Our festivals coincide with the agricultural cycle and rightfully then after the long summer pause the Rain Gods bless the parched earth to prepare it to receive the seeds of the new crop. “Dhaan” is dhan, “dhaan” is auspicious therefore the appellation to green as “dhaani rang” . A new bride is welcomed bedecked with flowers against the backdrop of grey monsoon clouds and rain. This is the season when the Rajasthani all-time favorite ‘ghewar’ is at the top of the favorite charts to be consumed in all its sweetness and sometimes malai.
Rakhi Purnima is just weeks later, on the full moon night of August, in fact that is the day the Amarnath Yatra concludes. No celebration is complete without the ubiquitous ‘kuch meeta ho jaye”. The sweet shops are laden with traditional mithai but innovations are aplenty in a host of new colors visible across the counters. But no longer are choices limited to all that is traditional: we have come a long long way…the confectioners of earlier days have given way to patisseries, confisseurs , chocolatiers, home bakers and candy makers too. The variety is culled from across the globe. This season is truly a feast for the eyes and taste buds.
Within a few days of Rakhi, Janamashtami arrives and we celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna. My first memories of Janamashtami were in 1974 when I first saw young children making ‘jhankis” – hand-painted terracotta fiI made my ovgures depicting the birth and life of Lord Krishna. From the following year I began to construct my own and continued to do so for long, encouraging young children to either make their own or participate with me. Flowers, sweets, prayers, Gita recitation and a tug to the swing in which Baby Krishna is placed are the tributes of the day. The Sri Krishna Mandir in A2 Safdarjang Enclave is a quiet space for meditation on Janamashtami.
