He is omnipresent..

A very prominent and important aspect of Hinduism is to accept and believe that God is everywhere..anything you touch..anyone you meet..everything around.. God is omnipresent. Though this fact seems to be tough to accept and revel in it every single day of our lives, our ancestors kinda paved the way to make this easier for us through their depictions of
mythology and scripts.

Anything and just about everything in Hinduism is associated with the name of a God/Goddess.With the western cultures slaughtering and eating the flesh of animals, this theory of worshipping all beings is an exact oppsite law from their culture. Cows, for example are worshipped as Kamadenu/Nandini and are said to have all the devatas residing in different parts of her body. The fish, tortoise, boar,lion, horse are all worshipped as part of the dasavathars of Lord Vishnu representing Mathsya, Koorma, varaha,Narasimha and Kalki avataars.

Snake is worshipped with an association to Goddess Durga and Nag panchami is an important Hindu festival associated with snake worship. Elephant is worshipped through the elephant headed Ganesha and monkeys are worshipped in the form of Hanuman.Peacocks, rats, bulls, tiger, parrots, other birds and animals are usually depicted as the vaahanams or assistants of various Gods and Goddess in Hindu mythology.

The common saying of Maatru/Pitru/Acharya devo bhava denotes God to be present in Mother/Father/Teacher who play the most important roles in our lives. Even a guest(Aditi) is supposed to be a form of God and needs to be treated with due respect and grace. Falling at the feet of elders and others teach humility and reminds us to be modest at all times. Wealth and materials are all associated with Goddess Lakshmi and books and other sources of education/intelligence are associated with Goddess Saraswathi. When we stamp with our legs on a book or material by mistake, we usually touch it and close our eyes for a moment asking for forgivance from God. Small things like these teach us to be compassionate with other beings and even material things.

The concept of fasting on various days in the name of God helps cleanse our internal systems and this form of dieting targets two things sucessfully, thinking about God and losing all the extra pounds :) All the plants/herbs/flowers around us are used in our worship and neivedyams giving them an prominent role in our culture. Our music/books/temple visits all revolve around seeking God and His grace.

The festivals and festivals start and end by saying the name of the Lord and are tied around worshipping various Gods and Goddesses and offering special food to them and to the animals/birds around. The basic law of offering respect to not only peope but also to animals and birds is unique to our culture.

Cant think of anything which doesn't play an important role in our way of worship toGod. Such is the way of life....the tradition .. the immense beauty of our culture!

Kaakka pudi vechen...

Kanu Pongal... reminds of me the subtly cold day after pongal.... with manjal theetru on the forehead and the girly curiosity of going up the terrace each year to feed the birds and our little friends...

Though its very cold and snowy up here, following the ritual gives the immense satisfaction of keeping up the tradition and praying for our families.
With a chuckle, I always recite the "kaakka pudi vechen, kanu pidi vechen, un koodu kalaiyaadhadhau pol, engal kudumbamum kalaiyadhu irukkanum". And though the 4-5 inches of snow in the patio does not see a single soul fly by, I still lay the vaazhai ilais outside laden with the Pongal/ezhu kari kuzhambu/manjal sadham/thayir sadham/banana and invite the little souls to feast on them.
And then the gifts from brother(s) as a token of blessing and love makes it a truly family event...love this festival!

I found this beautiful Kanu wish in Tamil from the website below and thought of sharing it here:
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/functions-festivals-rituals/4221-kanu-wishes.html

Happy Kanu and Mattu Pongal!!

Garbarakshambigai....a divine experience

Every woman's dream is to become a mother. To be able to beget children of her own and pave way for her future generations to emanate. This in itself is a great feat to be achieved and sometimes may seem impossible for many.... but this goddess makes it all possible! She encompasses all with her compassion and fulfills a woman's wish to conceive and once that is achieved, helps in carrying the baby to full term without any hurdles along the way.


I had the oppurtunity to get the divine darshan of this goddess twice in the recent years and the beauty of the goddess and the temple cannot be described in mere words. Such was the praharams and the architecture of the temple - there is a saying in Tamil called "Kili Konjum Kovil" which is what I witnessed in both my visits. Wide spacious prahaarams with thoons on either sides, a very beautiful garden called mullaivanam, a rustic shed with cows and a very ethnic and rural atmosphere. And lots of positive energy vibrations always permeating from the temple...

There is also a "thanga thottil" in the temple in which women can lay their babies and come around in pradakshams around the Goddess's sannidhi. Usually pregnant women pray for a safe delivery after which they perform this thanga thottil pradhakshinam.

