Tilgul Ghya, God God Bola

“Tigul ghya god god bola”

For the uninitiated, and the maka paos like me, it means take these tilgul and speak sweet words, a greeting commonly heard during the festival of Makar Sankranthi, celebrated throughout Maharashtra (as if you didn’t know this, or you have been living under rock, or in your own bubble, of not from my Maharashtra) to mark the end of winter (if I am right).

It’s a hope that the sweetness of these small little ladoos, made from til, or sesame seeds, with jaggery (or gud) and peanuts, brings sweetness to your life, to your words, banishing the bitterness in your mind and words, filling you with sweetness and good health, bringing warmth to body, on this cold winters day (as if Mumbai even has a season of winter to speak of), also bring warmth to the mind, soul and heart, keeping away the cold of the weather outside, and the coldness that often surrounds us, that threatens to enter us, freeze us.

But then too much of a good thing ain’t always a good thing, especially when you are someone like me, someone with a weak constituent, a gluttonous appetite, who cannot have just one, to save his life. Excessive consumption could result in your words dripping with honey, which could be quiet creepy and could come across as an appeaser, a bootlicker. And yes if you are like me, too much of these could lead dire consequences, of severe gripes, of trips to the loo, which one needs to be careful with TMM round the corner.

These over indulgence aside, it doesn’t matter, all that matter is the thought behind the festival, the thought behind the gesture. Therefore “Tilgul ghya god god bola”.