Sweets, crackers and Diwali

 

The colours and celebrations of Navratri are followed by yet another festival that makes us rejoice and socialize. The celebrations start once the land, plants and man are blessed with bountiful rains. All the socio cultural activities follow the rhythm of seasonal cycles and all the different regions lend their unique flavour, colour and stories to the celebrations. 

One underlying and recurring theme in and through all these festivals is the conflict between good and evil and the victory of the good in the end. 

Diwali is the occasion of celebrating the homecoming of Ram, Lakshman and Sita after fourteen years. Some people celebrate the occasion by remembering the death of Narakasura at Krishna's hands (the day before Diwali is Naraka Chaturdasi). During the battle between Krishna and the asura, Krishna becomes unconscious; it is Sathyabhama, Krishna's wife (incarnation of Bhudevi - Earth) who finally kills the asura and he prays to her that people should remember him with joy.

For Jains the day of Diwali is important as it commemorates the anniversary of Lord Mahavir's attainment of moksha. It is said that the earth and the heavens were illuminated with lamps to mark this event of Nirvana or enlightenment. So, Jains light lamps - symbolic of their dissemination of Mahavir's knowledge.)

Yet again, there are diverse stories, interesting nuances in the customs, a variety of delectable sweets and savouries from the north, east, south and west. 

In the north, in places like Himachal, Delhi, Punjab and other states, it is generally a five day festival. Dhanteras marks the beginning of the festival and symbolises wealth and prosperity. People buy jewellery and utensils as it is believed that any metal can ward off bad luck and bring in wealth and prosperity.  This day is followed by Chhoti Diwali, Diwali, Govardhan Puja and the fifth day is Bhai Dooj (similar to Raksha Bandhan)

Oh the stories you can weave around the wonderful bond between a brother and sister! 
One version talks about Yamraj, God of death visits his sister, Yamuna (yes, the river!) after repeated invitation from her. It falls on the second day of Shukla Paksha (Waxing moon - after New moon) in the month of Karthik; thus it is also called, 'Yama Dwitiya' .

The loving sister welcomes the brother with a spread of delicacies and applies a ceremonial tilak on his forehead. The happy brother gives her a boon - Yamuna asks Yama to mark a day each year to visit her house. Thus, this is that day when brothers visit their sisters' homes to celebrate this beautiful kinship.  

The second version focuses on the love between Krishna and his sister Subhadra. The third one is a narration of the story of Lord Mahavira's brother and his love for  Mahavira and his bond with his sister, Sudarshana. 

The fourth version weaves a story around, Goddess Lakshmi, asking King Mahabali in Patala loka (the lowest realm or plane of existence according to Hindu cosmology) to treat her as his sister.

It is once again, Ma Shakthi!

Diwali in Bengal is celebrated as Kali Pooja or Shyama Pooja. Ma Kali is decked up in hibiscus flowers and offered, sweets, rice, lentils and fish.

Generally in the states of Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam and Jharkhand this day is set aside for ancestors worship. People import customs and beliefs from neighbouring states and blend them with their unique traditions  to enrich the diverse celebrations. The Odiyas not only worship Lakshmi and  Lord Ganesha, but perform Kali pooja like their Bengali neighbours. Yet, there is that distinct and exclusive Odiya touch when they perform Kauriya Kathi burning jute sticks to invoke their ancestors. 

Westwards:                                                  

If you just take a leap over to the western regions - Maharashtra and Gujarat- the soft light from the earthen diyas and candles as well as rangolis welcome you. Of course, you should not forget the 'Faral' (feast ) with the impressive spread of not only sweets like laddoo, Rava ladoo and crispy savoury items like chiwda, bhakarwadi, chakli and others.

The crispy savouries have a longer shelf life and are a unique feature of Maharashtra. Lakshmi Pooja and rangolis are other predominant features of Diwali in the western states. Gujaratis draw footprints of Goddess Lakshmi on the threshold of their houses. The new year is celebrated the day after Diwali (Sukla Paksha Pratipada, the first bright day of the month of Kartik).

