Navarathri and Golu

The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped. The 10th day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or Dashera.
It commences on the first day of the bright fortnight of the month of Puratasi. Navaratri is celebrated all over India in different ways. In Gujrat people celebrate the festival with garba and dandiya. In West Bengal they make pandals, and worship idols of Goddess Durga . Exquisitely crafted and decorated clay idols and set up and they are immersed in the river on the fifth day.
In Tamil Nadu, people set up steps and place idols on them. Its called the Golu. The first three days goddess Durga is celebrated, inorder to destroy all our impurities. The second three days Goddess Lakshmi is worshippes, who bestowes her devotees with wealth and abundance. And the final three days Goddess of Wisdom, Saraswati is worshipped. On the 9th day, Saraswati pooja is performed, all books are stacked along with an idol of the goddess. Ayudha Pooja is also performed today. All kinds of tools and equipments are cleaned and worshipped . Even vehicles, shops are decorated and pooja is perfomed. They distribute sweets and flattened rice mixed with peanuts, fried gram, jaggery.The 10th day, Vijaya Dasami - Its the day when evil is destroyed by good and a new prosperous beginning is made. All new ventures started on this day is believed to flourish. All kids read a book from the stack of books kept along with the idol on Saraswati pooja. Many parents admit their children to Play school on that day.

Ganesh Chaturthi

Happy Ganesh Chathurthi!!
When we were in Mumbai, there was no other pooja being celebrated like this. Every street or colony there used to be a huge Ganesh idol, with various themes and layouts. Im still in awe when I think of those days and the splendor of the pooja.

Lord Ganesha, the elephant god - is the god of wisdom and prosperity and is always invoked at the start of any new event. Ganesh Chathurthi is celebrated more as a festival, than a pooja. It lasts for ten days, starting on a chathurthi and ending on the chathurdashi during the period of the waxing moon.
People bring a clay model of Lord Ganesha home. They place it on a wooden plank (Palagai) adorned with rangoli and decorate with flower garlands and by proving an umbrella. And the rituals of the pooja are performed. For the neivedhyam, people offer, idlys, kozhukattai's, sundal, appam, vadai, payasam, varieties of fruits and take the aarthi. Lord Ganesha prefers the Erukambu malai, Arugampul and kozhukattai's. So they are the most important things we buy or prepare for the pooja. The idol is worshipped for 10 days and on the 11th day, the Visarjan is performed. The idol is taken to a nearby water body and immersed there. Lots of families go together to immerse their Ganesha and shouting his names and asking him to return early next year.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Gokulashtami

Gokulashtami is the festival celebrating the birth of Lord Sri Krishna, the eighth avatar of Lord MahaVishnu. Its observed on the Ashtami thiti (eighth day) of the Krishna Paksha (period of the waning moon) on Rohini Nakshatra during the month of Avani (mid Aug to mid Sep). Its celebrated all over india, with people enjoying the Uri Adi or Dahi Handi and is known by various names like Sri Jayanthi, Krishna Jayanthi, Janmashtami etc.

Like all other festivals, different kinds of batchanam (sweets and savories) are prepared for neivedhyam. My MIL prepared all kinds of savories like Uppu Seedai, Vella Seedai, Thattai, Kai Muruku, Thenkolal, Ribbon, Oma Podi, Boondi, Rava Laddu, Coconut Barfi, Appam, Vadai and Thayir Vadai. We had to be content with Payatham Parupu Payasam, Appam and Therati Pal here in our service apartment. We performed the pooja at 1900 hours and shared the goodies with our family online. Will post the recipes in the following blogs.

Lord Krishna the eighth avatar of Lord MahaVishnu, was born as the eighth son to Devaki and Vasudeva. Kamsa the son of King Ugrasena, heard a prophecy that predicted his death at the hands of Devaki's eight son. So he imprisoned his father and ascended the throne. He also had Devaki and Vasudeva locked in the cellars of Mathura. Kamsa was on a killing spree as he killed all the 6 infants of Devaki. The seventh one was duped as a miscarriage and the child was secretly taken to Rohini. This was Balarama. The eighth child, Krishna was born and was taken across the river Yamuna on a day with thunderstorms, by Vasudeva on his head and handed to Yashoda and Nanda in Gokul. He grew up a naughty lad and killed many a asurs all through his early life. But his birth was for a purpose, and he demolished Kamsa and reinstated his father King Ugrasena. He later befriended Arjuna and the other pandavas, and played a pivotal role in the epic Mahabharata.

