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According to the Marathi calender the auspicious month of Shravan commenced this Wednesday. Shravan is that month in which it rains in abundance in most of India and after a hot summer the rains are welcomed by the farmers as they promise a good crop.
AlthoughI am not one to follow all the small customs and traditions dictated by the Marathi calender I do like some, particularly those which my mother used to follow mainly because they bring back good childhood memories. So here is one tradition I follow with my son on any one Friday in the month of Shravan. See the pic above and guess what I have made the lamps from. I am sure most of you might have guessed correctly, but for those who don't know I won't keep the suspense too long. They are made from Puran.
You will find most marathi households cooking puran on Shravani Shukrawar (Friday in the month of Shravan). It is a speaciality and made on most auspicious occasions like poojas, weddings and festivals etc. In fact in some households it is considered so auspicious to cook puran that it has to be cooked in a small quantity on each festival even though the main sweetdish that day might be something else. Puran is mainly made for Puran poli,the recipe of which you will find on Vaishali's Happy Burp, but it can be eaten just as it is with ordinary chappatis too. Thats what my son loves. Of course he does manage to even gobble quite a lot of it just like that.
So on any one friday in Shravan I make these small puran lamps and prepare a pooja thali. The tradition is to apply the red kumkum on the forehead of all the children in the house ,show them the lit lamps by holding the thali in front of them and move the thali in circular motion in front of the child's face. This sounds a bit odd to explain in English but I don't know how else to do . Well for the child the fun part is when he gets to eat the lamps after the ritual. I know I used to enjoy it. And that below is my 4 year old looking forward to eating his lamps.
19 comments:
Oh Anupama,I felt really good after reading your post,I dont know why I became a little emotional.maybe after reading about the celebrations,thali,kumkum,lamps...Oh they are all so lovely.Thanks for sharing the Marathi tradition!
Anupama,
I love that first photograph of yours. Lots of culture in it. And lots of memories too. :)
Btw, I just looooooooove eating the Puran lamps with that wonderful *burnt* taste. Ummmmmm...
And hey, just look at your cutie. His eyes are fixed upon those lamps. He knows what he should concentrate on. ;-)
Lovely pictures Anu. I am amazed to see you follow those traditions. From the time I went out for college, I stopped attending any festivals and before that also I had never given much attention. Now I regret for that. Your pics brought some childhood memories :).
How creative and beautiful
I didnt know lamps were made with puran for Shravan. They look gorgeous.
And your son is adorable. I can see he cant wait to get his hands on the lamps!!!
Good pictures Anupama and a nic epost about shravanam. This month is very auspicious for us too.
Shravanam greetings, Anupama. We too celebrate Shravanam with some special pujas at our homes.
Felt really good to read about Marathi tradition at your blog. With kumkum and soft candle light on his face, your son looks radiant. Cute indeed.:)
Thank you all for your heartfelt appreciation
U have a nice blog going! The michevious look in his is worth a million bucks!
What to say Anupama, even though we're all widespread throughout the world,there's some part of us always remembering those wonderful traditions..the special memories they bring to our lives... no matter where we are and what we are is really amazing. even i have become more appreciative of all these traditions after coming to US.Back in my hometown in Tamilnadu also we have this "edible lamps" (this is a fun name for your son to remember the tradition i guess:-)) as a part of summer festival.But i guess there might be a slight variation in the recipe we follow as it is done using two types of flour.We serve it with generous amount of homemade ghee.Like Vaishali I love those burnt edges.Ah..btw your son is so sweet and cute.
thank you,Shankari, Keep in touch
Yes arsu, Even these lamps were lit with a cooton wick and plenty of ghee. So they are really yummy. I'll have other posts related to Shravan throughout this month
In my ignorance, I had to go to Wikipedia and look up Marathi, Shravan, Pooja, and Puran Poli! But now I feel well-informed. Beautiful ritual. Puran poli sounds delicious! I found you via Meeta's postcard posts. Thank you for sharing your Shravan rituals.
Welcome to my Blog Juliamazal. Maybe toay I'll come over to your blog and visit you
Hi Anupama,
Nice to know about "Marathi Tradition". Thanx for sharing.
Shravana Masam is also auspicious for us at home in the Telugu culture. But it was so good to know about the Marathi way - and the puran lamps - never knew about them and then eating them - what a good way to keep the tradition alive - by letting other people know about it!
Shravana Masam is also auspicious for us at home in the Telugu culture. But it was so good to know about the Marathi way - and the puran lamps - never knew about them and then eating them - what a good way to keep the tradition alive - by letting other people know about it!
Hi nice blog.Do you by any chance have a photo of the goddess Jivati wh is worshipped on Fridays in Shravan.This is my first Shravan out of India and I so much want to do all the things my mom did.It would be nice if you could post the photo.
Nice blog Anupama. I believe this is part of what known as "Jivitachi Puja", am I correct?
HI Anupama,
Can you give me some insight on how to perform the Jivantika pooja on Shravan Shukravar?
Thanks
shraddha
HI Anupama,
Can you give me some insight on how to perform the Jivantika pooja on Shravan Shukravar?
Thanks
shraddha
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