Aadi 18-aam Peruku - Celebrating water flow in the river Cauvery!

Aadi Peruku is a festival celebrated in the state of Tamizh Nadu on 18th day of the tamizh month Aadi (Sanskrit : Ashada) and Peruku means 'rising water flow' in the Cauvery river. Hence it is also known as "Aadi Padhinettam Peruku". Padhinettam in tamizh means 18th day.

Monsoon of the season brings more water in the river Cauvery thus making it overflow, bringing fertile agricultural opportunities along with it. This festival is celebrated as a thanks giving to mother nature (monsoon) as rivers as a water source is the lifeline of farmers. This tradition shows how our ancestors lived close to the nature, respecting, conserving and worshipping Nature and also offer thanks giving.

The "Dakshinayana Punya kalam" (The night of devas) starts when Sun starts travelling towards southern direction and the first month is Aadi. This is the month when farmers sow seeds in their fields. There is a saying in tamizh "Aadi Pattam Thedi vidhai". Thus the Farmers eagerly look forward to this season, hence they come to the river bank for pooja and celebration of this season on this auspicious day.

Image courtesy : Google search

Life's priority changed and farming got restricted to villages, corporates opened up careers in the city, people moved. Thus the City dwellers who don't want to give up that tradition, celebrate it at home  in their own way... at home, near river banks, near lake, near pond and on the beaches.

There are many Triveni Sangam in our country Bharath. In Tamil Nadu, the Triveni Sangam in Erode is important and is a confluence of 3 rivers, the Cauvery, Bhavani and Amudha. Of these three, the river Amudha is invisible and is believed to flow underground and join the other two rivers from below.  This Triveni Sangam us called as "Kooduthurai" (in Tamizh) (sangam), where the famous Sangameshwarar temple is located. Special poojas are conducted in the temple on 18th day of Aadi month (Tamil ashada month).

Rivers are celebrated as female deties - like a mother. So the word 'Amman'  is attached to the river goddess thus they are addressed as Gangai Amman, Cauvery Amman etc... This shows how our ancestors followed the Sanathana Dharma and gave a lady an important & respectable status ; Elevating her to a motherly goddess position.

This year Aadi Peruku falls on 03rd August 2018. Hence I decided to write a brief post on this festival.

People visits the River near them, makes variety rices takes it along with them. Do pooja and eat the rice there sitting together.

Every community and family has a way to celebrate it as per their edler's advice. I am sharing few common and simple things which can be followed in the busy life schedule.

If you are going to do a pooja, do it at the 'auspicious hour' [Nalla Neram] mentioned in the Panchang / calendar, for the day.

Place a small pot or bowl filled with water and place a flower on it. Place Haldi and Kumkum (manjal kungumam).

5 types of Variety rices are prepared to be offered as Neivedhyam along with Milk Kheer [Pal Payasam]. All of them or whatever possible can also be made and offered.  If no time, then offer a fruit or sugar candy or raisins.

1. Lemon Rice
2. Coconut Rice
3. Tamarind Rice
4. Curd Rice
5. Jaggery Rice (Sakkara pongal or Vella payasam)

Sloka :- whatever slokas you know can be offered. 

Thank the God that our land should be blessed with sufficient Rains, make the Land fertile, help Farmers raise healthy crops without loss and may the land and the people prosper.

Let us come close to Mother Nature and celebrate it in simple way at least at our home. If you cannot make variety rices, just offer Fruits and Flowers to the God.

Sharing with you some songs that comes to my mind when I think of river Cauvery. If you know Tamizh, you can enjoy the lyrics which especially for the first song.

The following song is about Aadi Peruku festival sung by P. Susheela for a Tamil film.

Another sweet film song based on raga Hamsadhwani and Mohana by Maestro Ilayaraja.....

May the rain god bless us with good rains so that rivers, land and people prosper!

