Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Festivals

This time of year is my favourite as most of the festivals fall in this period.Though sometimes in a month I have 15 days fast:)Last week was karvachauth.And I feel amused to see how the face of festivals have changed. In our childhood festivals meant cleaning the house, decorating it and lots and lots of cooking and making sweets and snacks and then distributing. To a some extent it is still like that for me.We dont cook or light a gas only in mourning, so its considered bad omen not to cook on festivals.But today its a given that many of the women dont cook on Karvachauth and their hubbies take them out to dinner.But I dont  do that, I still make special dishes and we have a sumptuous dinner on all the festivals.Then we give byana to MILs...and MILs give sari and other gifts to DIL..basically these give and takes were meant to bring them together..MILs welcome the new entrant into their family with love and gifts and DILS give the gifts to get blessings and as a thanks giving to the person because of whom they got their husband.....In any family women were considered more important, so all the shaguns were made for women,because its only woman who makes or breaks a home.

Today is Ahoi Ashtami and again fasting for children..I was just thinking that many women  query that do men fast for us then why should we? but do the children fast for us then why should we? But I dont go into that frame of mind at all...I am missing my children and the no. has increased this year with my little angel:)...On ashtami I make all the chaat items and my daughter used to love that, so I miss her very much.
I believe in celebrating all the festivals with festive spirit and following the traditions and rituals, as they always teach us something,..like to adjust,to work hard(with all the cooking and cleaning),how to live with community and a feeling of sharing, only we must be ready to learn. And they are our roots, we cant be happy far away from our roots.

21 comments:

sm said...

Yes today festivals are just becoming one more reason to enjoy and spend money for extra happiness.

East or west home food is best.

Bikramjit Singh Mann said...

BEst wishes on all the festivitiesssssss

happy happy times

Bikram's

Sandhya said...

We celebrate 'kaaradaiyaan nonbu' like you celebrate Karvaa chowth. It comes in Mid August. We make small small adai (rounds like vada) with rice flour, jaggery and kaaraamani seed(cow peas!). We make this with chilli too. The husband ties a yellow thin thread to the wife's neck just when the Panguni maasam starts. Sometimes the month starts in the morning or sometimes in the evening. We fast until the ritual is over. After the ritual, the wife tastes a piece of the vada and gives the other half to the husband! The wife won't have rice the whole day! Fasting until the thread is tied! Most of us are following this, but don't know if the youngsters would be able to follow this with their working career etc. now. Can't blame them too.

Amrita said...

heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy gooood timeeesss!!!!

hamaarethoughts.com said...

very true..
I agree..its good to keep fast and follow rituals as long as we have faith and it brings true happiness out of us..
Rest I wud say festivals are more like ...commercials nowadays..

KParthasarathi said...

Yes the season of festivals have started.There is nothing more joyful than celebrating the festivals in traditional ways.I still recall with nostalgia festival days when the kitchen would be busy with mom making many delicacies.The gifts on such occasions to close relatives makes for harmonious relationships.There are also certain rituals and religious aspects to festivals.
Gradually we are retaining only the form and missing the spirit of such occasions of joy.

Renu said...

sm: more so with so much of adulteration in the market:)

Bikram: thanks :) and to you too..

Amrita: for you doubly happy times:)

Harman:.its retailers who are taking advantage of the situation:)

Renu said...

sandhya: I love all these traditions, and today also many youngsters do it..its not a matter of convenience, we must do them, because otherwise later on in life we fee so rootless, flowing without any anchor.

Anonymous said...

Lovely post. Yes, festival times are here!

I agree, traditions help us to stay connected to our roots.

up↑take said...

Festival season. Feel-good days! Great, except for the vulgar commercialization these days.

Nisha said...

The festival time is going to stay with us for some more time. :-)

It gives us excuses of doing things (shopping & eating) on a bigger scale. :)

Arti said...

This is the time of the year that I love too. So much color and happiness everywhere. Diwali is just a few days away and all the preparations, cleaning of houses, buying of new clothes, shopping, etc...
But I love to eat at home, the Kheer, Puris and Kachoris that are made by mother are way to delicious to be looking outside:)
Have a fabulous sunday Renu:)

Sh@s said...

Rightly said. The true essence of the festivals have got lost and got replaced by consumerism. I miss home during these days.

Bhagyashree said...

HAppy Diwali!!

chitra said...

Nice to see you are following traditions quite well.Happy Diwali to you and your family.
Chitra

Reflections said...

I feel the same.....and feel a regret for the coming generation...roots are important, its taken very casually nowdays but they fail to realise tht many of the problems[for want of a better word] emerge from treating the basic norms carelessly.

On a happier note.....
Happy Diwali Renu:-))!!!!!

Irfanuddin said...

Sharing all the joy with our dear ones during these festivals is very important and unfortunately now a days we don't give much importance to this....

A very happy Diwali to you... :)

Renu said...

Manju:yes, they add to our personality.

Sha@s:.but if young people realise this, they can change the situation...

Bhagyashree: Thank you Bhagya! to you and your family too!

Reflections:.we are going the western way.today they are looking for roots and peace, tomorrow we shall be....
Thanks for the wishes!..

Renu said...

Irfanuddin: Again reason is same..we have become very self centred..we must think spiritually.

Sujatha Sathya said...

15 days fast in a month!! i cant even imagine doing that!i have never fasted i think :O

Renu said...

Sujatha Sathya: it looks like that but not very difficult:)

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