We celebrate the Festival of Light on a new moon autumn night that falls on the Hindu month of Kartik to drive the darkness away. Anything that is dark is somehow associated with evil in our culture. We light lamps or diyas on Deepavali to celebrate the victory of … Continue reading Light and Darkness
Category: Heritage & Festivities
The earthy sweetness of Poush Sankranti
Malpoa & dudh puli from Swadhinata'a kitchen There’s a price that we pay for city living, losing out on our traditional festivals being one. I remember Poush Sankranti as an important occasion growing up. Mom and my grandmother would get up early, take bath and … Continue reading The earthy sweetness of Poush Sankranti
Chhath Puja – the desi Thanksgiving! With inputs from Puja
Puja celebrating Chhath To me, for a long time, Chhath was a religious festival largely celebrated in Bihar, they worshipped Sun, had something to do with river, as I would see a lot of people walking to Yamuna on those days. I didn’t know much … Continue reading Chhath Puja – the desi Thanksgiving! With inputs from Puja
Festive fun with COVID twist!
Aoshtomi fun on Titas's terrace garden The festivities arrived with the cool autumn breeze, clear blue sky and Corona Virus still hanging in the air. The fact that there would be no pandal hopping this year did dampen my spirit initially. But surprisingly this Pujo … Continue reading Festive fun with COVID twist!
Mahalaya
By Heema Roy Choudhury Mahalaya is widely celebrated as the day when Goddess Durga begins her descend to earth, to grace us with her presence for those five much awaited days of Durga Pujo. As a girl I would wake up in the wee hours … Continue reading Mahalaya
A novel twist to the desi New Years
It’s New Year time, I mean time for desi New Year Celebrations. Be it Baisakhi in Punjab, Bihu in Assam, Noboborsho in Bengal or Vishu in Kerala, most regions in India usher in New Year mid-April, sometime between 13th to 15th April. These days are significant for each community marked with new purchases, feasting and … Continue reading A novel twist to the desi New Years
Colours of life!
There’s a reason why we hail spring, why it’s so widely celebrated, odes written about its youthful exuberance. Spring is the season of hope, it’s all about celebrating rebirth or rejuvenation. Spring celebrates life. The fresh green leaves shooting out of branch browned by harsh … Continue reading Colours of life!