Lokah Samasthah Sukinah Bhavanthu 🌸🙏🏻🌸

Rahu Kala Pooja

Jai Ma Ambe!

Any obstacles or suffering that we go through the life is due to our karma of previous birth. Navagrahas just perform their duty. They are very sweet enough to bless us provided we sincerely pray to them and to the supreme god that they prayed to.  Through the sincere prayers we can request to minimise or remove those obstacles from our life's journey and make it more pleasant.

Today thought of sharing the pooja that I do during Rahu Kala at home. May it benefit those who would like to do it at their place. Those who go through Rahu Dasha and those who just want to pray to Goddess on her special day can do this and get benefitted.

Rahu Bhagawan

Rahu and Ketu are Chaya Grahas. There is no particular day that is devoted for them unlike the other planets viz Surya (Sunday), Moon (Monday), Mangal (Tuesday), Budh (Wednesday), Guru (Thursday), Shukra (Friday), Shani (Saturday). Hence everyday 1.5 hours is ruled by Rahu Bhagwan hence known as Rahu Kaal (Rahu Kalam). 

Rahu Kalam - 1.5 hours of duration per day. This varies with each day is allocated for Rahu

Yama Gantam - 1.5 hours of duration per day. This varies with each day is allocated for Ketu.

No auspicious work is done during Rahu Kal and Yama Gantam. If some important thing couldn't be postponed or cancelled, then the Vedic astrologers generally advise to start the work before the rahu kal or yama gantam starts on that particular day.

Why to pray to Ma Durga! :-

Jai Ma Durge!

We should pray to Goddess Durga during rahu Kal as she is the protector from all evils. Amongst the Navagrahas, Rahu is more devoted to Ma Durga.  The divine mother's grace cannot be described in words. Her blessings are abundant and like a mother, she comes to protect us from all evils.  Durga stands for the unified symbol of all divine forces; Strength, Morality, Power, Protector. 

Friday and Tuesday are considered auspicious for Devi Pooja. Hence, It is good to offer prayers to her on those days especially during the Rahu Kal that falls on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.

Tuesday (3.00 pm to 4.30 pm) 

Friday (10.30 am to 12.00 pm)

Sunday (4.30 pm to 6.00 pm)

So, those who work, if they cannot afford time on any other day, can offer prayers to her in the Rahu Kal on Sunday.

Briefly about the Pooja :-

For any prayer or pooja, if we do Sharanagathi (total surrender at the lotus feet of god / goddess), our sincere prayers will be answered. This I am telling from my personal experience. Having that connect with the god, Trusting him, feeling his presence and enjoying that bliss is an Experience which cannot be described by words. It is a Bhakti Bhav. All our saints did that and tried to shows us also the same path. To help you initially, you can try to remember the goddess picture, slowly convert that into a physical presence and then feel the divine grace... picturising the lotus feet and surrending all our worries, happiness.... this is how we can train our mind to establish that connect with the supreme power!

Whatever we hear, good or bad, just chant the nama viz., 'Om Namo Narayananaya' / Om Namashivaya / Jai Ma Ambe / Jai Ma Durge etc.... and offer that experience at the lotus feet. This calms down our mind... will try to write a detailed post on this later.

Lighting a Lamp :- you can use brass or eathern lamps for this purpose. Earthern Lamps are always considered bringing in  more prosperity and please goddess.

Oil :-   Different oil has their own goodness. They purify the air. Brings in lot of psoitive vibes. Lighting the lamp is considered sacred and auspicious. Sesame oil is the most commonly used oil for lighting lamps. Apart from this, Cow's Ghee, Castor oil, Neem Oil, Mahua Oil are also used for lighting lamps. But for this pooja, We will use only cow's ghee or sesame oil. 

After lighting the Diya offer red flowers (if available)  and do a Namsakaram (Panchanga namaskaram in case of ladies). 

