Makara Sankranti

Til-gul Ladoo and Haldi Kumum

Sankranti is the transmigration of the sun from one Rashi (zodiac sign) to another.  As the number of rashis is 12, the number of Sankrantis in a calendar year also equals 12.  Sankranti marks the beginning of the calendar month in sidereal solar calendars followed in some Indian states.  Each Sankranti is named after the rashi it enters.

The most celebrated Sankrantis in a year are the Makara Sankranti (January 14/15 - Uttarayan), Mesha Sankranti (April 14/15 Puthandu/Vishu/Bihu/Baisakhi/Poila Boishak), and Mithuna Sankranti (June 14/15 - considered to be the annual menstruating phase of mother earth.)

Makara Sankranti, as its name suggests, marks the transit of the sun into the Makara Rashi (Capricorn) from Dhanu Rashi (Sagittarius).  This transit of the sun marks beginning of Uttarayan which signifies the end of winter and start of longer days in the Northern Hemisphere, when the sun appears to rise from the north.  Mentioned in the vedas, this is one of the oldest recording of equinoxes and solistices.

The thawing of the chilly winter with the welcome warmth of the sun calls for a celebration. Also, the sun ripens the standing crops in the fields across the land  and it is time for farmers to reap the hard-earned gains of their labour! So it is widely celebrated as a harvest festival, in gratitude and as thanksgiving, for keeping pots and granaries overflowing. It’s a fine example of how social customs are connected to the cycle of seasons and economics in our country, of which agriculture forms the backbone.

Bhogi Thali in my home 

In Maharashtra, Makara Sankranti is a three-day long festival.  The first day is celebrated as Bhogi (This coincides with Lohri in Punjab).  On this day, people discard old and derelict things and concentrate on new things, symbolising change or transformation.  A platter or thali called the Bhogi thali (rice, millet rice, sugar halwa (popularly known as tilgul), mixed vegetables, carrots and spring onions served on millet flour flatbread) is offered to God and then shared with neighbours.

Vamsa with Ingredients prepared by my daughter, Shalvi 

On the second day, which is actually Makara Sankranti, earthen pots are filled with  til-gul, chickpea, lima beans, green peas, sugarcane, phobi nut, carrots, and groundnuts and worshipped (it may be noted that all these crops are harvested in this season).  This is known as Vamsa, and represents the family.  The large pots are the adults and tiny pots children.   An offering of puran poli is made to gods.  Later in the evening, people greet each other saying, "तिळगुळ घ्या, गोड बोला (til-gul ghyaa, goad bola)" meaning, ‘Accept sweets and utter sweet words,' and exchange til-gul (sesame-jaggery) as tokens of goodwill. The underlying thought is to forgive and forget the past ill-feelings, resolve conflicts, speak sweetly and remain friends. Married women come together and perform a special 'Haldi-Kumkum' ceremony, where they exchange metal articles of daily use.

Day three is Kinkrant.  According to Vishnu Purana, a demon named Kinkarasura was killed on this day by the Goddess and hence the name; kinkara+anta, meaning the end of Kinkarasura (anta means end).  On this day, bali (sacrifice of life, generally a rooster or a male goat) is offered to the Goddess.

Though the rituals may vary, there are many similarities in the way the festival is celebrated all over India.  The presiding deity is Surya Devta (Sun God).  Common activities include kite flying, consumption of sweets containing sesame seeds, wearing black clothes, and Prayag snan (bathing at the confluence of rivers).  This bath is believed to absolve one of all past sins!  Scientifically, black absorbs heat and thus, black clothes let the the sun's heat pass into the body, aiding further growth (ripening), hence the use of black costumes.

As the South symbolises end/destruction in mythology, the movement of the sun towards the North during Makara Sankranti (Uttarayan) signifies a new beginning.  It symbolizes the awakening of seeds that were dormant during Dakshinayan.  Though not a harvest festival, the rituals across the country signify prosperity; whether it is the overflowing pot of Pongal or the high flying kites.  After braving the cold winter, the farmers worship Sun God to shine on their crops and help them reap the benefits of their labour.  Thus Makara Sankranti signifies hopes for prosperity.

