The Kolam outside our house

It was yet silent and dark outside. A pleasant wind was blowing as I opened the main door of our house. The entire building was in deep slumber. I cautiously swept the area in front of our door and squat on the floor wondering what design to draw today. I was doing this after very long and was immediately reminded of my younger days at home as a little one when my sister and I fought about whose turn it was to draw the kolam.

Amma would wake up early in the morning and get the area outside the house ready before waking us up. The one whose turn it was that day, would get out of bed with a lot of effort and start drawing with the fine powder even while murmuring curses under the breath. We always wondered why it was so necessary to do this ritual every morning and always tried convincing Amma that this could be postponed to another time of the day. But Amma was always stubborn. She said that this was the way of welcoming Lakshmi Devi to the house without which, she would turn away angrily.

As years went by Amma stopped pestering us in the mornings. In the afternoons though, after our maid cleaned the kitchen, I would draw small kolams in front of the puja area. The days Patti would come home, just for impression sake, I would draw bigger kolams concentrating more on the steadiness of the lines. “Shilpa draws the Shangu(conch) very well”, Patti would say and I would feel elated. Slowly I developed a liking for this and soon had my own book of kolams which I would fill during lazy afternoons, copying from the Mangayar Malar magazine that Amma subscribed to, or sometimes from Amma’s old kolam book.

As days passed, studies, tuitions, exams took more priority and this hobby was kind of forgotten. It was only once in a year, the night prior to Diwali, when my sis and I would sit out there for hours drawing large and intricate designs, and filling it strenuously with the choicest colours. This too was lost in the tide of time as I moved out for my PG first and job later.

Yesterday, when I was out on my weekly shopping spree, I stumbled on a vendor who had the white powder heaped in front of him. Flooded with memories from my childhood, I bought some of it hoping to carry on the tradition in my home.

Mangala Gowri Vrata

Mangala Gowri vrata is celebrated on the four Tuesdays of the Hindu month of Shravan. This puja is done to Goddess Parvati by married women for the first five years after their wedding.

A Kalasha filled with water, haldi and kumkum is placed in the centre of a plate containing rice. Betel leaves are made to stand in the kalasha like a fence around the neck. On the background, three blouse pieces, folded like pyramids are placed. A square cut jaggery with a turmeric pyramid stuck in its centre, is placed in front of the kalasha. On either side of the kalasha, half cut dried copra filled with betel nuts is placed.

16 deepas are made out of a paste made from chana powder and jaggery. These deepas are decorated on a plate which will be used later for the puja.

After the initial invocation of Lord Ganesha, a small puja is done to Goddess Parvati, render praises of the Goddess. A garland made of cotton is strung around the deity as vastra and bangles, comb, mirror, haldi and kumkum are offered as abharana for the goddess. After Dhupam, Deepam and Neivedyam, aarti is done using two small lamps kept on a plate with water, haldi and kumkum.

After this, the 16 deepas are lit. A dosa ladle is held above the 16 lamps while the Mangala Gowri story is recited. By the time the story is completed, the ladle has collected the carbon from the flameof the deepas. This is mixed with cold ghee and applied to the eyes.

Finally the woman takes the blessings of her husband. Haldi kumkum is offered to 3 brahmin ladies in the neighbourhood. This puja is repeated on all four Tuesdays of the Shravan masa.

Bheemana Amavasya

It was Bheemana Amavasya on 21st July – an important festival for Kannadigas. I being new to this culture, my MIL came over to help me with the rituals. Here is all I could gather from the goings on.

The new moon day in the Hindu month of Ashada is celebrated as Bheemana Amavasya. Newly married women perform this puja for 9 years after their wedding. You can find the story behind this ritual here.

Two tall lamps, signifying Shiva and Parvati are placed beside each other. A turmeric root is tied around these two lamps with a yellow thread. Kadubu and payasam is made as prasadam for the puja.

The puja starts invoking Lord Ganesha like in all other Hindu pujas. After the aarti to Lord Ganesha, the actual puja begins. A garland made of cotton is strung around the lamps. An archana is done to the two lampswhile chanting the Lalitha Sahasranamam. This is followed by Dhupam, deepam, Neividyam. For dhupam, two incense sticks are whirled in clockwise direction in front of the God. Then a lamp with three thiris is shown to the God – this is Deepam. Neividyam is done with the prasadam prepared, kept on a cross made by water in front of the deity. After the neividyam the deeparadanai is done with camphor. Finally two small lamps are kept over a plate filled with water, haldi and kumkum and an aarti is done.

This is followed by the husband tying a yellow thread around the right hand wrist of the wife and the wife taking his blessings. Haldi kumkum is then given to 3 brahmin women in the neighbourhood.