March 30th was Chaitra shuddha paadva, celebrated as the Hindu New Year. It is on this day that Lord Brahma created the universe.
Gudi Paadva is a big festival in Maharashtra. It's a public holiday and people spend time with their family and friends.
Like during any other Indian festival. :-)
Since it always coincided with our school exams, for few years Gudi Paadva was strongly associated with butterflies in stomach. Not any more. Now, not just paadva, but any festival brings back happy memories and smile to my face.
We used to have Satyanarayan pooja performed at our place. The Guruji used to be super busy with many pooja to be conducted during the auspicious period. So he used to come to our place early in the morning. We used to listen to the same Satyanarayan katha year after year without getting bored. Of course we had the delicious prasad and panchamrut tirtha to look forward to at the end of the pooja.
Mom used to prepare the bitter-sweet-sour concoction of tamarind and jaggery, spiced with cumin and a little hing. The delicate neem flowers floated on the surface. What a yummy way to start the New Year! Without being preachy, the elders taught us to enjoy our share of bitter-sweet things in life.
After that we used to do the Gudi pooja and erect it on the terrace. It is said that on this day of Gudi Paadva, the people of Ayodhya welcomed their beloved king, Lord Rama by erecting gudis to celebrate his victory over Ravan. The Gudi which is decorated with a silk sari, neem leaves, flowers and a kalash is a symbol of hope and joy. You feel that you are part of a big celebration when you see these beautiful gudis dotting windows, terraces and balconies.
Though we were not with our parents and other loved ones to celebrate the New Year, we tried to do every small thing that we could to capture the essence of the festival.
Since I mentioned "butterflies in the stomach" let me give you an update.
If you know me, I'm sure you will know that I'm a sucker for business quiz or just any quiz. So, after a long long time I got the opportunity to participate in one organized in my office. And it was every bit the fun that I had anticipated! And every single butterfly that fluttered in my stomach looking at one brilliant question after the other was worth it.
7 comments:
hey Kavs, nice to read about the history of gudi padva. The quiz sounded like fun...remember our quiz days!!!
Pals!! I missed you so much during the quiz...was it possible not to think of all the fun we had in those legendary TEESA quiz? Tjose were the days...:-)
Yeah those were really the days!!!
Hey kavs! Your post reminds me of the way Ugadi used to be for me always, mom used to close our eyes when we got up in the morning and take us to where the 'kani' was kept, so that we see it first, 'kani' being an arrangement of all the things wished in the new year on a tray/plate, thiings like rice,money,God,jewels,fruits, a mirror to see your face in. Such memories always put the smile right back on our faces, isn't it.
Talking about Satyanarayana Pooja(or any other Pooja for that matter), I always reach such places these days when its time to eat ;), get so bored otherwise.
Hey K! You are a sucker for business quizzes eh? Here's one for you. Don't google okay?
His last name is Carson. His split with his girlfriend was announced by a Forbes 500 company in a press release on February 12, 2004. Who am I referring to?
hi Luxy, these memories not only make me smile but also bring truck-load of nostalgia with them!
Jax, I took this a lil too seriously...Till an innocuous looking email quiz came to my rescue. The question was " What's Ken's last name?" Ken Carson! Pure serendipity. Brilliant question dude!!
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