Bawarchi: Indian Festivals: Dassera

Thursday, Dec 20 2007

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By Malini Bisen
Our Hindu festivals are mostly based on legends and aim at propitiating deities who are believed to be endowed with supernatural powers. Rakhi Purnima or Raksha Bandhan is one of the most popular festivals in the country and is celebrated with lot of zest and enthusiasm.
When the grey clouds recede and the tides turn, when the surging waters of the sea calm down, comes the time for thanks-giving to god Varun who rules over the moods and tempers of the vast sea.
The Full Moon day - the Purnima - in the month of July is the day of Narial Purnima. It is the festival for all those who depend on the sea for their livelihood. Therefore, Sea-god Varun, a vedic deity of considerable importance in the Puranic pantheon, is worshiped on this day. Coconuts are thrown into the sea as offerings to Varun. Hence, this day has come to be known as Narial Purnima. Coconut has three eyes and is believed to represent Lord Shiv - the three-eyed god. Coconut plays a prominent role in all religious offerings. When embarking upon any new enterprise, coconut is broken before the family deity, the water is splashed on the idol and pieces of coconut are distributed.
By the time of this festival rains are receding. So people go to the sea-shores or river-banks and offering coconuts to the sea-god invoke his blessings to make their sea-trade fruitful. Hindu married women gather together, play games, sing and dance and put kumkum tilak on each others forehead as symbols of good luck, eat and enjoy together and then bid farewell.
Fisher-folk welcome this day as the heavy rains finally stop. The fury of the waves has fully spent itself and therefore the fishermen can set sail again. They give a new look to their boats and decorate them with colourful flags. Then they take in a procession a beautifully adorned coconut to the sea shore, sing and dance collectively. Finally after praying to the sea-god, they immerse that coconut in the water.
This Full Moon day is also the RAKHI PURNIMA and this is also the day of the ceremony "Shravani" cleansing the mind of all evil for the Brahmins and for people of higher castes. In our ancient texts this Shravani ceremony is referred to as "Rishi-Tarpan" or "Vpa-Karma". It is even to-day observed in Bengal, Orissa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Southern India. The Pandit, chanting the Vedic hymns, following the prescribed religious rituals, hands over the "Yagyopavit" or "Janava" that is to be worn. Janava is a thread of three rounds representing adherence to vedic culture, observance of Hindu traditions and service to humanity. After the ceremony is over sweets made from coconut like coconut-burfi and sweet coconut rice are served.
Raksha-bandhan symbolises the deep love between brothers and sisters. The sanctity of this festival is acknowledged right from the vedic times to this our modern times, when we are living in thoroughly industrialised times in which our age-old and precious values of life are falling apart. Even if a girl ties Rakhi around the wrist of a stranger, both of them from the auspicious moment, look upon each other as brother and sister and become closer in this pure relationship than other blood relations.
During the Freedom Struggle, many young women tied rakhis around the wrists of young men and made them pledge their lives, their youth, their careers, their ambitions and even their dreams to the struggle for the freedom of their motherland from the shackles of slavery of British imperialism. It is probably for this very season that the great leader of Bengal, Surendranath Bannerji endeavoured to elevate this important festival of Raksha-Bhandhan to the status of a National Festival.
Following is the recipe for preparing Two Coloured Coconut Barfi
Ingredients:
2 fresh coconuts, grated
3 cups milk,
1/2 cup cream (malai)
1 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp saffron, heated, curshed and dissolved in a tbsp.of milk.
400 gms. sugar
some drops of green colour.
Method:

In a heavy-bottomed dekchi cook milk, malai and grated coconut.
Keep stirring in between when the mixture starts thickening, add sugar.
Lower the fire, stir occasionally till the mixture becomes real thick and leaves the sides of the dekchi.
Remove dekchi from fire. Divide the mixture into two equal parts.
Take away one part, add a few drops of green colour and half of the cardamom powder. Mix well so that the green colour is evenly spread.
Lightly grease a deep metal plate. Place this green lump in the thali and spread it into even layer.
Now place the dekchi containing one portion on medium fire and put in the saffron milk. Stir well so that this coconut mixture comes to a nice yellow colour.
While stirring add the remaining half of the cardamom powder.
Spread this on the green layer in the plate.
With the back of a big round spoon make the barfi even and smooth.
Spread one or two silver varg (leaves) on top to add to its beauty.
When the barfi is well set. Cut it into square or diamond shapes.

More sweet recipes are in Saroj Cookbook

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