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Sri Rama Navami

Sri Rama Navami 27-03-2007

SRI RAMNAVAMI, as we all know, is celebrated on Chaitra maasa Sukla paksha Navami thithi. This year it was celebrated on 27th March. The celebrations start on Ugadi day and culminate on the ninth day with Sita Kalyanam.

Vijaya and I had the fortune of going to HOSUR this year (27 March 2007) on this auspicious day of Sri Ramnavami and take part in the celebrations. This blog is all about that. Savithri and about 20 families of the TNHB quarters join together for such celebrations.

Every year they celebrate Sri Ramnavami for nine days with devotion, dedication, and bhakti - with Rama nama parayanam, chanting of slokas, singing of bhajans etc. Till last year (2006) they used to celebrate each day's function in a different house daily.This year luckily they had obtained a small place (garage) in one house and thus the celebrations were performed in one single location daily. Hopefully by next year they would get a larger place.

On Sri Ramnavami day they all gathered there by 9 AM - we three joined them later - and the Pandit started the proceedings. This went on for nearly 4 hours. Paanakam and Neermore were distributed in ample quantity. Each family had brought lots of flowers, fruits and other items for Poojai. And, each family had prepared one item or two for Neivedyam and Lunch.

It was a mega get-together ! As Savithri had prepared Saadam on the previous days, she prepared Mysore Pak, Vadam, Vazhaikkai varuval, and urugai today. Some one brought Puliyodharai (very tasty), someone Thengai sadam, and someone Elumichampazha Sadam, someone else Thayir Sadam.There was Rava kesari, Laddu, Sakkarai pongal, Mysore Pak, and burfi and Payasam; aviyal, kosumbari, pazha pachadi, vazhaikkai varuval, two varieties of Sundal, Vadam, vazhai pazham, urugai (I hope I have covered all the items). Someone had brought 100 vazhai Ilai, someone a huge vazhai pazha thar, someone else 100 thengais.There were about 70 people, including us two, who ate. The lunch was served inside the house.

It was a great day and it clearly underscored our Hindu Dharma's tenets that Bhakti and Annadhanam go hand in hand. I was simply amazed to see these elderly women (some of them single) getting up early in the morning, taking pains to prepare food, bring it to the site, do poojai, serve the food to others and then eat in the very last if anything was left ! (In fact, Savithri didn't have anything to eat at 3 PM, a pity.)

Hats off to Savithri and other elderly women / men on their dedication, devotion.Thank you Savithri for such a sublime experience. God Bless you and others.

Rajappa.
12.00 noon on 30 March 2007

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