Prayer Slokas :- then we Offer prayers. We always start any pooja by chanting ganesh mantra. It will take time to get used to chanting all the slokas during Rahu Kal. So Initially you can recite the first 09 slokas from the list below during Rahu Kal and the remaining (those who know tamizh) can be chanted during morning or the evening hours. THe intention is to spend that time praying to Ma Durga.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You will need

1. White rangoli powder / wet rice batter to make a small rangoli
2. A "Aasan" / " Palagai" - a wooden platform to keep the Lamp
3. Lamp (Brass or Earthern) - 1 No.
4. Cotton wicks - 2 nos.
5. Sesame oil - 1/2 cup
6. Flowers (specially red color)
7. Dhoop / Agarbati 
8. Match box to light the lamp
9. A Brass or copper plate to place the lamp
10. Slokas (giving below what I recite) :- The intention is to spend that rahu kala, praying to Durga Ma. You can google for these mantras. 

• Ganesh Gayatri and Ganesh Mantra ( that you know) - (Sanskrit)
• Durga Dyana Mantram (Sanskrit)
• Durga Gayatri (Sanskrit)
• Durga Pancharatnam (Sanskrit)
• Durga Saptasloki (Sanskrit)
• Mahishasura Mardini Stotram (Sanskrit)
• Durga Kavacham (Sanskrit)
• Sri NavaMangali Stotram (Sanskrit)
• Sri Durga Abhaduttarashtakam (Sanskrit)
• Lalitha Sahasranamam (Sanskrit)
• Mangala Chandika Stotra (Sanskrit) (to be recited on Tuesday - continuous for 9 tuesdays) and you can continue it without count as well.
• Slokas from Devi Bhagavatham (Sanskrit)
• Devi Paadam (Tamizh)
• Sri Rahu Kala Durga Ashtakam (Tamizh)
• Sri Dukkha Nivarana Ashtagam (Tamizh)
• Thiruvilakku Slokam
• Charana Slokam (Given at the end)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pooja Vidhi :-

• Draw a rangoli where you will be lighting the lamp and doing pooja.
• Place the Aasan / Palagai / Manai over the Rangoli.
• Light the regular oil lamp (that you light everyday) before the Rahu Kal Starts. You can use sesame oil or ghee for this lamp. You can either place this on a separate "Aasan" / Wooden platform (palagai in tamizh) after putting a small rangoli on the floor where we will be doing pooja (Facing east or west).  You can even place Goddess Durgas's photo on this "Aasan" if you have.. Do a Namaskara.

• Red color flowers are more auspicious for this pooja viz., Hibiscus (Chembaruthi), Red Rose, Red color Kasi Thumbai (Red Balsam), etc If you are not able to get red colour flower, you can use any other flower that is used for pooja. If no flower is available, just offer your sincere prayers as flower on her lotus feet. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Any pooja starts by praying to Ganeshji who is a vignaharta and pray that the pooja should go on well without any hindarance. Take a flower or some petals and chant the ganesh mantra and then offer it at the base of the lamp.

"Om Gam Ganapathaye Nama :"

Then.....

Om Gajaananam Bhoota Ganaadi Sevitam

Kapittha Jambuu phalasaara bhakshitam

Umaasutam Shoka Vinaasha kaaranam

Namaami Vighneshwara paada pankajam

Take a flower or some petals and chant the Durga Dyana mantra and then offer it at the base of the lamp.

TAM AGNI VARNAM TAPASA JWALANTIM.VAIROCHANIM KARMA PHALESHU JUSHTAM.

DURGAM DEVIM SHARANAM AHAM PRAPADYE.SUTARASI TARASE NAMAH..

.meaning-I seek that Durga as my refuge,the goddess who is of the colour of flame,who blazes forth with her power,who is the consort of the self-luminous Lord,and who is worshipped by devotees for obtaining the fruits of actions,this obeisance be to you,O excellent boat for taking one taking one across to salvation.

likewise do recite the slokas and then offer the flower.

