The last time I remember celebrating Vasant Panchami was
when I was in school. This day is dedicated for the worship of Saraswati Maa
(Goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology). During the school
days, everybody used to look forward to the festival to get out of the
monotonous school uniform and dress up in colourful clothes with yellow obviously
dominating the colour palette.
Yes, ideally one is supposed to wear white or yellow clothes
on this day. Saraswati puja (ritual) was conducted and Saraswati vandana(prayer)
was sung by the school choir followed by lunch in the school garden. It used to be
amazing.
After all these years (and I don’t mean half a century LOL
but yes after ALMOST a decade) all those school memories were refreshed when I
attended a Saraswati puja this year.
A friend of my sister-in-law is a Bengali and her family
conducts Saraswati puja every year on the day of Vasant Panchami. So, on the 4th
of february I got an opportunity to experience the Bengali culture and witness their
Saraswati puja. It was scheduled for 11:30 A.M. The idol of Saraswati Ma brought in specially for the puja was spectacular. It was sourced from
C.R. Park in New Delhi. The wall behind the idol was decorated with yellow and orange marigold flowers and little yellow twinkling lights. It sure made a beautiful background.
There were books, fruits and sweets that were kept as an offering for the goddess. When the puja was about to come to an end flowers were distributed to everyone which were then put back in a basket and offered to the goddess. The puja was followed by a havan (a ritual in which offerings are made in a consecrated fire).
The majority of people attending the puja were seen clad in yellow or white. While I chose to wear a yellow sari (traditional Indian outfit) my sister-in-law wore a pretty white one.
There were books, fruits and sweets that were kept as an offering for the goddess. When the puja was about to come to an end flowers were distributed to everyone which were then put back in a basket and offered to the goddess. The puja was followed by a havan (a ritual in which offerings are made in a consecrated fire).
The majority of people attending the puja were seen clad in yellow or white. While I chose to wear a yellow sari (traditional Indian outfit) my sister-in-law wore a pretty white one.
I would not deny that I was eagerly waiting for the post
puja lunch. I had heard so much about the food for this last one year that I just
could not wait to get a taste of it. And I must say that I was not
disappointed. The food was sooooo good!
There was sweet tomato chutney (Sauce), beguni (aubergine
dipped in a batter of gram flour and then fried to the perfect crispiness), matar
khichuri (lentils cooked with rice and peas) and chawchodi (a mix vegetable). For desserts
the popular rasgullaa (Indian sweet) was served along with rice kheer
(dessert made of milk and rice) cooked with cashewnuts. The food was so simple yet
so delicious.
I loved the combination of khichuri and chutney.
The sweetness of chutney somehow went well with everything. A shameless I
settled only for three big servings. My stomach was satiated but my heart still
wasn’t. But after three enormous portions I had to stop for the sake of my then
full tummy :p.
I did not shy away from trying sandesh (a Bengali sweet).
I tried both the variations that were available there. While one was made from
sugar the other was made from jaggery. I relished the latter better since the
former was too sweet for my palate.
Once we all finished enjoying our food and satisfied the gluttons deep
within we got ourselves clicked. After all, the effort that was put in to dress
up was not supposed to be wasted and was worthy of getting captured, right? After
a quick photo session we all sat and talked for a while.
After an hour of chit chat we finally made a move and
thanked the family for inviting us over.
P.S.: I was so busy hogging all that yummm food that I forgot taking it's pictures :(
Beautifully written
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