FESTIVALS:reminiscing dhanurmasam!

[Guest guest]

After hurriedly making pongal while reciting thiruppavai, I got ready

to go to work. I pulled up my snow boots, buttoned my

coat, threw an old scarf around my neck, and adjusted my gloves, ready

to tackle the 40 mile drive to work on a cold icy morning. I glanced

at

the rear-view mirror, and sighed, thinking back to my mornings back

home, and my these cherished came alive...

 

The start of the day ...

The usual wake up calls are heard around 5:00 am. A folk song in

kannada is heard from a distance, as if in a dream. It is sung by

someone on his bullock cart, going to Hebbal via Vyalikaval, where I

lived in Bangalore. The bells in the bullocks neck would make a

rythmic

jingle, accompanying his song! After a while the bells would become

very loud, this time accompanied by a calf's "ambaaa, ambaaa." Next it

would be our milkman, who would knock on the door, as he had done

every

day. he would announce that he was ready to milk the cow and we

should

see that the bucket was empty, to show that he was not adding any

water.

The simple milkman would milk the cow, and we could hear the milk from

the cow's udder hitting the bottom of the bucket, proclaiming his

honesty! My mother would go out with the pathram, touch the cow's

forehead, touch her eyes, take the pathra inside, and saying

Srikrishnaparamathma's name, start off the daily chores.

 

Dhanurmasam Mornings...

 

Dhanurmasam was extremely special and auspicious. We would wake up to

these beautiful, melodious bhajans and songs rendered by a group of

devotees walking in the street early in the morning! I would wake up

with this festive 'sadagara', and go through the morning chores,

all the time hearing a sloka or the thiruppavai from my

father, mother, and my sister from all parts of the house.

Next door, we had the good fortune of having this Ayyangar "thatha"

who said thiruppavai in a booming voice! Then I would get

ready to go to work. I worked at State Bank Of Mysore, Vyalikaval

branch, which was a 'ladies branch', a stone's throw away from my

home.

But it would take me a while to get there because every couple

of steps some one would say, 'Don't forget thiruppavai today

in ramamandir,' or 'There is a discourse in the kovil' or 'There

is a puja in so and so's house.' I would stop and say, 'Oh how nice!

Yes

I will be there' and so on. As I neared the bank, the suvasana

from the agarbatti would come wafting out of the branch to greet me

as they just finished doing puja to the laxmi patam. Well, the best

part

was that the majority of us at the bank were ayyangars, including the

manager, Usha Sunderraj. So the branch would be filled

with the 'swish swish' of the kanjeevaram sarees in a myriad of

colors,

the strong, but pleasant smell of 'mallige' in our hair, and the 'khan

khan' of the bangles as they danced on our wrists! The customers would

come in and greet us with big smiles and say " Oh wow! did I just walk

into a Maduve Mane? (wedding choultry)"! They would all wish us a

happy

Dhanurmasam; most north Indians and others knew it as only the

Ayyangar's special month!

My branch timings were from 9:00-1:00 and 3:00-7:00, so we had plenty

of time to go home, enjoy a pandige meal (invite non ayyangar freinds

to

lunch) and even take a nap before going back. In the evenings, I would

rush back home and go to different thiruppavai functions. At the

Venugopalaswamy temple in Malleshwaram, all through the month there

would be special events. There would be wonderful alankarams and

sevais.

If I close my eyes I can still see Krishnar adorned in blue velvet

with

shiny pearls and gold work. And Andal thaayar in yellow and green 9

yards saree!! I just want to keep my eyes closed and relive those

memories forever!

 

Oh well, anyway, all these wonderful memories, and listening and

reciting Vishnu Sahasranamam, took me (and Bheema, my mazda van!)

through the 40 mile drive effortlessly! Here at work, between my long

ADA compilations, I read my mail and see Sri Sadagopan's wonderful

dhanurmasam postings. I get so engrossed in and inspired by all the

vivid descriptions that I get through the rest of the day

with the same enthusiasm as I did at the bank back home; even though

the

'Swish' is not the Kanjeevaram saree, but the sleet and the slush!!

 

Thanks to Sri Sadagopan and Sri Mani and ALL of you learned

Bhagavathothamas for bringing such divine feelings from your postings

in

our otherwise daily mundane routines!

 

I Wish you all a very Happy Pongal and may we always be blessed by

the

Divya Dampathis kripa kataksham!!

 

Regards

Indira