Thiruvaathira

Today is Thiruvaathira, a very important festival for the Malayalee hindu woman.

My mother is highly dissatisfied with the way tiruvathira is celebrated these days. she still has memories of her childhood when all womenfolk used to wake up as early as 3 AM and go in groups, singing thiruvaathira songs, to bathe in the nearby pond.

back home, they used to get ready to go to the siva temple with offerings of ripe yellow bananas and tender coconuts. Only after the pooja at the temple would they partake of the tender coconut water and bananas.

Once back home, which is usually sometime around 11 AM, as the walk to the temple and back takes a long time, the ladies partake of a meal of Puzhukku, Koova paayasam, pappadam, and bananas. It is done very religiously, after first lighting the nilavilakku or the traditional kerala oil lamp.

afternoons are time for a bit of entertainment when all the ladies come together and dance the thiruvaathirakkali, or make merry on swings tied to the strong branches of suitable trees. it was basically a community get-together, forgetting the daily grind of regular life and was much looked forward to by everyone.

these days, most of the merriment are cut off, and thiruvaathirakkali is mostly restricted to school and college stages, where they are part of a competetion. who on earth wants to wake up at 3 AM??? and where on earth do you find a pond? Community bathing... what an embarassing concept! and above all, who has the time to prepare elaborate dishes like Koova paayasam and Puzhukku, when a whole load of work at office is pending?? these are the popular sentiments one can find today among the younger generation.

but it is indeed gratifying to find that even in the midst of our daily hectic schedules, the average malayalee woman living in kerala, still manages to visit temples, and fasts as per rituals, in their own ways. after all, one should not forget their traditions altogether, isn't it?