People across the country celebrated the harvest festival of Lohri with great fervour and enthusiasm, which commemorates the harvesting of the Rabi (winter) crops.
This day also marks the beginning of a new year for the Sikh community and it holds immense importance for the farmers from this community.
In a bid to make the festival more special, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), All Mighty Blessings, organised Lohri celebration for the patients at Shimla Cancer Hospital in India's northern Himachal Pradesh state.
The happiness of the patients and their attendants knew no bounds as they danced around bonfire and made merry.
Doctor Ramesh Chand said the patients of cancer are often depressed when they are diagnosed with the disease and this celebration gave them a chance to forget their worries and smile.
"Today is the festival of Lohri, people are celebrating among their families but no one thinks about patients. The patients here are suffering from cancer and it is very depressing to find out that one is suffering from such a fatal disease. We appreciate this celebration. All the patients and their families are very happy," said Chand.
Meanwhile, in Nagpur city of India's western state of Maharashtra too people were seen celebrating Lohri with great zeal.
People dressed in the best of their outfits were dancing around bonfires on drumbeats.
A resident of Nagpur, Montu Ahluwalia, wished everyone on the occasion and prayed for peace for the entire world.
"Today we celebrated the festival of Lohri with immense zeal. I want to wish the entire nation on this occasion and wish that the new government in our country takes India forward and makes great progress. We also wish for peace across the world," said Ahluwalia.
People exchanged pleasantries and popcorn especially prepared on the bonfire, which are an integral part of Lohri celebrations.
