Neel Shoshthi; Light a light

Chaitro is the time when the Shiv Bhakts get ready for another round of Shiv Puja, known as Neel Shoshti.

Its Neel Shoshthi today!

Performed by married women and mothers, this Pujo is an offering to Lord Shiva, for the long life and well-being of their husband and children. This day is supposed to celebrate the marriage of Shiva and Parvati, which very few of the devotees are aware of. 

Neel stands for the colour blue, as Shiva’s throat had turned blue due to the intake of poison, while Shoshthi is the sixth day in the lunar calendar. Shoshthi also denotes Ma Shosthi, the Goddess of fertility. She is supposed to be the protector of every child. Known to be an ill-tempered Goddess, she gets angry if she is not worshipped with proper care and devotion. 

For every child born into this world, there is a Pujo on the sixth day of the child’s life known as Shoshthi Pujo. In the earlier days, the infant mortality rate was very high and very few infants survived. Many women died while giving birth to a child. Hence the sixth day of the child’s life proved to be an important milestone. The mother had to wear new clothes and sit with the child in her lap. Then began, the veneration of the Goddess. Completion of a month, would be the next milestone for the newborn and another Pujo would be organized. 

Ma Shoshthi is still worshipped throughout West Bengal for the well-being of one’s children. In my family, I have always seen my grandmother and mother praying to her when we fell sick. Any illness, and they would run to the ‘shoshti tola’ (an erected platform under the shade of a banyan tree where the Goddess is worshipped by all) to offer their prayers.

This is how we light a lamp in Assam, diyas mounted on bamboo sticks

This brings to my mind the story of my mother’s aunt. She passed away at the age of thirteen, after a bout of typhoid. During her illness, the women would stay up the whole night praying and trying their best to please the Goddess. They believed that the Goddess was angry and she had to be pacified. The women would beat their chest and cry out to her for mercy. They would promise all kinds of offerings. This went on for a few days and she started improving. Weary, they fell asleep one night. The next morning, they woke up with the sun, to find the young lady cold and long gone.

Every household has such a tale of Ma Shosthi. Besides Ma Manasha, she is the most feared and also the most loved Goddess amongst the Bengalis. 

Coming back to Neel Shoshthi, this is the day when women fast throughout the day and then, as per the Tithi mentioned in the Ponjika, visit the temple nearby with their offerings. The Pujo is similar to the way we do Shivratri, except for the lights that we light that day.

It’s customary to a light a candle/diya for every person they are praying for. If a woman has three children, she will light a candle for each of them and a fourth for her husband. Earlier, women lit only for their male child, but things have changed and women today light a light for all their offspring. So, this is a ‘vrat’ meant to be observed by the married women and mothers only.

My grandmother had her own rituals for Neel Shoshthi. She said that we should light a light for all those we care for. A ‘baati’ (light) for all we love has always been the motto for us. So I light a light for all the people I care for. 

Here's wishing everyone a very happy Neel Shoshthi. Light a light for all you care and 'keep it burning till the end of day'!

Ten reasons why I celebrate festivals

The first thing I should tell you is I am not religious!

The reasons are

-It’s the same, old life that we lead every day. A monotonous and routine existence. Festivals give me an opportunity to break free from this drudgery and change my routine for a day. 

-A holiday! Yes, most festivals are a holiday or a Restricted Holiday. It means taking a day off and celebrating the festival with lot of fanfare.

-F stands for festival and also for the food which is a part of it. Be it Taal (food items made from  the extract of Palm fruit), the Saraswati Puja Bhog, the Ashtami bhog during Durga Puja or the Kali Pujo feast of Polao-Mutton; each festival has its own delicacy associated with it. The celebration is incomplete without the proper food. The Navratri festival gives me an opportunity to cut down on carbohydrates and proteins which otherwise I am not able to abstain from. 

-A perfect time to catch up with friends and socialize. A perfect day to organize or attend a gathering of relatives and relive old memories. 

-An occasion to highlight my culinary skills. Khichudi-Labra feast for Saraswati Pujo, Luchi-Alu Dom for Narayan Pujo or Puli-Pithey for Poush Sankranti, , these are some of the occasions I invite people home for food.

-An opportunity to bring out my choicest sarees, put on matching accessories and get ready for a beautiful day out.

-I grew up watching my mother and grandmother celebrating a variety of festivals. I loved the rituals and customs associated with these festivals and decided that I won’t let them end with my mother. I have to continue this tradition and not let modernity destroy them.

-Now that I am a mother, I realize the importance of celebrating these festivals. My child watches me, while I observe these rituals and I know he is picking them up. Someday, I hope he will continue these traditions and not let them die.

-Every festival has a relevant background. It’s interesting and exciting to explore each of these festivals, understand the folklore and myths behind them and document them. For example, Manasa Puja, the deity of the snake, is held every year during monsoon. It is during monsoon that snakes are rampant and many deaths occur due to snake bite. The villagers religiously worship Ma Manasa, in a bid to pacify the deity and seek her blessings, for a longer and safer life. 

-The Indian culture is rich and diverse. It’s interesting to note that every festival, in every region has its counterpart in another region. While the Bengalis worship the Goddess perched on a Lion, elsewhere people worship the Goddess on the Tiger during Navratri. While the Bengalis celebrate Poyla Boishakh and have a new ‘Haalkhaata’, the Assamese celebrate Bihu.

The Vrat Katha/Panchali/Story behind Shivratri

Its Shivratri tomorrow. Do you know the story behind it? Here’s for you the story of the hunter. 

