Skip to main content

Featured Post

Review of Executive Lounges at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)

During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport.  That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’t ju

A Welcome to Ganesha




The morning dawned bright and clear, but soon it was a swirling mass of clouds which soon burst and soaked us as we prepared to welcome Ganesha, the elephant-headed God. It looked like the heavens were welcoming the gracious lord with welcome showers of rain, which, incidentally, we had almost given up on!

We still don’t have any pujas this year, and as we drove along the highway towards my mom’s house, the rains lashed almost till we reached. Then, they suddenly seemed to give up, and all was dry once more.

All along the road, people were getting their favourite lord home, covering up his face, as is the custom. His face will be uncovered only when he reaches home and the prayers begin to install him as the most preferred guest for the period.



In my mom’s place, prayers were on in full swing, for we have a special puja to go with Ganesh Chaturthi. We not only invite the child-like elephant headed god, but also his mother Parvati, also known as Gowri.

According to mythology, Parvati is believed to have made a visit to her mother’s home – earth, and Shiva wanted her to return as soon as possible. He therefore sent their son Ganesha, right behind her, asking him to bring back his mother soon. We, therefore begin our celebrations with Gowri Puja, inviting the Devi home. Then we welcome her son, who gets a reception befitting a much-loved grandson. On an auspicious day (the period varies), both, mother and son are sent back with much pomp and ceremony, and much regret too...

This year, both Gowri and Ganesha arrived on the same day, and stay for a full 5 days, making the puja an even more elaborate affair. Here are some pics….


The house is decorated – from the entrance to the puja room… with rangoli and lights…..

The arrangement of the idols –


The image of Gowri –




And Ganesha –



Till recently, we used to use a clay image of Ganesha and a sand rolled in cloth with a face drawn on it, for Gowri. These used to be immersed in the lake after the puja was over. However, these days the condition of the lakes are so bad, that we have modified things and use these idols for the puja, which can be re-used without any harmful effects.

The flowers for the puja….



The puja in progress….



Finally, the Naivedyam – the offerings to the guests…. Mouthwatering stuff!



Lets take a closer look…

First, the fruits….



Here’s the Sakkara Pongal – sweet pongal.



Kozhakattai – modaks…. Ganesha’s favourite… and Samhith’s too….



Idlis…the most healthy food in the lot…



Uppu kozhakkattai – made with pulses and salty..



Ellu Kozhakkattai – made with til…




Pal Poli (Polis dipped in milk..)




Sundal



Vadai..



Appam



And there were lots more items….. A regular feast!!

At the end of the puja, we women had a thread tied around our wrists…. For our well-being, I suppose…..



And finally, as the daughter of the house, I was given the haldi-kumkum, or vettalai pakku, with a slight difference. All the items were given to me in a ‘moram’ (I have no idea what to call it in English, so you can take a look yourself!)



Here’s what’s inside……..



Before I end this post, here’s a look at the many types of Ganeshas my sister has collected over the years… have I mentioned that we are all voracious collectors? We all collect all sorts of stuff… which probably explains why there’s no more place in my house!





Comments

  1. Oh looking at all that delicious food at this hour is a torture, particularly the sweets :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Woww, that was a lovely post.. we dont have Gowri puja, so that was very interesting to read..

    My home- diff kinds of kozhukatais, appam, vadai n payasam!!:)

    Awesome collection of Ganeshas.. i have quite a few of my own, love collecting them... :) marble, glass, wood, one with pulses from Trichy.. and many more... most recent was a gift from a jewellery store- beautiful ganesha in glass :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. So mouth watering I am missing my home for sure :) Kozhakattai are my favourite to but in south we dont do gowri puja, jus the ganesh :P for us and also we dont close the face of ganesh.

    ReplyDelete
  4. WOW, that's a mouth watering post Anu. I love the Ellu Kozhakkattai a lot. My mom used to make this so well that I could not stop eating.

    We should have tried to pay a visit to your home when we were in Mumbai, those TDGC guys didn't give us a chance by keeping us busy from dawn to dusk.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mridula - i knew everyone would be fascinated by all that food... mom's special, right?

    Aarti - gowri puja is part of karnataka tradition.... my mom's family lived in mysore for generations.. somewhere along the line they picked up this puja... and looks like we share interests too!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. :) I love ur sis's collection!

    And the sweets! Ah! I love both those sweet modaks. My mum makes them too but had never tasted the salty one till Raji gave me some on Ganesha day.

    Have never had Pal-poli but puran poli in milk seems like an awesome idea!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

The Havelis of Bikaner - A Photo Post

The lanes are narrow , twisting and turning amidst buildings old and new. Crumbling old structures with intricate workmanship stand side by side with art deco buildings, and more modern constructions, which follow no particular style. Autos, bicycles, motorcycles and vans rush past, blowing their horns as loudly as possible, while cows saunter past peacefully, completely unaffected by the noise. In the midst of all this chaos, children play by the side, and women go about their chores, as we explore these by-lanes of Bikaner, and its beautiful Havelis. Facade of one of the Rampuria Havelis

The Elephanta Caves

The Elephanta Caves , located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri, about 11 Km off the coast of the Gateway of India, Mumbai, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A visit to these caves, excavated probably in the 6 th century CE, is awe-inspiring, and also thought-provoking. Over the years, I have visited the caves a number of times, and also attended a number of talks by experts in the fields of art, history and archaeology on the caves. Together, they help me understand these caves, their art, and the people they were created for, just a little bit better. Every new visit, every new talk, every new article I read about the caves, fleshes out the image of what the island and the caves would have been like, at their peak. I last wrote about the caves on this blog, in 2011, almost exactly 11 years ago. Since then, my understanding of the caves has, I would like to think, marginally improved. Hence this attempt to write a new and updated post, trying to bring to life, the caves of Elephan