Wishing all our readers, a very happy Sankranti -- may the sun of good fortune smile on you and your families always!

We would love to hear from you. If you liked the post, please do comment and share and subscribe to the blog.

Credits:  I am grateful to Nupur, my dear friend for citing some important points that have been included in the article.

Edit 1:  After reading the blog post, my sister-in-law, Sarita, shared these tempting til-gul ladoos with me.  I have requested her to share the recipe too!  Revisit the blog in a couple of days for the recipe!

 

Edit 2:  Find the recipe here!

In Honour of Swami Vivekananda and Rajmata Jijabai

 

          

                                                        Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)   

                  

                                                 Rajmata Jijabai (1598-1674) with Shivaji

 

On January 12 every year, we celebrate the birth anniversaries of two great Indians whose lives were spent in shaping the history of our country and how it is perceived globally.  One of them, Swami Vivekananda, was a spiritual leader who took Indian religion and philosophy to the western world; the other, Rajmata Jijabai popularly known as Jijau, was the mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha empire, widely credited with having inculcated in him the concept of Swaraj (self-rule).   

Although separated by over 200 years, there were certain common ideals that they lived up to during their lifetimes. Today, leftrightthodasacenter attempts to go off the beaten track to trace these commonalities which Indians, indeed the whole world, can take inspiration from even today.  

In the words of Swami Vivekananda himself, “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it and live in that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success and that is the way to success and that is the way great spiritual giants are produced.” 

Vivekananda’s Absolute was a person’s own higher self; he believed that to labour for the upliftment of humanity was the noblest endeavour. All living beings were an embodiment of God, therefore one served God when one served humanity. Well-versed in the Hindu scriptures, he stressed on the universal and humanistic rather than their ideological and dogmatic aspects. He dedicated his entire life to infuse this belief into Hindu thought. He played a leading role in reviving Hinduism as a unifying force in creating the concept of Indian nationalism as a means of fighting the British. He would go on to introduce Hinduism to the world at the Parliament of the World Religions in Chicago in 1893, referring to the western audiences in his famous speech as his “sisters and brothers of America.”  But it was in his efforts to spread the message of the Bhagvad Geeta, revive Hinduism, address social issues and fight the injustice of colonialism that his one idea transcended the hundreds of years between him and Jijamata, perfectly matching her belief in Swaraj.   

Jijamata, the widow of Shahaji Bhonsle, lived and breathed her husband’s legacy, of unifying Indians through their belief in the Geeta, in the Epics, to establish a righteous nation where there was no injustice. She brought up her son Shivba on this one idea to the total exclusion of all else, like Vivekananda advocated hundreds of years later.  It was her upbringing, her firm, unshakeable belief in religion as a means of service of the less fortunate and securing the rights that they were denied, that sowed the seeds of the great Maratha empire under the banner of her son, Chhatrapati Shivaji who challenged the mighty Mughals on the one hand and the rising power of the British, even after Shivaji was no more.   

Let us not forget what they spent their entire lives to set out before us….again the words of Vivekananda “We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act." 

So what did you think of this post?  Do let us know in the comment section below!

 

Introducing Satabdi Banerjee

From this post onwards, leftrightthodasacenter is accepting book reviews and reviews of independent pieces of writing. You are welcome to send in your written pieces that you wish to have reviewed at left.right.tcenter@gmail.com. So all you talented and enthusiastic writers, please do use this opportunity to realize your literary dreams.

As a first, we reviewed Satabdi Bannerjee’s poem “Quarantine Hopes.”

My days are gloomy balloons

Filling in the unsettled air

Much to anxiety over

How shall I find my way?

The quarantine thoughts

Are imposing sway

In recurrent echoes

I spend the day.

I look at the sky

The clouds floating by

I sit around my window sill

gaze them pass by.

One spring has gone by,

Another is waiting

I comfort myself in my present

Till I leap across tomorrow

I scribble my diary every day

In wait for a longer spring

I promise myself a new day

Where all is merry down the bay

The news the noise

The mundane the voice

All crackle my soundings tonight

As I awake to new dawn now

Filling my gloomy balloons

Eventual as May.

