Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The Colours of Navratri.....ऐलमा पैलमा गणेश देवा


The Navaratri festival has just begun.

Navaratri , celebrating the advent of the month of "hasta" according to the Hindu calendar , is a celebration by women in honor of the Mother Goddess. We have several Goddesses, and we celebrate these days in honor of Kali/Durga (the Goddess who slays evil), Lakshmi(the Goddess of wealth), and Saraswati (the Goddess of learning). As can be expected, this is primarily a Womens' festival. At least as celebrated in traditional Maharashtra, which more or less excludes Mumbai, the way things are today.

India has a plethora of various cultures, with varying customs based on your region of origin. Given the wide variety of geography, history and weather across the country, the celebratory customs vary. What doesn't change is the dedication and worship of the Goddesses.

Here in Mumbai, there is a distinct Gujarati(Western Indian) flavour to the proceedings. One sees earthen pots with wonderful decorations being sold in various localities. In most shops , sales are on, and the female of the species is literally spoilt for choice of traditional clothes, all of them bursting with color , and outstanding in the detailed patchwork and embroidery. The clothes replicate those worn in rural areas in Gujarat, particularly also amongst the menfolk.There are mass celebratory folk dances or garbas held on all the days of Navratri. Some super enthused folks with no limits on resources, often wear nine different outfits on the nine different days. (And it is not as if you can wear these later to office, or someones birthday or a movie.) Announcements are made by various entrepreneurs, who organize garba dance events, for all the nine days of Navaratri, complete with famous singers, season's passes, food courts lining the premises; in anticipation of ban on loudspeakers late at night, several folks even announced a head-phone system where you wear headphones that pipe the music into your year, to which you dance.

Thats almost like e-navaratri.


The Navaratri of my childhood was a different thing all together, and was probably a carryover from the time (first quarter of the 20th centry), that girls grew up in a "protected" environment, assiduously learnt the home crafts, and got married early , (to be thrown into dicey family situations, sometimes with senior management problems :- )), when they should have been having a great time playing with their friends, only to rush home and be cherished by their parents...

And so a festival was celebrated where the young girls could be themselves.

Not being subject to digital time ticking away all the fun in milliseconds etc, life was about the sun entering constellations , and exiting constellations. Navaratri happened when the
Sun moved to the thirteenth constellation of the zodiac called "Hasta" (Elephant).

My earliest memories are those of celebrating "bhondlas". Nine days when you went visiting in your neghborhood, to participate in very women specific song and dance celebrations, in honour of the Goddesses..

A "Paat" or a wooden "flat" was cleaned well, and a picture of an elephant was drawn on it. Decorated and placed in the centre . A whole bunch of us girls, held hands in a circle and went around this "paat" singing various traditional songs. The first day we sang one song, the second day 2, and so on till we had 9 songs on the last day. Boys strictly never participated, though assorted cranky younger brothers who held along to our skirt-tails were tolerated.

Everyday , at the conclusion of these songs, we had to guess, what was called the "Khirapat" ...... this was some real great fresh foodstuff prepared by our mothers, offered first to the Goddesses, and then distributed amongst the girls as a blessing. The first day, there was one khirapat, the second day , two, and so on till we had 9 khirapats on the 9th day.

My aunt had a big swing on a largish patio, which was just outside her kitchen area. The "paat" would be kept on the swing and we girls, wearing our traditional best, would circle around it singing our songs , with one eye and one nostril directed towards activity in the kitchen. Since it was a get together of many neighbours , as the number of khirapats increased, various other mothers would offer to bring pot luck style khirapats, and their arrival , with tins emanating whiffs of great food, was carefully and secretly monitored. Once the khirapat was correctly guessed , it was time to enjoy the fruits (of our mental and physical labour). At this point, assorted brothers and other males of the family sort of joined the going ons , and were roundly ignored as we proceeded to devour the wonderful stuff ....


What was interesting is the songs to which we circled the "paat" . It was a reflection of society and life of young girls as it existed then. A lot of the songs had to do with a young girl's perception of her new family as she entered her husbands home and began a new life. A lot of songs empathized with the girl's childish firmness as she clearly played favourites in her new family.