To the plateau and the coasts (south)!

Diwali in this region is associated with the worship of Krishna and his wife Satyabhama's victory over Narakasura. Getting up early in the morning and taking an oil bath, bursting crackers, sharing sweets and visiting friends and relatives is a general practice this day. New dresses is another point of excitement particularly for youngsters. 

There is this early morning oil bath ritual on the day of Diwali. One should remember that this month is the time of northeast monsoon for Tamil Nadu. Elsewhere in the country, there is the slow transition to winter with a slight nip in the air. The early mornings are pleasant that is considered by most of us here as 'Chilly' weather. Guided by the senior most lady of the house, at an auspicious time, a medicated oil would be prepared, heating gingelly oil. Then special bathing powder would also be made and all the shampoo-consuming 'youngsters' would be forced to wash their hair with 'Shikakai powder.  

In many households in Tamil Nadu. mixing many herbs with ginger, a gooey concoction is prepared (Diwali marunthu (மருந்து - medicine). People eat it just before we go our eating spree. It is considered as an antidote for indigestion. 

The delicacies - hot and crispy savouries, soft melting sweets soaked in ghee are inseparable from Diwali. 

When I look around me, I can see the generous exchange of food traditions between different regions. In Tamil Nadu, there is a traditional savoury called 'Murukku (முறுக்கு) or Thenkuzhal' (தேன்குழல்) - a close cousin of chakli. Sweets blended in jaggery like Adirasam  mark the celebrations in Tamil Nadu, but who can resist milk sweets, gulab jamun or jalebi! 

(Murukku is a deep fried savoury made of a mix of rice flour and pulses roasted and powdered. Adirasam is a delicacy made with jaggery and rice flour. )

Women who take pride in their culinary skills and who love making these delectable food items make it a huge operation. From planning the list, including one new sweet, buying the materials needed, to preparing them all in the week leading up to the actual festival. I remember the days when in every household at least two women would be sharing the work and bonding over the common challenges and issues. Then this making of 'Diwali specials' would have been a fun-filled activity with cousins, uncles and aunts and grand parents playing, making fun of each other and becoming 'tasters'.

 The festival within me:

I do not know about other states and regions but in Tamil Nadu, the snacks and sweets, the particular blend and flavour varies from district to district and from one community to another. 'The pull of the soil' - they call it and people of each district have pride about their land and customs! 

The pull is strong, for people born five decades ago. Just imagine, the extent to which I had grown up smelling, tasting and enjoying the food typical of my place and even when I moved to different parts of the country, I continued making the same items and relishing them. Now I can boast of an unbroken tradition of six decades of making 'Ukkarai (உக்காரை) and 'Vellaiappam' 

 I make other snacks and sweets but these two are like the mother's loving touch. A gamut of images flash in my mind way back from 1960 to 2000. The rectangular house running from one street to another so many door ways with high ceilings,  lot of windows, the old style of cooking with firewood or charcoal and those sturdy iron pans. Two narrow passageways or corridors - one  linking the main hall with the kitchen and dining sections and the other linking the hall with the outer office room and the outer room/lobby or porch which we call thinnai (திண்ணை). 

From the passageway linking the hall with the dining section, there used to be two rooms - one on either side. One of them was like pantry/store room (There were different kinds of storages besides this!). In this room, different types of rice and jaggery would be kept on tall and huge jars. The tenant farmers from the land in the nearby village would bring the share of rice and jaggery made locally by them and these were stored here. So when Jaggery was melted to make ukkarai or any other sweet, the aroma used to move in the air to reach every corner of the house bringing the members from different parts of the house like the children of Hamelin running behind the Piper towards the strong aroma. 

Like travel or getting ready for annual show or marriage, the preparations and the mounting excitement culminating at that moment are what make it memorable!