Navarathri reminiscences

Dear Mr Cheeniya,
Navarathri reminiscences! It took me down the memory lane! Navarathri and deepavali are the two colourful festivals which are celebrated all over India. Holi also is a colourful festival, but not so popular in Tamilnadu. While we were at Jamshedpur Durga puja was celebrated with pomp and show and competitions for the decorative pandals and the beautiful Idols, kept the people crowding at night at the pandals and the whole city bore a festive look. We were lucky to live in that beautiful city and enjoy the pomp and show for 34 years.
We did have kolu in the house and we all still cherish those days as golden days in our life.
Thanks for your blog which stirred my memory.
Love,
PS

Dear PS
I have myself stayed in Bengal for three Pooja Seasons. Nothing can beat the lavish festivities of Durga Puja of Bengalies. They save for a whole year to spend the entire savings for the Pooja. From footwear to head wear they buy everything new! The whole city will be on the roads during the Pooja season. Diwali is not as popular in Bengal as the Pooja.
The Hindu festivals have both solemnity and gaiety, a unique combination indeed.
Thanks for sharing your own recollections of Navarathri!
Sri

Dear cheeniya sir,
your post made me to remember Tagore's
words. Let me get the plesure of bringing out that here as atribute to the great writer of IL. "What one has truly felt, if only it can be made sensible to others, is always of importance to one's fellow men. If pictures which have taken shape in memory can be brought out in words, they are worth a place in literature". Navaratri is the one festival which I always look eagerly with enthusiasm. Even now this festival has an important place in my heart.But, those were the days, when we would be visiting the same people's house, singing, collecting different " sundals" without any inhibition. Sir, i just want to share
my experience here. My mother was very particular about visiting to neighbours' house daily and singing ( thinking her daughters are MS and MLV) so whenever we sisters ( we are 5) visit the houseswe used to sing without expecting them to make arequest" Padumma"
One day all songs were exhausted so I repeated the song in two houses. In the third house when I was about to start" Pancha sat peeta rupini" my younger sister immediately reacted saying" bore adichchu pochu . indha pattai nee rendu per aaththile padi achchu. vera padu". I was stunned and was not to able to react. I was trying all sorts of things to hide my face and feelings !!!! I just wanted to give her a slap but did not want to make the things worsen. I managed to sing some other song and came home!!!!Once I reached home Ito my mom and told her from next day I would not take my younger sister with me.Even now this incident brings smile to my face.
very well enjoyed your radha Krishna incident. Thank you very much sir for bringing this wonderful post on a Ladies festival.
with love
pad

My dear Pad
That was a great quote from truly a great poet and writer. It sums up the very essence of good writing. Honestly I was embarrassed that you have quoted it to show your appreciation for my writing. I am happy if what I write in IL is readable and I aspire for nothing more!
The spirit of Navarathri being ‘more the merrier’, your group must have been the most sought after in the neighbourhood! Five of you singing in unison would have been like a mini Tiruvaiyaru. Did you sing the Pancharatna Kritis too? That incident of your younger sister pulling your leg was hilarious! But there was nothing wrong in your mother thinking that her daughters were MS and MLV because that used to be every mother’s dream those days.
When it comes to pleasant memories, Navarathri has certainly an edge over Diwali. Diwali is a short-lived affair as compared to Navarathri. I am not saying it because Navarathri is of a longer duration. I know that certain families keep their Kolu dolls for generations and every time they handle them, memories come gushing in. Diwali does not produce that kind of nostalgia as Navarathri does.
A wonderful FB from you Padma! Thanks a lot for coming in!
Sri

Dear cheeniya

You almost took us to think of our childhood days for me dassera means when i was a kid 10 solid holidays after quarterly exams every day one nice nice sweet dish made at home now its like no waking in the morning to wake my kid to college no packing lunch for 10 days having relaxed mornings
yes we did have kollu which i understand is putting all dolls but here we do it for sankranti in andhra the idea of being dressed up differently each day was a new concept which i havent heard of and thanks for sharing it maybe i will dress up my grand children like that and send them for inviting when they are born may be 15 years from now :))
dassera in andhra we have durga temples where the goddess is attired with different avatars each day and it was /is like a jolly gud ride to temple every day and seeing each avatar of goddess durga
I do miss having a baby girl and that i will definetly take care in my daughter in law or my grand daughter

radha

Wish you a very happy dassera

Dear Appa,

Wow what a way to start Navarathri... First please convey my namaskarams to Patti.

I second Chithra mami with all her observations.

You are quite incorrigible. The way you have narrated Navarathri I was transported to my younger days. My aunt used to dress me up in a nine yard saree, like a marwari lady, once with poo jadai...ohh those were the days. Luckily or unluckily we were never dressed up as boys...

What mami has quoted is quite true and I should say I am double lucky with two daughters.

Happy Navarathri to you too appa.

Originally Posted by Chitvish

Dear Sri,
Frankly speaking, you are incorrigible!!
A 'leading man' in a 'leading ladies' forum' to write about Navarathri reminescences! You put us all to shame!

Perhaps, the following was originally said for the sake of rhyme:
A daughter is a daughter all through her life,
A son is a son till he gets a wife!

I am a wife & you have a wife - we both cannot but vouchsafe for the truth in that statement!
Happy navarathri musings!!
Love,
Chithra.

Dear Cheeniya sir,
I have been absent for a long time, excuse me for that.
Navarathri was a more elaborate affair in Trivandrum, my native. Apart from kolu etc., though the Tamil community was meagre, puja was special to Travancore. The idol of goddess Saraswathy, which was given to the Travancore ruler by the Tamil poet Kambhar, is brought to Trivandrum from Padmanabhapuram Palace (which used to be the HQ in those days). Along with Her comes the Kumaraswamy (Lord Muruga) arom the Kumara Kovil and Goddess Mun Udiththa Mangai. The Lord comes astride a silver horse of 10 feet height. The procession come by foot from Nagercoil and is welcomed with all due respects by the State and the Royalty even today. Then the idols are kept in particular temples till the puja is finished. Then they go back to their original places. The city is decked up and all the temples have special pujas etc. like here itself. we used to visit all the devi temples and these special visitors, as well as kolus.
And carnatic music concert is conducted at the temple where Saraswathi Devi is kept, the Navarathri Mandapam, just outside the Sree Ananda padmanabha temple. This is the highlight of Navarathri at Trivandrum.
All those scenes are going on in my mind and I wish I get the oppurtunity to visit my home during Navarathri at least next year.

hi mam
pls help me mam
now u r online
is keeping kolu only for last 3 days of navaratri is correct
and while keeping kalasam(purnakumbam) should ther be any contact between water and coconut?
pls reply mam

Dear Radha
You seem to be in great hurry to become a grandmother! Let your son grow old enough and enjoy the joys of bachelorhood for a while before he promotes you as a grandmother. Once your granddaughter is born, you may retire and spend all your time pampering your DIL and your granddaughter! Lucky will be the girl who will marry your son!
Sri

Dear Lalli
You think of Appa at least at every festival! I am indeed lucky there! Wish you happy Navarathri! I was trying to imagine how would you look like when dressed as a boy. You would probably look a close second to S.P. Balasubramanyam!

Chithra Mami calling me incorrigible is like the kettle calling the boiler black!
Sri