Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Saraswati Pujo or Vasant Panchami


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Jaya Jaya Devi
Chara Chara Share
Kucho Jogo Shobhito
Mukta Hare
Beena Ranjita
Pustaka Haste
Bhagwati Bharati
Devi Namastute



Saraswati Pujo, the worship of Goddess Saraswati -- the Goddess of Learning in Hindu Mythology, is a special occasion in Bengal. Every year on the day of Vasanta Panchami the Goddess is worshipped in numerous Bengali homes and also in schools, colleges and social communities. The festival is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the shukla paksha (waxing phase of the moon) of the Magha (around January/February) month of the Indian calendar, on the day called 'Vasant Panchami'
This day is so highly esteemed in Bengal that all centers of learning in Bengal are closed on this day. Students offer their books for worship and are not allowed to do any reading or writing on this day.The predominant colour of this day is yellow or basanti, as a sign of Spring which arrives soon after in India. You can learn more about this festival here.

Though this Puja is associated with a religion or mythology, this is more important because this is an humble way to pay our respect for knowledge and learning

We had a small Saraswati Puja today at home as in the above picture. Seeking blessings from the Learning Goddess for all of us, to give us wisdom, knowledge and a desire to learn and to share our learning.

For a complete Saraswati Pujo menu of Bhog er Khichuri, Labra and Chaatni go to this post and see the recipes.
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20 comments:

  1. sraJanuary 24, 2007 4:23 AM

    are those marigolds, sandeepa, beneath the hibiscus?

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  2. PoojaJanuary 24, 2007 4:28 AM

    Nice to know about bengali tradition. nice pic of Saraswati Devi. :)
    -Pooja

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  3. indosungodJanuary 24, 2007 7:24 AM

    Sandeepa, we celebrate Saraswathi Pooja during the month of October.
    Nice learning traditions from other parts of India, for a South Indian like me anything beyond that is foreign. Are the flowers from your garden?

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  4. Bong MomJanuary 24, 2007 8:22 AM

    Hey Sra,
    First the pink ones are NOT hibiscus, they are pink carnations
    Second, what you thought as marigold are Nariyal Laddus
    I thought posting a recipe of those laddus,we call them "Narkel Naru" maybe I will now :)

    Pooja
    When do you guys have Saraswati Puja

    Indo
    Yeah I was very surprised to see thet in Bangalore Saraswati Puja was celebrated , after Navratri
    In Bengal this is a very popular festival, not only at home but also outside
    No they are not flowers from garden, my garden has no flowers now, its tooo cold. I have some indoor plants, but not the flowering ones

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  5. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2007 9:34 AM

    Nice reading about bngali traditions Sandeepa :)

    For us gujjus also vasant panchami is a big day and people consider it as auspicious day for any good occasion. I got engaged on vasant panchami. :)

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  6. FHJanuary 24, 2007 9:35 AM

    Great info Sandeepa! Enjoy the festival!Saraswati pooja is a big deal in K'taka too.I am not religious,so we skip all except two!:)

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  7. Bong MomJanuary 24, 2007 9:54 AM

    Coffee
    Congrats so this is your Engagement Anniv. :)

    Asha
    I am not a very "religious" person also. But for us "Saraswati Pujo" actually means worshipping knowledge and learning so I try to do this at home every year in a very small scale

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  8. NidhiJanuary 24, 2007 10:19 AM

    Good to know about a different tradition. Its a very nice post Sandeepa.
    Happy Vasant Pachami to you and your Family!

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  9. ShilpaJanuary 24, 2007 10:42 AM

    Hi Sandeepa,

    Thanks for writing! Wow, a window to Bengali cooking and culture! I'm coming back often then!

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  10. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2007 1:09 PM

    Thanks for the lovely post, always great to learn about customs and traditions....god bless...take care dear friend

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  11. MandiraJanuary 24, 2007 1:38 PM

    Sandeepa - you have a nice sharaswati thakurer murti. mine is much smaller. Even I did the pujo yesterday!

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  12. TNLJanuary 24, 2007 1:46 PM

    I just love your Saraswati idol..its beautiful.

    Trupti

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  13. Bong MomJanuary 24, 2007 2:39 PM

    Nidhi, Shilpa, Dilip
    I feel joy sharing these traditions with you all

    Mandira
    Ei murti ami last time anlam Kolkata theke. The idol is carved of wood

    Trs
    Thanks yaar, though the pic doesn't do full justice it is a nice murti carved of wood

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  14. swapna susarlaJanuary 24, 2007 4:29 PM

    hi sandeepa..
    nice pooja...good to know aboout ur traditions...

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  15. SriJanuary 24, 2007 5:42 PM

    Good to know about bengali traditions...Happy vasant panchami to you and your fly sandeepa.

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  16. Prema SundarJanuary 24, 2007 8:21 PM

    Yes we celebrate it in october too. nice to know abt ur traditions.and those nariyal ladoos tempt me.

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  17. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2007 9:34 PM

    Love your Saraswathi idol and nice to read about your customs. We celebrate Saraswathi puja during Dusshera. Don't you love how varied our customs are - different rituals by different people but all under one umbrella of Hinduism. Beautiful! :)

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  18. AnonymousJanuary 25, 2007 3:09 AM

    Thank you for sharing with us about this tradition. I truly enjoy learning about it! :)

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  19. Bong MomJanuary 25, 2007 8:29 AM

    Swapna, Sri, Prema, Vani, Sher
    Thanks to all of you. I really thought most of you know about this festival, now that you say it's different for all of you it feels nice sharing :)

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  20. SiaJanuary 25, 2007 2:41 PM

    ahhh sandeepa... that saraswati idol is divine... we too celebrate saraswti pooja in october

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