Meandering thoughts - Sita Sreeraman

Of the 4 Navaratris in the Hindu festival calendar, two are widely celebrated, the first one being Vasantha Navarathri that comes in spring and SriRama Navami is the 9th day of this Navaratri.  Sharada Navaratri, the autumn Navaratri culminates in Vijaya Dashami. The Sharada Navaratri is devoted to the three Goddesses - MahaKali (Parvati) MahaLakshmi and MahaSaraswati, the first three days as Parvathi, the next three days as Mahalakshmi and the last three days as Saraswati. The tenth day of Sharada Navaratri is called Vijayadashami to signify the victory on the day of Dashami, this day being especially auspicious to commence new ventures, activities.  For most of us, Navaratri brings memories of Golu (Bommal Koluvu), Sundal (chickpeas savoury), Kolams(Rangoli), social visits and kutcheries. Though the Navaratri has morphed into a social bonding festival, it is more an important spiritual undertaking with fasting, austerities and chanting. Golus or Bommala Koluvu (telugu) are ...

Thai Poosam or Thai Pooyam: The word Thaipusam is a combination of the name of the Tamil month -Thai, and the star - Pusam (Pushya;or Pooyam). It is a festival for Lord Murgan and commemorates the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a spear or Vel to vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman and his brothers. Neivedhyam : Paal Payasam and Panakkam My grandfather was a great Pazhani Murugan devotee, so we had Unchi vruthi the previous day to collect rice and grains from our neighbours and on Thai Poosam, the whole village got together in our home to worship Lord Murugan with Bhajans, Kavadi and had lunch(Prasadam) together. Hara haro hara

Om Surya Narayana Swamine Namaha. PONGAL: the festival worshipping the Sun God, usually 14th or 15 th January Mango leaves for decoration, Betel leaves and areca nut for vethalai pakku, Coconut, Bananas, Sugarcane, Turmeric plants with leaves and root, Banana leaves For Sweet Pongal: Rice, Pasi paruppu(split mung dal, optional), jaggery, ghee When: Pongal is celebrated on the first day of the Tamil month Thai, according to the Tamil calendar. Thai masam or month comes after Margazhi, the month of music and devotion and the festival marks the end of winter solstice - Dakshinayanam, and the start of the sun's six-month-long journey northwards, Uttarayanam. Why: In ancient India, the Sun God is considered Pratyaksham Bramha or the God that can be seen. Look up to the skies and you can see the life giving, nourishing God. One need look no further. Life in India revolves around the Sun God. Surya Namaskaram, daily prayers are centered around dawn, noon, dusk to coincide with sunrise...

I started writing this blog about Pongal but then found this month - Margazhi or Dhanur Masam is a special one, packed with memories. My earliest memories of Pongal are in Cement Nagar, Andhra Pradesh, where Appa worked. Every year beginning from the first day of Dhanur Masam or Marghazhi, there was a sense of excitement and competition. We would wake up early and rush to the temple by 6 a.m. Our Poojari or temple priest was a very learned pious person and an excellent cook. On the cold Dhanur masam mornings, the temple would serve Prasadams of chakkara prongal, ven pongal etc, served hot in a dhonnai(a cup made of leaves, stitched together with tiny sticks). It was pure joy to eat the hot prasadam. The prasadam woke me up early and got me to temple on time. [Amma ootadha sadham maanga ootum! or if the Diety does not bring you the temple, the prasadam surely will! The priests knew psychology! :) ] Late evenings, the maids would clean the front yard of the houses and apply a layer o...