Grieving is good, but living is better.
Did I just say something very profound? Maybe I did. Just popped out, you know! Except I'll always grieve over the loss of my Mom. Everything else, I can cope with, accept and move on.
So, as it happened, we had the nine-day festival of Navratri, where we celebrate the triumph of good over evil. Although, sometimes I am tempted to think that good and evil are a matter of perception. In mythological terms, however, it is all about slaying demons - real ones. We could also choose to see it as slaying our personal demons and move on. Today, I think that is most apt. More about this in another post, though. Let us talk of pleasant things today. (Click any photo to see original size)
I love Navratri, and not just because, all those years ago, I was born on the ninth day of this joyous festival, dedicated to Saraswati, the Goddess of learning (which is why I was christened Vidya Saraswati). I love it because of the atmosphere at home. Today, we only follow a fourth of the rituals and traditions we used to, decades ago - but the memories haven't faded. A week before the festival, the house would be thoroughly cleaned and if necessary, painted. There would be prayers everyday. We would plan the "golu" or the doll display, which is a tradition in most families. (though not in my present one - this goes by what the husband's family's traditions are, you know)
So, in my grandmother's house, the week before, all the stored dolls would be retrieved from our attic, and the number of steps planned - usually eight or ten. A couple of days before these steps were assembled and the dolls arranged, we would sprout seeds to create a tableau of fields with little houses, bullock carts and all those things that go with a rustic setting. Some wilder sprouts would be used to create a jungle with animals. Oh, what fun it used to be! There's some kind of order to arranging these dolls, and here's what we would come up with. This is not ours; it is a photo of the doll display at a mall we visited a couple of days ago. But you get the picture. :-) It reminded me of our own lovely dolls and figures and the set of wax vegetables and fruits that used to fascinate me as a child. I remember, once, wanting to bite one of them just to see how it felt. Errgh! Click to enlarge this photo. It is a beautiful display.
We would plan what to wear on each day - with matching accessories - read jewelry. Here's a glimpse of how we would dress - pure silk full skirts and blouses with jewelry to match!. I wish I had photos of me as a child - but alas! there are hardly any.
We would invite all our friends and neighbors home to see the doll display and when they visited, they would sit for a while, sing songs and be offered the specialty of the day - called "sundal" made from soaked lentils along with "tamboolam" consisting of a coconut, betel leaves, betel nut, a fruit, flowers, bangles and a coin and usually a little gift. Everything is planned well in advance - you can imagine the preparation that goes into this!
This beautiful image is from indiaoutsidemywindow.com
One of my neighbors, who is quite artistic, presented me with this nifty little drawstring bag. Inside, were the contents you see above. Pretty, no?
On the ninth day, Saraswati Puja also known as Ayuda Puja (ayudam = tool) day, we also arrange all our books and tools at the altar and worship them. It is a long story. (Read it here). As children we used to rejoice that we did not have to do any schoolwork on that day, until we were also prohibited from reading story books! We'd find ways to occupy ourselves, playing, singing, talking and of course, eating and having a great time.
Vehicles are washed and garlanded and decorated with banana plants. This is not my car. I don't own one. I only have a scooter. I clicked this photo in the parking lot of our apartment condo.
The entire area looks festive with the shops decorated, even the street side ones - like this one. He's the tender coconut seller in our street. He's one of our sources of health - packaged in heaven, delivered by him. See the garlands.
The mall we visited had some lovely displays - all the pillars had fairy lights. At the entrance, they had this beautiful display of oil lamps:
Outside, there were rows of these: yellow, orange and red cloth stretched on a frame, bordered with fairy lights and lit from behind. As evening set in, they looked quite gorgeous.
And what is a festival without strings of fairy lights eh?
The next day, also called Vijaya Dasami (Dasami - 10th) a little puja is performed, and the books are distributed from the altar. This day is also auspicious as most children begin their formal education on this day - hence called "vidyarambam" (which is vidya + arambam = learning + beginning). Children are asked to trace, with their finger, the alphabet on a tray with rice in it. Like this:
Thus concluded this year's Navratri. I just realized there's so much more I can share with you, about this festival, only, it will have to be an ebook! :-) Now, we await Diwali, the grand festival of lights.
Let's go visit Unknown Mami, the lovely lady who hosts this enjoyable linkup and from there, travel the world together
A quick heads up:
My friend Pamela Fagan Hutchins (most of you know her) - is offering the Kindle version of her latest bestseller on Amazon (she's at No.3, folks!) - Saving Grace, as a free download. If you enjoy excellent writing and a book that is humorous, thrilling and makes you want more, please download it today. And - just hit the "Like" button there, please? Gosh, I am so proud of her!
(If you don’t have a Kindle download free Kindle Readers to load onto your desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile device.)
Have a great week ahead!