The Review

All of us, including the dictionary, are going to remember 2020 as the year of the Big (-ger than the known) C, which introduced the      word ‘quarantine’ into all the languages of the world, not to mention our beings. 

Satabdi has written this poem about the indelible mark the pandemic has left on our collective psyche, of fear, of “unsettling” doubt about finding our "way out" of the dilemmas that it has imposed on us. 

Titled “Quarantine Hopes,” the poem uses common, everyday sensory imagery, conflicting with its more common usage. For eg, she likens the days of the quarantine period to balloons, an image usually used to express a lightness, the buoyancy of hope, rising high above despondency. But here the ‘gloomy’ balloons are filled with ‘unsettling air’ that creates anxiety. This is an interesting experiment. 

Similarly, “clouds floating by” would commonly denote a carefree, unpredictable whimsicality, but here it suggests a vacant passage of time wherein one spring has been spent gazing at them from her seat on the window sill, waiting for the new dawn. 

As she waits for a day to come when “all is merry down the bay” with routine, mundane news, she is filled with expectations that “crackle” her instincts, filling up her “gloomy balloon” days with all the promises of May. 

For Satabdi, thus hope springs eternal. She scribbles in her diary every day, waiting, comforting herself in the present, sure of making the “leap across tomorrow.”                 

While doing so, she carries her readers along. Having heard the echoes of “quarantine thoughts” in our own lives, we feel grateful for the hope she provides and look forward to the new dawn now. 

So what did you think of it? We would love to hear from you in the comment section.

If Reading is like inhaling and Writing like exhaling -- do readers just inhale and writers just exhale?

Dear Viewers,

Here’s wishing you all a very happy and productive 2021!  Thank you for your continued support and readership of our blog leftrightthodasacenter which you can now view on Facebook also.  We are beginning the New Year on a positive note with a brand new post dedicated to you. It was inspired by Sinchita’s article The Trouble with Authors (which you perhaps read on Facebook, if not, you may read it here) and Ms Gunjan Joshi and Ms Satabdi B Raghani’s comments on the Facebook edition of the same.

Both Ms Joshi and Ms Raghani are authors/writers in their own accord.      

Gunjan Joshi has been a previous contributor to these pages (Read her post ThePursuit of Making Shoes Taking Myriad Shapes).

Going on to the current post then --

Reading and Writing: Two Sides of the Same Page? 

               

“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”

Wrote Omar Khayyam of Fate….but as most readers will agree, it could very well have been about our favourite authors, who have all of us at their mercy.  Nothing we can do can change “even half a Line” in what they write — but the question is do we want them to? Indeed, not only do we not want them to change “even half a Line,” we want them to write more of the same, which all our “Tears wash out (even) a Word.” Such is our helplessness…in fact, even as I write this, I can see myself curled up with my best-loved story, going straightaway to those favourite bits on the already tear-stained pages, that make me smile or weep, and actually smile or wipe away tears though I might have done the very same thing just the last week.  I feel sure that there must be hundreds of such “helpless” people out there, who do just that and, some, emboldened by admitting to the action (like me), do it unashamedly and don’t care what anyone says about it. That is the kind of power authors wield over us.

“If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field/That is for ever England” wrote Rupert Brooke of an English soldier, who dies in a war fought on distant shores far away from England, and lies buried in an unmarked grave in the open fields of that foreign country, that he says will remain “forever England.” There is a similar corner in our heart that is “forever yours” dear authors.  It’s sacrosanct to you; no one else enters there, but you.

And yes, wherever we go your characters come with us, “immortal,” (as Gunjan says) omnipresent, becoming part of our lives; in Sibani's words “blending in beautifully with every living being” we meet….we see shades of them in people, flowers, birds, animals that come our way forever afterwards. They never die because they are invested as Sibani feel, “with a piece of (the writer's) soul and breathe its air.” And particularly when the story is fresh in our minds, as Gunjan would have us believe, they start “dominating” us.  We even "are these people at any given point of time – besides being everything else that we are!" And disentangling ourselves from them becomes "harder and harder" for us too. You (authors) "create their world, but once the story is over, you shift+delete and can never be a part of their journey anymore" (The Trouble with Authors). But unlike you, us “helpless” readers can’t shift+delete ever; we remain part of their journeys forever.

