Festivals and Festivities

 Dear Reader

I wish each one of you a belated auspicious and happy Navaratri. I did not intend to write this post today; I wanted to share my experiences visiting forts and palaces! Vijayadashami—the tenth day is the day of victory of the good against evil. The famous Mysore Dasara Procession was telecast live on television. I watched the procession live after a long time. I usually avoid it only because it makes me so much more nostalgic for the years I spent in Mysore. While growing up, watching the Dasara procession was a family ritual followed meticulously every year until we just outgrew it. Years later, as a mother of two children, I would ensure that this family ritual continued as though this was an imperative part of the traditional upbringing! And for the most part, every year there is something unique to see and create an experience that binds me stronger to my roots. 

    I did wonder why is it that we reach out to traditions that we grew out of and left behind? This is my understanding of why reach back: as we grow up and move out of the city of our birth to create a place for ourselves in this world, make a mark to leave behind--like a pug mark, some of the things just wither and fall off--like our taste for food changes, we make new friends-very different from the kind of friends we had at school or college, our lifestyle changes etc. As we settle into family life, we uncover or rediscover some things that we had thought we had outgrown--like traditions and rituals. Yeah, exactly those we had laughed at, growled at or even discarded--suddenly acquire a new dimension. Not because we are wise now or have gone back to being foolish 😁😁  possibly, it's just how we realise it helps to keep us connected with ourselves--these traditions are like the lighthouse that keeps us safe and helps us reach the shore. Personally, this is how  Dasara makes me feel💓--alive, rooted to myself with all the many changes I have made to myself consciously, unconsciously, willingly and of course forcibly as well. Dear Reader, I am sure you have a festival, a celebration that nourishes you. If you feel like it, please share in the comments below.

 Some information about Dasara as celebrated in Mysore and by Mysoreans:    

  Across India, the ten days of Sharad ritu (Ritu is the Sanskrit word for 'season'; 'Sharad' is autumn) celebrate the Pure Feminine Energy as the Creator of the Universe in all its aspects. Goddess Lalitha is the protector, destroyer and preserver of life in her varied forms. Women and men keep fast and observe austerities to welcome auspiciousness into every day. 

 However, in Mysore, the erstwhile capital city of the Wodeyars, Dasara popular as 'Gombe Habba' or The Festival of Dolls is also the State Festival. The Goddess Chamundeshwari is worshipped for destroying the demon 'Mahishasura' on the tenth day. This procession was initiated in Mysore by Wodeyars inspired by the Vijayanagara Empire which similarly held annual celebrations. Thus the Dasara procession was an opportunity for artisans to sell their artifacts and artists-musicians and dancers were invited, recognised and honoured by the King. So, the celebration had socio-cultural significance. It was also marked by a display of the strength of their army and appreciation of the contribution of soldiers in keeping the boundaries safe.      

  At home, it is celebrated as Bombe Habba. Most families inherit a pair of 'pattadabombe' or dolls decorated as the King and Queen made from wood, decorated beautifully with silk cloth. And each generation adds dolls made of clay or wood to this legacy. For most families, the festivities begin on the first day-Padya by arranging all the dolls. If the treasure chest of dolls is huge, as sometimes it is, takes at least a few hours to arrange them thematically. The dolls range from Rama, Krishna, and Sages to simple dolls like women carrying pots on their heads, birds and animals. If the children are adventurous and like to see their toys on the shelf, their aeroplanes, soft toys, cars, spiderman and Batman may also find a place in this festival arrangement of dolls.  

This festival fosters a strong sense of community in growing up children. Children during the ten days are specially invited home and minuscule sweets and savoury dishes are made for them. All this has changed for the children in the present fast-paced techno-savvy city life, this is a sweet memory that enabled the continuance of a strong sense of community for years to come. 

And when I look around, though all this is missing to a large extent, I sense in many ways we continue to be a community-based people and not yet a civil society. That's one reason why we don't feel the need to call and go visit our relatives or friends. There still lingers, very lightly, a sense of the community life that was fostered in us a generation ago. I hope and wish, though the paraphernalia of our social and cultural life has changed so much, even if magically, I hope the beacon of light from the lighthouse of tradition keeps beaming!!         

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