Navarathri in the 70's- 2000 & Now....
I had the privilege of living & being brought up in Mumbai. A place where people from all over the country (India) live. Where each festival is celebrated with gaeity. A place where there's a frenzy to catch a train/bus/rickshaw/taxi. Where a day passes only to go to work & be back. Where even 24 hours in a day is less.
The power it takes to board the train, squeezing through the robust melee of people in a mad frenzy to catch the train & the same frenzy to get off the train, literally jumping onto the platform, squeezing back through the crowd and daring all odds to reach home and yet come back with energy for the family & household chores waiting for them.
Yet, when festivals come, the ladies undauntingly celebrate it with ardour & warmth.
Our Tambrahm community has always been known to be a practical & intelligent lot. Our pragmatic approach to changing times has helped retain our age-old traditions & rich culture & heritage.
Then.....(In the yesteryears)
Working ladies would invite for Vettala Paaku(Thamboolam) over the weekends & housewives over the week. Inspite of living in a fast paced city with such a flinty pace. People still managed to make the time to celebrate festivals with zest. And all the practical difficulties of living in the buzzing metro city made us pragmatic in our approach towards everything.
Back then, I used to enjoy dressing up in my pattu pavadais(silk petticoats), adorning jasmines in my hair and wearing Amma's gold necklace and jhimki(long gold earring with precious stones). I used to feel so dolled up as I used to accompany my Amma(mother) for vettala paaku.
The girl kids were an integral part of the celebrations and were "invited". I used to feel so privileged to be "invited"😀
Nowadays the kids do not want to accompany nor do they like to dress up in our beautiful traditional gear.
In our community, being born as a girl itself was a celebration.
My brother wasn't officially "invited"😜 for the vettala paaku.
Once we reached in our silks & fineries, mind you it's the onset of winters and just comfortable to be attired in our ensemble.
When we visited the people, we used to admire the golus(arrangement of dolls), ask questions about the theme of arrangement, new Additions (It's a tradition to have a new addition of a doll every year). We used to chant shlokas, sing bhajans, appreciate any new things in the hostess's house.
We usually used to be offered sundal & some sweet and beverages(coffee, tea, juice)
Sometimes we used to visit a few houses in a row, so the sundals & sweets used to be packed in little small packets of banana leaves covered with a newspaper made into little take away packs. These packets were made & readily kept if we refused to have anything offered at the hostess's home. These items were not mandatorily given. It depended upon the convenience of the person.
But, now....
Calling for Vettala paaku has become an elaborate affair.
Every person is competing with another. The humble sundal & sweet are replaced with a huge array of food items. It's like a buffet arrangement with a varieties of snacks & sweets. People are slogging in the kitchen to outdo each other in the quest of making an impression on the invitees. Some even ordering food from restaurants. Eventually a lot of ladies who cannot manage all this will jump off this bandwagon and succumb to the temptation of "not" celebrating this beautiful festival.
There's also competition in dressing up, presenting the house, displaying your riches, Offering expensive gifts and comparing who's gift is better than the other.
There's even pressure in dressing up in certain colors as well.
There are yet, a group of people who pack the thamboolam in gift pouches and send it over to their friends through their maids😂.Totally hassle-free but completely kills the idea of offering thamboolam.
The manjal(Haldi) kumkumam (Kumkum)which was offered from little brass/silver boxes have transformed into plastic pouches or boxes holding colored powders.
The paaku(betel nuts) is packed in plastic pouches.
We are using so many non biodegradable things now in the name of convenience which is harming the environment.
I'm glad I kept re-inventing myself over the period of years. This year I purchased cloth bags to give my vettala paaku, i do not give blouse pieces which are going to be further passed on😜.
I love the idea of gifts, Gifts are an integral part of the thamboolam, so i take a lot of effort, go to many shops, buy gifts which can be used in the pooja room or house. Gifts that will be useful.
I had the privilege of living & being brought up in Mumbai. A place where people from all over the country (India) live. Where each festival is celebrated with gaeity. A place where there's a frenzy to catch a train/bus/rickshaw/taxi. Where a day passes only to go to work & be back. Where even 24 hours in a day is less.
The power it takes to board the train, squeezing through the robust melee of people in a mad frenzy to catch the train & the same frenzy to get off the train, literally jumping onto the platform, squeezing back through the crowd and daring all odds to reach home and yet come back with energy for the family & household chores waiting for them.
Yet, when festivals come, the ladies undauntingly celebrate it with ardour & warmth.
Our Tambrahm community has always been known to be a practical & intelligent lot. Our pragmatic approach to changing times has helped retain our age-old traditions & rich culture & heritage.
Then.....(In the yesteryears)
Working ladies would invite for Vettala Paaku(Thamboolam) over the weekends & housewives over the week. Inspite of living in a fast paced city with such a flinty pace. People still managed to make the time to celebrate festivals with zest. And all the practical difficulties of living in the buzzing metro city made us pragmatic in our approach towards everything.
Back then, I used to enjoy dressing up in my pattu pavadais(silk petticoats), adorning jasmines in my hair and wearing Amma's gold necklace and jhimki(long gold earring with precious stones). I used to feel so dolled up as I used to accompany my Amma(mother) for vettala paaku.
The girl kids were an integral part of the celebrations and were "invited". I used to feel so privileged to be "invited"😀
Nowadays the kids do not want to accompany nor do they like to dress up in our beautiful traditional gear.
In our community, being born as a girl itself was a celebration.
My brother wasn't officially "invited"😜 for the vettala paaku.
Once we reached in our silks & fineries, mind you it's the onset of winters and just comfortable to be attired in our ensemble.
