Decked out in a black silk saree and pearly white beads, my neighbor’s daughter Medha handed out tilgul and sought blessings from the elders. “Tilgul ghya goad goad bola,” she repeated to the youngsters of the family, telling them to “take this tilgul sweet, and talk as sweetly.” This was her first Sankranti festival celebration after marriage. The white beads she wore, though, weren’t pearls. Instead, the tiny spiked spheres threaded around her neck were the same candies that she passed out to her family. Tilgul are similar to the…