After chanting all the slokas, Do a namaskara. 

When we chant sanskrit slokas, there is a possibility that we may pronounce it wrongly due to printing error etc...  So do a Devi Kshama Prarthana (Please google for it).

Sarva Mangala Maangalye Shive Sarvaartha Saadhikhe

Sharanye Tryambake Devi Naarayanee Namostute

Aayur Dehi, Dhanam Dehi, 
Vidhyam Dehi, Maheswari. 
Samastha MakhilAm Dehi, 
Dehimey Parameshwari

आयुर्देहि धनम् देहि विद्यां देहि महेश्र्वरी

समस्तमखिलां देहि देहि मे परमेश्र्वरी

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu!🌺🙏🌺

Jai Ma Durge! 🌺🙏🌺

Bell Pepper / Capsicum Soup

Bell Pepper or Capsicum can be consumed raw or cooked. It adds a unique flavour and color to a dish to which is added. They come in variety of colors.  

Bell Peppers are rich in Vitmain C and is a low calorie vegetable.

How to select :-  Bell Pepper / Capsicum - Should be blemish free, firm.  The bottom part differs in bell pepper. Some has 3 bumps and some has 4 bumps. The Bell Peppers with 4 Bumps will be little sweet and hence suitable for use in Salads. Bell Peppers with 3 Bumps are suitable for cooking.

Today sharing a soup recipe using the Bell Peppers or Capsicum. You can use a mix of yellow, red and green or you can use any one of them in this recipe as per your choice or it's availability.

This is a nice, satisfying and lightly creamy recipe as we will be adding little fresh cream.

You will need :-

1. Bell Peppers of your choice - 2 Nos. (diced)
2. Onion (big) - 1 No. (diced)
3. Tomato - 1/2 a tomato or 1 small  (Diced)
4. Oil - 4 tsp
5. Salt to taste
6. Crushed Black Pepper - 1/4 tsp  or as preferred
7. Water - 2 cups
8. Fresh cream - 2 tbsp

Procedure :-

1. Heat Oil and saute the diced onions. 
2. Add diced Bell Peppers (Capsicums) and tomato, saute for a minute on high flame.
3. Bring it to room temperature
4. Grind it to a coarse paste (not fine) adding salt
5. Add the crushed black pepper and heat it
6. Switch off the flame and add 2 tbsps of fresh cream
7. Serve it hot!

Relax and enjoy the yummy Bell Pepper Soup.

Vegetable Rava Upma

Vegetables when added to Upma not only makes it look colorful but also healthy.  I have shared a regular & simple version of Upma recipe. Vegetable upma also uses the same recipe and ratios with only few additions in the ingredients.

Upma making is so easy if you take care of few things.. rava should be roasted, ratio of water to rava , right amount of oil and the consistency to which it need to be cooked. You will get perfect upma every time.

1. Rava - 1 Cup (roasted)
2. Beans - 7 Nos. - finely chopped
3. Carrot - 1 small - finely chopped
4. Onion - 1 no. - finely chopped
5. Tomato - 1 no. - finely chopped
6. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
7. Ginger - 1" piece - finely chopped
8. Green chillies - 2 nos. - finely chopped
9. Oil - 3 tbsp
10. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
11. Channa dal - 1/2 tp
12. Water - 2.5 cups
13. Salt to taste

• Heat a wok, Add the oil. when it is hot, add mustard seeds. When they start crackling, add channa dal and fry till it turns golden in color.
• Add Chopped Onions, curry leaves, green chillies and fry till onion turns translucent.
• Add the vegetables, Tomato and fry for a minute.
• Add water and salt, bring to boil
• When vegetables are partially cooked, start adding rava slowly while stirring it to avoid lumps.
• once they all mixed well and solidified, cover it with a lid and leave in low flame for two minutes.
• Turn off the gas.
• Delicious healthy Rava Upma is ready!