When we visited the people, we used to admire the golus(arrangement of dolls), ask questions about the theme of arrangement, new Additions (It's a tradition to have a new addition of a doll every year). We used to chant shlokas, sing bhajans, appreciate any new things in the hostess's house.
We usually used to be offered sundal & some sweet and beverages(coffee, tea, juice)
Sometimes we used to visit a few houses in a row, so the sundals & sweets used to be packed in little small packets of banana leaves covered with a newspaper made into little take away packs. These packets were made & readily kept if we refused to have anything offered at the hostess's home. These items were not mandatorily given. It depended upon the convenience of the person.
But, now....
Calling for Vettala paaku has become an elaborate affair.
Every person is competing with another. The humble sundal & sweet are replaced with a huge array of food items. It's like a buffet arrangement with a varieties of snacks & sweets. People are slogging in the kitchen to outdo each other in the quest of making an impression on the invitees. Some even ordering food from restaurants. Eventually a lot of ladies who cannot manage all this will jump off this bandwagon and succumb to the temptation of "not" celebrating this beautiful festival.
There's also competition in dressing up, presenting the house, displaying your riches, Offering expensive gifts and comparing who's gift is better than the other.
There's even pressure in dressing up in certain colors as well.
There are yet, a group of people who pack the thamboolam in gift pouches and send it over to their friends through their maids😂.Totally hassle-free but completely kills the idea of offering thamboolam.
The manjal(Haldi) kumkumam (Kumkum)which was offered from little brass/silver boxes have transformed into plastic pouches or boxes holding colored powders.
The paaku(betel nuts) is packed in plastic pouches.
We are using so many non biodegradable things now in the name of convenience which is harming the environment.
I'm glad I kept re-inventing myself over the period of years. This year I purchased cloth bags to give my vettala paaku, i do not give blouse pieces which are going to be further passed on😜.
I love the idea of gifts, Gifts are an integral part of the thamboolam, so i take a lot of effort, go to many shops, buy gifts which can be used in the pooja room or house. Gifts that will be useful.
I keep the cost economical as I give a lot of people (80-100 ladies).
My mom used to say, "The more ladies you give, the more punyam (Blessings) you get".
The idea is not the cost but the thought behind it.
Haldi-kumkum packets i still give....maybe eventually it should (will) change. Betel nut(Paaku) packets too....although some of my friends love them (Roja Paaku with little melon seeds).
No bangles, combs, pottu packets, mirrors😂🤣....they definitely get recycled.
Haldi-kumkum packets i still give....maybe eventually it should (will) change. Betel nut(Paaku) packets too....although some of my friends love them (Roja Paaku with little melon seeds).
No bangles, combs, pottu packets, mirrors😂🤣....they definitely get recycled.
Traditional gifts were an integral part of the Haldi kumkum, so these items got replaced with a small cursory gift given out of love to replace the various things that had "significance" in the past (items worn/used by women to groom themselves meant for married women only or single girls (barring widows as they were not a part of these festivities...which was sad))
As the society evolved, a woman is no longer identified by the presence of her husband but an embodiment of Shakti (So happy about the status change though)
Gifts!!! Phew!!!
The cursory gift given in replacement of the traditional items (meant for married women only) has become the focal point.
The focus shouldn't be in the joy of recieving the gifts and judging the person's status based on what's given.
People these days don't even remove the price tag, so the guests know the value of the gift given (As if it matters the most!!!🙍)
I remember a few years ago, a friend made a comment upon the cost of gifts given during the Navarathri festival.
Suddenly the whole spirit of Navaratri has changed and now people are taking so much efforts to outdo each other, impress the guests by showing off that their gift is superior, this unfortunately is not the spirit of Navarathri at all.
I usually buy my gifts from small vendors, which helps uplift them. I give many ladies which includes our building security guards, cleaners etc., hence i buy in lots. I give everyone the same gift immaterial of their class or staus.
The spirit of Navarathri is not in the gifts or the "giving".
The joy is in meeting, and praying/singing bhajans in the glory of the Goddess together and, I ensure that whoever comes to my home blesses me for the warmth and love I give them when they come home and the great time that we spend together that build memories; like the memories I have now, of my past as a child. I don't even remember who gave what in those days.
As a child even if it was a piece of a coconut barfi (Since many coconuts were given as an item in the Thamboolam / Vettala Paaku, It was commonly prepared in many houses during the time and offered as well. Everything was put to good use and nothing was wasted ever)
Let's turn back the clock to times that were uncomplicated and simple and just rejoice in the glory of the Goddess.
Let's celebrate and invoke the Goddess within each one of us.
Invoking the inner Goddess according to me is awakening oneself at various levels and then working towards elevating oneself .
Connecting with my inner Goddess, is also a reminder that we are a part of the Source(The Supreme), knowing our potential and the powers within that can be unleashed for the Emancipation of Women and the betterment of the society is Imperative.
It's a chance to tap into the deepest source of Empowerment, creativity and happiness and that exactly is why these festivals were designed and not for the petty things that it has come to.
We must adapt to the changing times and not rigidly keep doing rituals in the name of tradition. We must take into account the present day situation and act accordingly when it comes to caring for the environment but at the same time keep in mind the spirit of such beautiful festivals for the women, of the women and by the women.
Let's find out ways to improve our lives and in the process help Mother Nature conserve her beauty and radiance.
So let's spread joy and keep up the festive cheer.
What we do now is what will influence the future generations and if we don't do it right, it probably is going to be redundant soon.
"Happy Navarathri to All"
© Sukanya's Musings
Disclaimer - This article is based purely on the author's personal knowledge, experiences, views and opinions.
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