The songs were about the little girl sitting all upset and aloof, and various members from her mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law etc offering her all kinds of material inducements to returning home with them. She would keep refusing, only to answer in a charmed affirmative when the husband came to ask.

Another song played upon the traditional mean image of the mother-in-law , when she guided
her daughter-in-law , through planting the bitter gourd plant, watering it, watching it grow, to harvesting it, washing and cutting it , finally making a curry out of it, then eating it, and even washing up afterwards. The song ended in an amazing turnabout , where the mother-in-law, fully aware of the age of her child-in-law, would ask her to get a comb and come get her hair braided, sending her off to her parents , for a visit, in what was probably then considered, style.

The songs had tunes that were very group-of-girls specific and repetitive and easy to sing. Contrary to actual society where the girl dare not open her mouth , look up, or dare to answer unless asked, in front of her senior in laws, the songs had her dealing very playfully and being demanding, and them being indulgent . Maybe wishful thinking in those days.

The main song was always an invocation to Lord Ganesh, to come and bless the new set up the young girl was entering, and this was always sung first.

What was interesting was to note how this festival was a great mix, of a realization of a young girl's need for recreation with her friends, her introduction to what would be her responsibilities in her new house, and the benevolent presence of the Supreme Being, who guided you through all your life stages.

In the olden days, patriarchal habits entailed that the men of the house ate first and got the choicest stuff , routinely. Women of the house quietly ate , whatever remained, later.

In an age where social customs were strictly followed, and willful disobedience, be it from a little girl, was frowned upon,this celebration of Bhondla songs and the guessing of the Khirapat goodies, was probably a custom initiated to allow these young girls to "officially" enjoy their teenage years ,full of friends , companionship with other girls, and great food, even if for 9 days a year.

Times have changed. Like everywhere else, money rules. In an increasingly globalized world, exclusive womens' festivals end up being in a minority, except in cases displaying the genetic male chauvisnistic streak in our society, where it has to do with the continuing good health and life of the husband. Bhondlas are now celebrated by some very dedicated people in large towns, who strive to keep the old customs and songs alive. In smaller towns in Maharashtra, bhondlas are still held. In some places they are called hadgaas, but are basically the same thing.

Worshipping God has now advanced from being a personal quiet tete-a-tete to a public display of dedication, hiding private deals for self welfare. Religion really doesnt matter. There are temples, mosques, dargahs, and churches, where people of all religions flock. You have something to ask of the Lord, and the particular place of worship is known to answer prayers. So we have Hindu's flocking to churches and dargahs, Christians visiting temples and dargahs, and Moslems who wait to honor the Ganpati procession as it winds it way to the sea on immersion day.

Prominent personalities make 3 am visits to places of worship, walking barefoot en famille, to ensure success for their children and themselves. The Z-plus security granted to them by the country ensures that the entire retinue walking around at 3 am attracts sufficient publicity. Some walk backwards all the way. Some write letters to God and put it in the offerings box. Various offerings are promised for certain events to happen in their lives.

Its a good thing, Gods do not draw up comparative statements of deals offered. And , then decide.

Somewhere up there, Someone must be shaking His or Her head, surely wondering what the world is coming to, and what happened to that innocent get together of little girls, singing and skipping around an elephant drawing, innocently praying, with a keen eye on the side, on certain mouth tickling things being made in the kitchen.......


Happy Navaratri.

28 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for visiting me.
    Also for the beautiful poem
    I will take time later in the day to read some of your entries.
    Have a wonderful day.
    From Nashville, Tennessee USA

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  2. The festival during your time sounds wonderful. I love all the colorful costumes and dresses. It seems that like so many things in this country, it has become commercialized. I enjoyed reading this very much and learning more about you Ugich.

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  3. The first thought that came to mind when I came to your site this morning was, "What beautiful colors." I absolutely love the cheerful apparel.

    It was interesting to read about the culture and see the pictures. Thank you for sharing this with us.

    I thought it was joyful and sad to read ~ how in your youth the celebration was with friends, dancing around, enjoying the friendship and later the food and family.. but also how in the songs, it is about in-laws and the problems that are faced, thrown into a family at a young age.

