When I took a shower this afternoon I found the water soothingly lukewarm, heated by solar energy. We don't have any solar panels or anything fancy like that. The overhead tank water was warmed by pure and natural sunlight. Felt so cool to take bath in this environmentaly friendly environment. No electricity or natural gas was needed to bring water to a lukewarm temperature. No boiler or geyser was operated, water only warmed by pure, unadulterated sunlight. But mention of this earth friendly incident only elicited lukewarm response from most.
Early around 4 O'Clock in the morning I heard thunder which sounded like music to my ears. I went over to our balcony facing the street. The silver streaks of lightning and booms of thunder from North Eastern sky was followed by a short downpour. The enchanting, earthy smell of fresh rains over the parched earth came wafting it, the smell of which can beat the best of French perfumes. Due to jet lag I have become a night owl soon to find my company. Under bright street I watched a night Owl flew by and then perched on our main gate. It settled down flapping its wings and gaped at me wide eyed like a Ullu.The rain grounded the dust in the air, swiping off dust from the foliage like wiper blades of a car. In the morning the buildings in the neighborhood started looking brighter. Didn't rain a whole lot but was enough to leave poodles of water on the ground and bring down the temperature to a manageable level.
Today is SABITRI, a festival exclusive to the state of Odisha which is widely celebrated on the first New Moon Day of the Lunar month of JYESHTA, which per Gregorian calendar comes anywhere between mid May to mid June every year. On this day the married women pray for the long life and well being of their husbands. Coincidentally this is my wife's first SABITRI BRATA in India.
In our PURANAs (ancient religious texts), it is mentioned that a young man named SATYABAN died a sudden, unnatural death. His wife SABITRI who was a SATI (the pious and chaste one), ardently prayed Lord YAMA (God of death) to restore her husband's life. Gratified by her devotion and penance, Lord YAMA duly obliged. Her husband woke up to life as if he just woke up from sleep.
Following this mythology our ladies do UPABAASA (fasting) on this auspicious day eating frugally; surviving mostly on fruits and yogurt. Parents send SABITRI BHARA (the gift bucket for Sabitri) to their married daughters, which apart from SINDOOR (vermillion) and Bangles symbolizing long marital life also contains a wide array of fruits, including but not limited to locally grown tropical fruits like Mango, Banana, Jackfruit, Lichi, Guava, Date, Palm and Pinapple.
Mango being the King of Fruits is most in demand. It is in season and plentiful. Nothing beats the taste of myriads variety of Mangoes available in India. They are juicy, sweet and succulent with its unique flavor - beating the Mexican and Brazilian varieties we get in USA by miles. Now a days non native fruits, a la Apples, Oranges and Grapes have added taste and veriety to the traditional ones.
The presence of a SABITRI BHARA inside house can be identified by the conspicuously strong scent of ripened Jackfruits, which are in season at this time of the year and can be smelt miles away. The jungles of Odisha are filled with Jackfruit trees and it is not unusual for this large size fruits cluster around the bottom of the tree, protruding from tree trunh like the sagging fat of a Sumo wrestler. Bears and Jackles who get attracted by their smell love to feast on them.
The downside of this festival is the prices of fruits and SAREEs (traditional attire of Indian women) which skyrocket days before the festival, both due to their demand and hoarding by nefarious merchants. This year the celebration is at low key due the lockdown imposed statewide as a preventive measure against the undoing pandemic. Happy "Sabitri Brata" to all ladies. More later...
No comments:
Post a Comment