The Goddess stands there with a "gambeeram" and grace with one hand resting on the lower hip as if she is protecting the wombs of women. Having had personal experience of the goddess protecting my baby in the womb, I became an ardent devotee of this goddess from then on.In my last India visit, I also bought an audio cassette sung by Sudha Raghunathan in praise of this Goddess. One of the songs is extremely beautiful, its called the "Garbarakshambigai Kavasam" and each stanza is about how the goddess protects the baby with her grace during each of the 9 months of pregnancy.

The below history of the temple is obtained from the pariharam.com website.

HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE: It would suffice to recount the story of Sage Nithuvar and his wife Vedhika as it relates to the circumstances in which Parvathi took the form of Sri Karbharakshamb ikai in order to give special protection to women during pregnancy.
The story is that, Sage Nithuvar was living here with his wife Vedhika. One day when Sage Nithuvar was away, sage Urdhvapada happened to visit the place. Vedhika who was then alone and in an advanced state of pregnancy unwittingly failed to offer, due hospitality to the guest. Urdhvapada unaware of her difficulties got incensed at her conduct and landed a cruel curse upon her, as a result of which poor Vedhika was inflicted with disease, which began to eat into the very vitals of not only herself but also the child in the womb. The helpless Vedhika fervently prayed for relief to Goddess Parvathi who in the plentitude of her mercy appeared before Vedhika in the form of Sri Karbharakshambikai and totally erased the effect of the curse and saved Vedhika, the child in her womb. The story goes that the Goddess offered protection to the embryo by keeping it in a divine pot till it bloomed in to full-fledged child. Vedhika over-whelmed with joy, fell at the feet of Sri Karbharakshambikai and prayed that the Ambika should take a permanent abode at the place and continue to offer protection to future generations of women also. Thus we find this prayer being fulfilled even to this day at this holy place.

DIVINESS OF THE TEMPLE:The Lord of this place, is called ‘Mullaivananathar’ and His Linga here is ‘Swamyabu’, Self Manifested. This Linga is made up of anthill mud. Hence there is no water Abishekam for this Lord. Instead, the Linga is merely pasted with a kind of musk called ‘Punuhu.’ People who are afflicted with incurable diseases come to this place offer ‘Punuhu Chattam’ to the Lord and get themselves relieved of the diseases.

First day at school

Seems to be a milestone and that, it is!Today was S's first day in school and here I am, at work but thinking about him all day. Did he eat his snack? Is he ok in the new environment? Must be eating his lunch now... oh my, will he sleep on his own? My mind is constantly visioning him at the school.....

A transition for S is like a transition for me- as if I am going to school for the first time! I saw
everything in his eyes today- "Hmm..this is not my daycare...but...hey here is a train..let me go and play with it " and he goes and grabs the train. The teacher comes in and talks to him and I saw his expression change to "will this Miss.Bozena be good to me, will she be like Seema Aunty from my daycare-no I dont want to go to her right now....maybe later..." and then I saw that look in his eyes when he saw the playground "mma, want thu go ousside" and was looking through the glass outside longingly.

And then the teacher picked him up and he was screaming when I left... and that was the image I am carrying all day today...
Its just been 3 hours now and I've already called the school once and now trying to stop my hands from reaching the phone one another time to check whether he ate the lunch I sent him.And then I have 3 more hours to go to find out how he did today and it seems like a long day already.

I realised today that when we are young and small, we hardly share our parent's worries. All we have in mind is our school/homework/exams/making friends and generally having fun. Never worry about the finances/cooking a meal or running the household. So thats just one person's worries that you carry - As we grow older and have kids, we not only worry about the stuff in our lives but take on the worries of our kids too. Its not just the worries 'about' them but the worries 'of' them, of what that little mind must be thinking and fearing.

Now I know why parents get old very fast....that wrinkle..that silver lining...now I know...

Pittukku 'naan' sumandha kadhai...

There maybe days when things don't go right
To make the winds of fortune blow right
You might need a second chance

So if you get one try, and that don't fly
Stop, and count to ten
And if at first you don't succeed, Try Again

Beginners luck is over rated
Once you blink its come and gone
The only way to cultivate it
Is to keep on keeping on,

try, try again
Yes, My Friend try, try, try again

Nice one, aint' it? Well this is what I did when I tried making "Puttu" or "Pittu" for the first time…. I tried and tried until I got it right! This festive delicacy is usually made on a Friday during Navrathri season and thankfully there came 2 Fridays last Navrathri so I could attempt making the puttu on the second Friday after the first disastrous attempt!

If you notice, most of the festival offerings to God is made of Rice Flour and Jaggery especially the offerings to Shiva or Parvathy. The Puttu during Navrathri, kaaradaiyan nombu adai, thiruvadhirai kali, maa vilakku etc etc, the base is the same but the combination of these 2 can come out in various shapes/sizes/colors and ofcourse tastes and textures just by making it in a different way. Hmm.. aren’t our ancestors really wise and innovative!

