is the same idea as the Marathi til-gul line, a few hundred kilometres south. It's a nice detail to point out if you have friends in both Pune and Bengaluru.
Hinglish one-liners for WhatsApp status (12)
Romanized lines read best on WhatsApp status — they fit the box and every phone renders them.
Kite-themed wishes (8)
For the friend who's been on the terrace since 7 a.m. (Photo captions live in the kite festival captions bank — these are wishes to send.)
For family (6)
What NOT to do
- Don't use Chinese or nylon manja — and don't joke that you did. Synthetic manja was banned nationwide by the National Green Tribunal in 2017; it injures birds and people every year. Cotton thread only.
- Don't send "Happy Pongal" to a Maharashtrian or "Tilgul ghya" to a Tamil friend. Same days, different festivals. Check the table.
- Don't wish on the wrong day. Lohri is the 13th; Sankranti is usually the 14th. If the panchang says the 15th that year, go with the 15th.
- Don't forget the first Sankranti. A new bride's or new baby's first Sankranti is a family occasion in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
- Don't forward a kite GIF to the family group with no name. Add one line. It takes eight seconds.
When a wish wants a terrace
For the cousin who used to fly kites with you in Ahmedabad and now spends January in Seattle, or the partner you'd be on the terrace with if you were in the same city, Lovely's Happy Makar Sankranti template puts your words in the sky. It opens on a terrace — "chalo, terrace pe!" — and they hold a button to launch the kite. Then they drag anywhere to steer it into clouds; each cloud the kite reaches reveals one of your messages ("remember when we lost 6 kites in 10 minutes?"). You choose three to five clouds. Then "peech!" — the neighbour's kite (with a grumpy photo on it) wants a fight, and they tap "khench!" fast to pull the manja and win: "kai po che!" Then a plate of til-gul laddoos to share, each with a sweet line. The finale floats up to three photo kites across the sky and their name with "til gul ghya, god god bola". ₹49 once, opens from a link.
"The kite fight is the bit people send screenshots of," says Lovely's founder. "Everyone has a neighbour they've been losing to since they were nine."
If your people celebrate Lohri the night before, the happy Lohri wishes cover the 13th — and for Ganpati-season Marathi lines, the Ganpati wishes in Marathi bank is written in the same voice as the til-gul section above.
Make it yours: name the terrace or the sweet
The one edit that makes any line above personal: swap the general word for your family's version.
- "Til for strength, gur for sweetness" → "Aaji's tilache laadoo for strength, your bad jokes for sweetness."
- "Chhat pe milte hain" → "Pol ki chhat pe milte hain, 7 baje."
- "May your kite always find the wind" → "May your kite always find the wind, even over Sabarmati Riverfront."
Sankranti is the most local festival on this list — a dozen names, a dozen sweets. Use yours.
Frequently asked questions
When is Makar Sankranti?
Makar Sankranti falls on January 14 in most years, and occasionally on January 15, depending on when the sun enters Makara rashi (sidereal Capricorn). It is one of the few Hindu festivals that follows the solar calendar, which is why its date barely moves. Check your local panchang for the exact day.
What is a good Makar Sankranti wish?
One that borrows the festival's own images — the rising sun, til-gul, kites: "May your kite always find the wind and your manja never snap. Happy Makar Sankranti!" Short, warm and specific to the day beats a generic harvest greeting.
What does til gul ghya god god bola mean?
It is the Marathi Sankranti saying "तिळगूळ घ्या, गोड गोड बोला" — "take this til-gul and speak sweetly". People exchange sesame-and-jaggery sweets and the phrase is a gentle invitation to let go of old quarrels and start the new season on good terms.
Is Makar Sankranti the same as Pongal, Lohri and Uttarayan?
They are related but not the same. Uttarayan is Gujarat's name for Makar Sankranti and is famous for kite flying. Pongal is the separate four-day Tamil harvest festival that falls on the same days. Lohri, the Punjabi bonfire festival, is the night before, and Magh Bihu in Assam is celebrated at the same time.
Can I send something more than a Sankranti message?
Yes. Lovely's Happy Makar Sankranti template is a page they fly through: hold to launch a kite from the terrace, steer it into clouds that each hold one of your messages, win a peech kite fight against the neighbour, share til-gul laddoos with sweet lines, and land on their name. It costs ₹49 one-time.