    The celebration sounds lovely, but the reality that it is only 9 days a year is sad (this coming from my limited understanding of life in your country, please forgive my perceptions).

    I wonder, are the songs that were song when you were a little girl, the same ones that they sing today?

    You have a beautiful culture in so many ways.. I must admit to my ignorance, but I'm learning through your words..

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  4. One Woman's journey", Judy, Aleta : Thank you for your kind words.

    Aleta,

    This particular festival, Navratri (nav = 9, ratri = nights), is just one of our numerous festivals that families across India celebrate in various ways.

    In my state of Maharshtra, sometime late August , we have a period of a month in which every Tuesday is a special celebration for young newly married girls. celebrated alongwith their friends , every Tuesday, after religious prayers during the day, the evening and night is full of games and song and dance , greatly enjoyed by the girls, and indulgently watched by their mothers and mothers-in-law.

    Around March, we have a festival of colors to celebrate arrival of spring and destruction of old evils, and the yound folks are out somthering each other in colors.

    Throughout the year, we have festivals where the whole family can participate , and all associated with a thanksgiving service to the Gods.

    So we have a very vibrant and happy set of young girls , looking forward to all this enjoyable festivals.

    Desribing the possible origin of some customs and songs during the current festival may have inadvertantly conveyed an erroneous impression. My apologies.

    Not to worry. the girls are fine and enjoying themselves...

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  5. Ah ! The navratri times are dandia times !! There is a celebration thats coming up in the apartment complex. And am going to go to have a look.

    This post was an additional catalyst ! Thanks !

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  6. Kavi,

    I guess dandia is more amenable to public "application" than the traditional maharashtrian bhondla, which is small-communities-centric. And is slowly disappearing, except in smaller towns.

    I guess you will simply miss out on the Khirapats .....when you go check out the dandia's.

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  7. Enjoyed reading 'The colours of Navaratri'. I have seen the celebrations of these festivals as you have described so well and picturequely. Relived my past remembering my younger days. Thanks for bringing back some fond memories.
    Vivek

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  8. I'm sorry I misunderstood, Ughich Konitari. I did so enjoy your post and also your response. Thank you for taking the time to explain to me. :-)

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  9. Very interesting and enlightening narration on Nava ratri. I know it is a big festival according to the Hindu Calender in India and in Malaysia too they celebrate this festival. This also coincides with the Chinese Nine Emperor God's festival.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Emperor_Gods_Festival

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  10. Vivek Patwardhan : Thank you for your comments. I actually wanted to write about some of the songs, but was in a quandry about "ek limba jhelu bai, 2 limba jhelu" type songs :-) Takes you back to those peaceful days doesnt it ...

    Aleta : Most welcome.

    Joy : Just looking at your questions ....:-)

    Sukku : But how interesting to learn about the Chinese 9 day festival, and how amazing that it is held around now. Then I read about it being according to the lunar calendar. Our Hindu months are also according to the lunar calendar. What a coincidence ...

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  11. I guess there are a lot of similarities as both are one of the oldest cultures around.

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  12. enjoyed reading the details, the song u have mentioned is a folk song even in north and in the movie CHANDNI Sreedevi danced on this----dola pichwaade rakh do.
    I have seen in Bollywood, most of the folk sond adapted have been highly popular and it shows the strength of our culture.

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  13. this brings back the celebrations when i used to live in Kolkata...

    and here in Singapore, i almost lost track of it...till a kindly neighbor invited me over for the puja...

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  14. Very interesting read. Growing up in Tamil Nadu, I did not even know about dhandiya and garba till much later in life. My navarathri memories are visiting various homes that have golu - the doll exhibition set up dressed up in our best pattu pavadais, singing songs and eating snacks.

    My mother says that tradition is now almost gone. She rarely gets opportunity to visit golus anymore in India. In Houston, I visit the Meenakshi Temple for my dose of golu and dance dhandiya. A mish-mash but the if I close my eyes real tight and imagine, I am almost in India.

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  15. I have always been fascinated by the garba and the dandiya. Thanks for the illulimating post on the origins, past and present of this very colourful and 'moving' festival.

    I've tagged you, but please ignore it if you're suffering from tag-lag.