The “tried hard to get it right” recipe will come next, I realized the error part in my first attempt - I had made the flour really wet with lot of water and hence it turned out to be a sticky “kali” than a “Puttu”. I didn’t realize this until I made it right the second time on.
Until then, try reading this beautiful story behind “Puttu” – “Pittukku mann sumandha kadhai”, go to http://www.madurai.com/pittu.htm

Festive series - Maa vilakku on thai Velli

During thai velli kizhamai (Fridays in the month of 'Thai' which usually occurs in January), we make some kind of neivedyam as its considered very auspicious for the Goddess. Usually the first thai velli calls for making modhakams to be offered as neivedhyam.

Some families observe the tradition of preparing and lighting the maa vilakku which is a lamp made of rice flour and jaggery. This is offered to the Ambaal, the goddess supreme as neivedyam and is considered to be very auspicious.The significance of lighting the maa vilakku is that it bestows health and prosperity to the family.

Above is a picture of the maa vilakku I offered to the Goddess last Friday on the occasion of Thai velli since this custom is followed by my MIL.

In some families there is also the tradition of offering milk/eggs to the Naga Devatha. This is called in Tamil as "Puthukku Paal vidarathu". Since our Divine Mother has come down to protect us she has chosen Naga Devatha to be our protectors and convey her grace to us. My Mom visits the "Pechia amman padithurai" temple in Madurai to offer milk/eggs to the "puthu" with snakes inside. Similar rituals are followed for Aadi vellis which occur in July/August.

Its also very auspicious to recite the Lalitha Sahasranama during the Thai and Aadi Velli days.

Om shrimata shrimaharagyi shrimatsimha saneshvari

Chidagni kundasambhuta devakarya samudyata..

Shrimata: Salutations to the Divine Mother, who is the Mother of all.

Shri-mahararagni: Great Empress of the whole Universe.

Shrimat-simhasaneshvari: Great Sovereign, enthroned on the lion’s back.

Chidagni kundasambhuta: Who came out of the fire of Pure Consciousness.

Devakarya samudyata: Who promotes the cause of Divine forces.

Navrathri and our golu

Navrathri - For me this word is always associated with Golu and brings back fresh memories from my girlhood days. Golu - with the odd number steps filled with clay dolls ,parks,rangoli - why wouldn't any girl be attracted! The preparations for golu would start a fortnight earlier with the list of invitees prepared by Amma and assigned to me and sis with respective houses to invite. Amma will bring the jewellery back from the bank locker, and all the pattu paavadais/dhaavanis/sarees which would have been sleeping in the bureau will come out now. Its time for a grand celebration!

Pichai Mani who used to do the errands in our house will climb up to the paran and bring down the boxes of bommais and hand down to us on the floor. I remember opening the boxes with my heart pounding because of the lizards and rats which might spring from inside, after all these boxes would have been their houses for the past one year :)
And we would unravel all the bommais from their newspaper coverings and marvel at each one of their beauty.

The ceiling decorations with the golden and coloured papers will be done to perfection by Pitchai and co with Amma's supervision. The building of the golu steps with Amma's instructions would seem long a process. Once the setup is done, all the golu bommais will take their stands at the appropriate places. The park will be built by Bro with all his creativity and the rangoli by us.

Amma used to be strict about one thing- we should get dressed up and ready by 5 P.M to welcome the visitors. Around 3ish we would pluck the pitchi poo from our garden and make the flower strands and wear all the pattu and jewellery. Amma's navrathna necklace was close to my heart and I would grab it at every given chance :) Sis and me would fight over who can wear the odiyanam with the lakshmi in it. There was another old odiyaanam which was less glittery and plain, so we used to take turns in wearing them :)

Golu was a way of socialising. Meet friends and neighbours, gossip, exchange goodies and just chill out! There were some friends who we would meet only during navrathri time so it was good to catch-up. Bro would drive sis and me to other's houses and will be patient enough to wait till our small-talks get over :) Amma's list of invitees would include people who worked for us, so it was a good oppurtunity to meet their families too.

And ofcourse Saraswathi Puja was a great festival because it was an official declration of no-studies day :) They should have more such festivals! On Vijayadasami, Amma would send vethalai paaku/gifts to my paattu teacher and she will teach me new songs of which I still remember some :)

And then the golu would be over! And so fast! Amma would make couple of bommais lay down that night and tell the bommais to please reside in our house next year too.
We would pack them all up the next day and the room would look very empty without all the decorations!

But then the next year wasn't so far!