Writing a sequel or a series would make us even more “helplessly” involved with them, I am sure. 

Finally, I would say if “Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it,” (The Trouble with Authors) then  reading a book is like that child having a rebirth? And as many times a book gets read, by the same person or by different people, it has that many rebirths.

What do you think?  I would love to read your views in the comment section.

The Trouble with Authors

A writer’s journey is difficult on different levels. It may be more so for women authors writing fiction! When you start out, it’s easy as a breeze. You’re in control, all-powerful. There’s a whole new world inside your mind. And in this world, there are people whose fates you can determine, who will do what you make them do, who will live and act like you want them to.

Really? NO!

It’s only until you reach the second or third chapter. And then you realize you’re not the one in control; they are! This world and these people are no longer your playthings; they are living, breathing entities that rule your heart and mind. You cannot give them just any story. You have to give them the story they deserve. Then on, it’s a difficult ride. You live their life, think their thoughts, feel their feelings. You laugh with them; you cry with them. And if there are two people on two sides of any spectrum (like it was with Swayam and Mrinmayi from Cadence, Interrupted!), then you are both these people at any given point of time – besides being everything else that you are!

It’s a joyride undoubtedly – and unlike any other – but it gets harder and harder by the end. At least, for me; and I’m not talking about the difficulty of finishing a story (thankfully, I haven’t been there yet).

This is not something I’ve seen many writers share. However, I must confess I’m definitely sad when I put the last period after the last word of a book. It’s like being in the most intimate relationship of your life for months and years, and then suddenly it’s not there. Publishing your work is like ending all activity in your relationship – shift+delete everything - phone numbers, contact details, social media, and then pack your bags and leave the town. Of course, you will remember. These people will remain a part of you forever, but you will not be a part of their journeys anymore. They will continue with their lives in their world – that you created but that is now totally, exclusively theirs.

I don’t know if writing a sequel or a series can take away this desolation, but can an extension replicate the original? Maybe, a writer friend who has written a sequel or a series can enlighten me, or maybe I should write one and find out!

And Truman Capote takes it a notch higher:

“Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it.”

Well, this was just musing I put down on paper after sending my fourth baby out into the world – From the Stars We Stole.

It’s been yours since this Christmas.

Get your copy here

Reviewing From the Stars We Stole, a fabulous book by Sinchita Ganguly

What a story! Aai shapath…sab kuch hai isme – situations ke maare do lovers, family members jo ban gaye dushman, dhokha dene wale dost, badon se samajhdaar bacche, bedroom scenes ……….you name it. Believe it or not……..songs bhi hain! But the story, boss…the story!! That’s where the similarity between this and a phillum ends.  Because this is bilkul hatke without any emosional atyachaar or faltoo bakwas.  One hundred percent punch-packed kahaani.  Ekdum jadoo hai jadoo…….aisa magic hai, jo poorey 2020 mein missing tha.  Absolute page-turner, patakha kahani until you reach The End and then you wish the story had never come to an end. If you ask me, that’s the ONLY tragedy in the story……that it comes to an end. It’s a real challenge to put this book down without finishing the story first.  I’m sure you are thinking kya phenku review hai – Read the story and then kasam se, khoob beetegi jab milenge phenku do do! Aap aur mein!! Fans forever

Find the trailer here

Order the book here

Kolhapuri chutney/dry spice mix

Description

This is a traditional spice mix of Kolhapur.  We Kolhapuris (आम्ही कोल्हापुरी) cannot cook without this spice mix.  This mixture contains most of the spices used in Indian cuisine and one need not add anything else to the recipe after adding this.  Kolhapuri rassa and sukka recipes are incomplete without Kolhapuri chutney.  Local Kolhapuri people generally prepare this in large quantities (5-6 kg of chillies which yields about 10-12 kg of chutney) in the summer and store it in large china containers.  The chillies and spices are pounded (not ground in a flour mill).  The pounding gives a distinct flavour to the chillies.  My mother-in-law used to own a pounding machine that she operated in a room attached to the house.  The aroma of the chutney floating through the house during the summer months was mesmerising.  Today, I am bringing to you a recipe she taught me that has been graded down and can be prepared at home.