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  16. Hello Suranga,
    It feels odd to call you by name knowing that you are many years wiser than me...But if I used the customary "ji", it would sound like I'm calling you Aji..which I'm not sure would thrill you:-)
    Like your neighbor, judging by the name of your blog I too thought it was probably Japanese...but once I read one post, I knew it was good old Marathi!
    Your post reminded me of a similar one I did last year here http://dopaise.blogspot.com/2007/10/garba-nights.html
    Keep them coming!!

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  17. renu: It was so interesting to know that some of the songs have connections northwards. I just found an entire set of sites that show up with lyrics to our traditional marathi bhondla songs.... I wish I could find mp3's though , so folks could listen on the blog too :-)

    Suma : Arent you amazed at the variety of celebrations we have within the country for Navratri ... Kolkatta, Gujarat, maharashtra for the dances and songs, and lots of Golu's and stuff in the south...i wonder how much of this stuff will remain when our children are adults ?

    Pooh : just sent you an email...

    Sucharita: Thank you. As you guessed correctly , tag-lag is in operation. ....:-)

    Rajk : Thanks for your comments and I did read your blog from last year to which you sent a link. Very very interested to read of all the painstaking preparations that went on in those days. (And not to worry about addressing me in one way or another. Although I am certainly being offered more places in buses by younger folks these days in Mumbai :-)

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  18. Navaratri must have been so precious for those little girls Suranga.

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  19. Thank you for your comments. June.

    I somehow seem to have given folks an idea that this was just one time during the year,that the little girls enjoyed. I wrote the following for Aleta, who commented here, and am reproducing it for you here . Hope it puts things in prespective.

    "This particular festival, Navratri (nav = 9, ratri = nights), is just one of our numerous festivals that families across India celebrate in various ways.

    In my state of Maharshtra, sometime late August , we have a period of a month in which every Tuesday is a special celebration for young newly married girls. celebrated alongwith their friends , every Tuesday, after religious prayers during the day, the evening and night is full of games and song and dance , greatly enjoyed by the girls, and indulgently watched by their mothers and mothers-in-law.

    Around March, we have a festival of colors to celebrate arrival of spring and destruction of old evils, and the yound folks are out somthering each other in colors.

    Throughout the year, we have festivals where the whole family can participate , and all associated with a thanksgiving service to the Gods.

    So we have a very vibrant and happy set of young girls , looking forward to all this enjoyable festivals.

    Desribing the possible origin of some customs and songs during the current festival may have inadvertantly conveyed an erroneous impression. My apologies.

    Not to worry. the girls are fine and enjoying themselves..."

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  20. Glee !!! Awesome you truly brings out the cultural and festive moods
    hats off !!!

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  21. ailoma pailoma ganesh deva

    jhiprya kutryala soda ga bai

    adkit jau, khidkit jau..khidkit hota batta


    karlyachi vel laav ga sune laav ga sune, mag jaa aplya mahera mahera



    Suranga, you took me 7-8 years back. I hope my sister celebrates Ira's bhondla. Now that we have a little girl back in the family, there is so much to look forward to :):)

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    Replies
    1. Do you have lyrics for these songs?...If so would you please share?

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  22. How very awesome! my mom used to tell us about this although she has been brought up in Hyd. I actually know the first song that you have described "sasuricha vate kuch kuch kate" - she taught us this song as it was very funny and as kids we used to enjoy it a lot (wonder which day does this get sung). And also Aila pailama. Wish I could start it for my little ones now :). I will tell my mom about your post.

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  23. Dear Friend, Tuesday, Oct. 13 2015

    I was looking for information on Bondla which I used to play along with my sisters and neighbours during navaratri in Maharashtra (1970's). Those childhood memories are still fresh in my mind. But it is so sad that this colourful festival has lost its colour.
    Thanks for the beautiful songs.

    Mrs. Vasantha

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  24. Very nice explaination of Bhondla during Navaratri and the songs. Many memories popped-up in my mind when we used to celebrate this our school with the competition to know what Khirapat the other classes have prepared....Ready lovely read..Thanks!

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  25. Wonderful Blog.
    Are you looking for the Online Navratri Celebration? We bring you virtual Navratri special ideas and activities events. Join and make this year's celebration a memorable one.

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