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They say that many years ago, in Varanasi, lived a hunter. He hunted animals and birds every day. That was his way of life. One day, after having killed a few animals, he decided to head home. It was late and it grew dark soon. It was too dark to find his way out. So he decided to spend the night under a tree. As it became darker, he heard the fierce growls of dangerous animals around. Scared, he climbed up the tree and sat perched on one of its branches. Gradually, sleep overcame him and he dozed off. But a growl beneath the tree shook him off his slumber. He decided to stay up the night by plucking leaves and throwing them down. He did so the whole night. He also shed a few tears. 

The tree on which he sat was a Bilva/Bael tree. And there was a Shiva Lingam beneath the tree. The leaves that the hunter had dropped, had fallen on the Shiva Lingam. His tears had also fallen on the Lord. It was the night of Shiv Chaturdashi and unknowingly the hunter had offered his prayers to the Lord. The hunter had also gone without food. It was the perfect offering the Lord could have. 

The next morning, the hunter returned home. His wife had cooked a sumptuous meal for him. But just as he was about to sit down for food, a Brahmin turned up. The hunter gave his share of his food to the hungry Brahmin. Brahmin Bhojan (feeding the Brahmin) was thus, performed. 

After a few days the hunter died of an illness. Yama sent his messengers to carry the hunter to Yamlok. But, the Shivdoot (messengers from Shiva) had also arrived to take their Shiv bhakt (devotee) to Kailash. This led to a quarrel, followed by a fight between the two parties. The Yama Sena lost the fight and the hunter was taken to Kailash. 

Yama on hearing this story declared ‘Whoever worships Shiva/Vishnu, observes Shiv Chaturdashi and dies in Varanasi, can never belong to me’. 

This Vrat Katha/Pachali has to be read on Shivratri by all the devotees.

The lost art of Alpana

DRAWN FOR LAKSHMI PUJA

A beautiful woman in a ‘laal-perey’ (red bordered) sari, fresh and fragrant after a bath, her hair spread across her shoulders as she crouches on the ground drawing motifs. The white, slender fingers with traces of blue, have always been etched in my mind. Holding on to her ‘anchal’ is a little girl who follows her around. As she crawls, following the vision of white, she smudges the intricate patterns drawn on the ground. The woman looks back, but doesn’t scold her. There is so much love in those beautiful doe-eyes. She picks up the child into her lap; dusts the little ones bottom and deposits her on the cradle. She then goes back to her work. The alpana has to be done before the sun sets. Unable to climb out of the cradle, the child now follows her mother with her eyes. The mother turns around every now and then, coos at her and smiles. This is the vision which comes back to me when I think of alpana. This woman was a lady of the Zamindari household; I met during one of my trips to rural Bengal. 

THE FOOTPRINTS OF MA LAKSHMI IN THE ENTRANCE

 An alpana is a good omen: 

It’s customary to draw alpana during a Puja or a marriage. Any such occasion calls for the women folk to sit down and draw motifs. Elders believe that drawing an alpana fends off evil spirits and ushers in lot of goodness and prosperity for the family.

ANOTHER FLORAL MOTIF

It is a ritual: 

Yes it has always been a ritual, where the women spend days grinding rice and making rice flour or ‘chaalguri’ out of it. Cotton or strips from an old Dhoti would be used to apply the alpana. The collective activity was fun to participate in as the women of the household gathered after lunch, cracking jokes, sharing anecdotes and chewing ‘paan’ (beetle leaf). These days, packaged rice flour is readily available and therefore, the enjoyment and excitement of these sessions are lost to today’s women. Very few women today, know how to make a paste from the rice flour and use a cotton ball to apply it. Very few know how to draw an alpana. 

A TRADITIONAL ALPANA BY MY FRIENDS MOTHER

An art too:  

Alpana came naturally to women those days. The motifs could be floral. Some drew Madhubani motifs. Many were creative enough to make animal motifs. The symmetry would be accurate despite the fact that none were trained in Geometry or had the use of Geometrical tools let alone the use of a ruler. But they got their circles, straight lines, curves, hexagons and triangles perfect. Every occasion had a special alpana and the women came out with their best. Alpana for a Lakshmi Puja would be much different than a Satyanarayan Puja. While its mandatory to draw a Lotus and Ma Lakshmi’s footprints for a Lakshmi Puja, the alpana for a Narayan Pujo is markedly different.

CREATIVE IDEAS

A form of décor: 

Not just Pujo, alpana is still a daily ritual amongst most traditional households. In Rourkela, I find women waking up very early in the morning, washing the courtyard and then making intricate patterns near the entrance and the Tulsi Mandap. It surely adds to the beauty of the house. It speaks for a house which has struck some balance between tradition and modernity. It also highlights the artistic skills of the woman of the house, her creativity and taste in décor. Every house in my neighborhood has a distinct taste and knack in alpana. Some women add a dash of colour by mixing Alpana and Rangoli, thus making it a beautiful art of its own. 

INSPIRED BY A GAME OF CARDS?

THE PLATFORM MEANT FOR THE GODDESS

The Tribal alpana: 

The alpana, I feel, is the best amongst the tribals. Beautiful animal and flower motifs are common. The walls are colored and have huge alpanas on them. Their alpana also has a tale to tell as every scene they draw is the continuation of a story. The alpana amongst them is like a story telling session. You have to follow it regularly and with an eye for detail.

TRIBAL ART; AS SEEN ON THE WALLS

I have tried my hand at alpana but I am nowhere near to what my mother or my grandmothers can do. No matter how much we learn from our drawing teachers, this art remains unrivalled. It is usually passed down from one generation to another. But it’s becoming a lost art as young girls have no interest in it. Very few claim to know and draw one. It has been termed archaic and a skill harbored by ‘housewives’ only. Pradyot Kumar Maity terms this art in his book ‘Folk-rituals of Eastern India’ a ‘domestic and feminine art’. 

Sad isn’t it?