Janmashtami:Taaley Taaley Pa Feli Haath Duliye

'BABY NONO'- IN MY SON"S WORDS

It was getting dark. Visibility was zero as strong winds and heavy rain lashed at the car. I could see Ma squinting through the harsh glares of the oncoming cars, the rain and the wind.

She was driving our camel-colored Maruti van with Didi sitting next to her, while I and my sisters sat at the back. Didi had turned sixteen that year and had acquired an elevated status to sit next to Ma as she drove to Bardhaman from Durgapur, a two-hour drive. Baba was away touring Bhilai Steel Plant and we were going to Bardhaman for Janmashtami. It was a tension-filled drive. Never had Ma driven on her own so far accompanied by her daughters only.  It was unsafe and scary to venture out so far with the ‘girls’. And we had strict orders to keep our ‘tools’ handy. Ma had a long iron rod lying near her feet, Didi had a sharp sickle on her lap, I had a tangi and my kid sister had a stick. Quite like Ma Durga and her girl -gang beginning their homeward journey. :-))

There was tension and anxiety in the air…there was also excitement and anticipation! Janmashtami had always been a grand affair at my aunt’s place in Bardhaman. For us Pujas would begin with Janmashtami and not Durga Puja. All our relatives would arrive from faraway places bearing with them gifts for Durga Puja which would be at least a month or two away. We would all fast breaking it after every one hour with sharbaat and chai. The women would occupy the long, red verandah engaged in multifarious activities while the men would be outdoors purchasing items for the puja, meeting the priest, holding last minute discussions with the decorator, hanging tooni bulbs (tiny, multi-colored bulbs strung on a wire) outside the house, looking after the elderly members of the house. Janmashtami was a busy day for all. We all had our respective duties. While the mothers would squat on the floor making delicacies for the deity, painting alpanas, arranging items for the puja, cooking bhog for Lord Krishna; younger girls like us would be entrusted with running errands, passing important messages between the men and the women and making garlands. It was fun. The puja would start late at night as Lord Krishna was born at midnight. Evening we would spend time dressing up in bright Benarasi saris from ma’s wardrobe.  Rendered clumsy by the heavy saris we would all sit in a corner of the terrace and listen to Thammi (paternal granma) and Didima (great grandmother) tell us ancient tales of Lord Krishna and the demons. 

‘Those were the best days of my life’! I am ready to do anything to get them back…if only that could happen!! :-((

Janmashtami is no longer a grand affair today. Relationships have turned sour (thanks to the property related squabbles), no maids or enough manpower to assist in the grandeur, mounting expenses (a simple Narayan Puja costs around thousand bucks today), no one to take on the responsibility of organizing the festival on a large scale, younger generation married or settled far and hence no one to take on the onus of a Janmashtami. 

TAAL AT THE VEGETABLE MARKET

Thankfully Janmashtami these days is a holiday and I get ample time to prepare in advance.Janmashtami is synonymous with taal , the fruit of the palm tree (Palmyra Fruit). Taal is a MUST for the puja. It’s customary in our family to offer it to the Lord first. The pulp of the fruit is used to make a variety of dishes like taaler bora (they look like small round pakoras which are sweet), kheer and payesam, luchi and even pan cakes. It was only yesterday that I heard cakes can also be made from the extract. Amazing isn’t it? It does good to let your imagination run wild at times! :-))

Janmashtami today is about hunting the perfect taal. Now that is what I call an art! Following are some criteria’s to spot the ideal taal (Well, the credit goes to my hubby who has an eye for a ‘good’ taal).

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•  Go by the look of it!

Has to be dark brown with tinges of maroon. The darker the color, higher the chances of it being sweet. (Don’t worry some fruit sellers even paint them. They even apply a coat of oil to make it shine and glisten)

• ‘Taal poreche’ (taal has fallen) was a popular cry when there used to be storms and strong winds and we would all rush to pick them up.

Well, the taal should have fallen from the tree ‘on its own’ (now what the heck does this mean). A ripe Taal usually falls on its own but in most cases the fruit-sellers cut the raw fruit, bring them down and artificially ripen them. Such taals are in abundance and need to be identified as they turn out to be bitter.

• Trust your nose man!

Yes, it’s a common saying that no matter how much you want to keep your taal private, you have to share it with all. It has a strong aroma, the whole house smells of it. So know your taal by the aroma of it. A rich aroma indicates a good taal as well. But too ripe a taal can be risky. It can have worms inside! Most taals when they fall from the tree crack their shells. Check for worms which creep in.

• Let’s not go by the size!

At times smaller the taal, the better it is. 

• Bengalis are known for ‘hoarding and speculating’.

Please don’t buy taals in advance.  There’s no guarantee how much time it takes to ripen. A Taal bought in the morning can ripen in the evening attracting flies and ruining its potential.

Hope this checklist does you good. Please feel free to add some more!! A taal in Kolkata before Janmashtami can cost you around twenty-five to thirty bucks depending on its size and also the market from where you buy.

TAALER BORA

TAALER PAYESH

Extracting the pulp is the most tedious job and unarguably the most crucial aspect. It’s tough. My spondylitis is bound to aggravate during this time of the year. It can take hours depending on your sincerity. The trick in making a thick puree of taal lies in the amount of water that one uses. The lesser the water, the thicker the puree, the better the taste and yes, tougher the process. On the other hand use of more water makes the process easier and faster. And it requires patience! My mother-in-law is an expert in this! She can sit for hours making the taal extract! 

With the extract ready….you can go ahead and make anything that your heart or your stomach desires!

MY JANMASHTAMI CELEBRATIONS ONLY FOR YOUR EYES!

 A bit about the caption for this post! To me every word is associated with a song however incongruous they might be. Whenever I think of Taal, I hum this song. It brings me back fond images of a long-lost cousin who used to sing it and it was never-ending!We had to beg him, plead him to stop singing and he would simply go on and on. How I miss him!

 

Happy reading friends!