Ingredients:

Red chilli powder - 500 gm

Refined cooking oil - 1/2 L (approx)

Rock salt - 500 gm

Dry coconut - 150 gm

Ingredients for dry roasting:

Coriander seeds (dhaniya) 75 g

White sesame seeds (til) - 75 g

Ingredients to be roasted in a generous amount of oil

Bay leaves (tamalpatri) - 5-10

Black pepper  (kali mirch) - 3-4 (if you do not like it too spicy, skip)

Cloves (laung) - 8-10

Cinnamon (dalchini) - two 2-inch pieces

Black cardamom (kali elaichi)- 5

Green cardamom (hari elaichi)- 8-10

Star anise (Badam phool ) - 2

Mace (Jaipatri)- 2 (also called Ram patri or Ram phool)

Tailed pepper (nakeshwar) - 1 tsp

Asafetida (hing) - 1/2 cube (usually 1 inch x 1 inch)

Turmeric stick (halkund) - 3

Nutmeg (Jaiphal) - 1/2

Black stone flower (dagadful) - one pinch

Mustard seeds - 2 tsp.

Onions - 250 gm

Ingredients to be added raw

Garlic - 100 gm (peeled)

Ginger - 100 gm (washed and skinned)

Coriander leaves (washed, dried and chopped) - 1 cup

Cumin seeds (jeera) - 75 g

Black cumin seeds (shahjeera) - 1 tsp

Method:

1.  Peel and slice the ginger, peel the garlic, peel and chop the onions, slice the dry coconut in thin slices.

2.  In a pan, dry roast sesame seeds until they splutter.  Set aside.

3.  Dry roast the coriander seeds till the aroma is liberated.  Set aside in a separate plate.

4.  Ensure the rock salt is absolutely dry (you can dry it out in the sun or roast in a pan).

5.  Check your cumin seeds.  If they are not very crisp (usually happens in cloudy weather/monsoon) warm them up for a couple of minutes in the pan.

6.  Heat approx 100 ml of oil in the pan.  Roast the dry coconut till golden brown in colour.  Remove from oil and set aside.

7.  In the same pan, add in some more oil and roast each of the ingredients under the heading " Ingredients To Be Roasted In A Generous Amount Of Oil" (excluding onions) one by one in the order they are listed.  Add in oil as needed.  You can collect all of the oil-roasted ingredients in the same container. 

8.  Add in rest of the oil and roast the onions on a low flame till golden brown.

9.  Let all the ingredients cool down.

10.  In a mixer grinder, finely grind all the coriander seeds.  Run the powder through a sieve.  If there is too much residue in the sieve, grind again with some salt.  Run through the sieve again.

11.  Grind the sesame seeds with a handful of salt to a fine powder.

12.  Grind the dry coconut slices finely with some salt.

13.   Grind the oil-roasted spices (add in the cumin seeds) finely with some salt.

14.  Drain oil from onion.  Grind the mixture of oil, garlic, ginger, and coriander leaves with all the remaining salt to a fine paste.  DO NOT ADD ANY WATER.

15.  In a large bowl, add in the chilli powder, coriander powder, sesame powder, dry coconut powder, and all the ground spices including the ginger/garlic/onion/coriander paste and mix uniformly.  Add in the oil drained from the roasted onions and mix again.  Cover with a clean fabric and set aside to cool down for 10-12 hours.  Store in an airtight container.  Stays well for over a year.

Tips

• Adding salt while grinding helps to make a fine powder or paste of the ingredients without having to add water. 
• When using this spice mix in your daily cooking, skip salt or add minimum salt after tasting.  You will get an idea of the amount of salt needed after cooking a couple of times.
• Do not store the mix in a metal container as the salt will corrode the metal.  Ideally, it is stored in chinaware, but Tupperware or food-grade airtight plastic containers should also do.