All over India people perform poojas, to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna. At our home, we start preparing sweets and savories a week before the pooja. On the auspicious day we fast until the pooja. We adorn the house with beautiful ma kolams and small foot steps from the entrance of the house. A Krishna idol is kept on a wooden plank with a kolam. Its dressed up with a piece of cloth, a poonal(sacred thread), and garlands. Pooja is performed and it ends with the offering of neivedhyam and arathi and saying of some slokas and offering flowers by all in the family.

Happy Krishna Jayanthi!!
Rudra

Varalakshmi Nonbu

Varalakshmi Vratha is an important pooja performed by women in South India. In our family, we have the mugam (ambal) given to married woman from their parent's house along with a kalasam and other pooja items. The day before the pooja, the goddess is adorned. The kalasam is placed on a banana leaf with rice on it. The kalasam is then filled with rice, betel leaf, betel nut, a lemon, and some coins. A coconut is placed on the mouth of the kalasam along with mango leaves and the mugam is affixed on it. The kalasam and the deity is dressed up with clothes, jewellery and flowers. Along with other ornaments, a vastram (cotton garland with vermillion in between) is worn by the goddess. Just like all women like to get dressed up well, we take care and decorate the deity with utmost perfection as possible.

On the day of the pooja, the goddess is kept near the entrance of the house and invited inside the house with an arthi. The kalasam with the deity is placed on a wooden plank with a kolam. Vazha Kannu (Banana Tree's branch) is tied on both sides and a thoranam with mango leaves is tied to it. Then the pooja is performed with varieties of flowers. Along with the regular fruits and betel leaf, betel nuts;three types of kozhakattai, payasam, vadai, idly, rice and dal are offered as neivedhyam for the deity. The idly for the vratha is prepared with raw rice; instead of the usual idly rice. At the end of the puja, a sacred yellow thread is tied to the wrists of women. Many sumangali's(married women) are invited and given gifts.

This year we had the pooja last friday - 12th Aug 2011. I had already been shopping the whole of last week for the pooja. This year i wanted to buy doll hands and legs to do the alankar. We got  new silk sari for draping around. So that I get some height and am able to adorn the deity, my MIL suggested me to keep a kodam(Pot) and on top of it place the kalasam. So lots of balancing work had to be done. Atlast after all the dressing was done, we had it atleast 75% as per our imagination. Its always a tense day, coz both cooking and pooja is done by the ladies. We were lucky this time - we could finish it by 10 and relax. Or so to say, coz me and my MIL were preparing kozhukattai's all day long. Phew!!!

Happy poojas!!
Rudra

Aadi Perukku

Another festival celebrated during the month of Aadi. It falls on the 18th day of the tamil month of Aadi. Its a tribute to water. In villages the Mulaipari (Germination of nine kinds of sprouts) is performed as a ritual by ladies. Its accompanied by Kummi's and dances before dissolving the sprouts in the river. It signifies requesting the Goddess for fertility of land and rain, to secure a good harvest. On this day people around the Cauvery delta region, families enjoy this festival by gathering together in groups and eating Puliotharai, Lemon Rice, Coconut Rice, Curd Rice.

Though we don't live in the delta region anymore, we thought of celebrating along with our relatives here in Bangalore. So we prepared different rice items to feast upon and enjoyed the day.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra

Aadi Pooram

Thiru Aadi Pooram is celebrated with much pomp and show in Tamil Nadu. This festival is celebrated to propitiate The Goddess Shakti. Shaivites offer glass bangles to the goddess and to family and friends.

Its equally important to Vaishnavites, as its consided as the birthday of Andal, an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. So today being Aadi Pooram we invited our relatives home and gave them bangles. We also visited the Sringeri Mutt in Bangalore and offered a garland of bangles to Sri Saradambal.

Aadi Pandigai or Aadi Pirapu

Aadi is the fourth month of the year according to the tamil almanac, the panchangam. The welcoming of the month is celebrated with pomp and show, all around Tamilnadu. There are no rituals for this festival - cook relish and rejoice is the motto. Predominantly tamil festivals have everything to with the harvest cycle, starting from sowing of seeds to harvesting. Aadi Pirapu is while sowing is done and we are welcoming the rains.

Generaly this month is considered inauspicious for new ventures but on the other hand the whole month of aadi represents the fresh and genuine look of tamil culture. The month of Aadi brings with it a whole season of festivities and merriness. 

Now that the festive season has commenced with aadi, our family was in for some good food and my blog had fun with some more recipes to add to. We being a traditional TamBrahm family dint miss out on this opportunity to have a sumptuous meal. We prepared Thengai Pal Payasam, Thayir Pachadi, Mangai Pachadi, Bhindi Fry, Carrot Kosmalli, Mangai Oorkai, Ulundu Vadai, Sambar, Rasam and Curd Rice. Three cheers for celebrating what life is and thanking the gods for what they have bestowed upon us.

Bon Appetit!!
Rudra