Kashmiri culture
Pann: The Kashmiri Pandit Version of Ganesh Chaturthi
Vinayak Chaturthi is special in many ways. First, it signifies the onset of the festive season in India. Second, the cute little elephant-headed god is everyone’s favourite. Well, almost everyone’s. Third, who doesn’t like modaks, the favourite sweet of Lord Ganesha? :)
Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on the fourth day of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada (‘Bhado maah’, as it’s called in my mother tongue, Assamese). According to Hindu mythology, the day celebrates the arrival of Ganesha from Kailash parvat (mountain) to Earth with his mother, Goddess Parvati. Although the day is celebrated with much fanfare in almost all Indian states, the excitement and fervour in Maharashtra is different level altogether.
People bring home idols of the elephant god with much celebration and fanfare and keep it in their homes for 10 days, after which the idol is given a farewell amidst processions of drum beats, singing and dancing, before it is finally immersed.
Beeb Garabh Maej
Kashmiri Pandits, however, dedicate Vinayak Chaturthi to a different deity — Beeb Garab Maej. The word ‘maej’ in Kashmiri translates to ‘mother’. Beeb Garab Maej comes from the name of two goddesses — Vibha and Garbha. The origin of Pann pooza, as Kashmiris call it, stems from agriculture. The day is associated with the spinning of newly produced cotton (pann). A long cotton thread (denoting the pann) is tied to the neck of an earthern pot and a handful of runner grass (‘dubori bon’ in Assamese) is also kept on a plate.
The day begins by cleaning the kitchen and the area where the puja is performed. I usually decorate the space with flowers and garlands. Last year, my mother-in-law told me that it was auspicious to make Haridra Ganapati (one of the 32 forms of Ganesha). Haridra Ganapati is depicted by the colour yellow. I had never made an idol before but wanted to give it a try. So with the use of some dough, turmeric and food colour, I made a small Haridra Ganapati.
Roth: The smell of ghee says it all
The main prasad offered to Beeb Garab Maej is roth. It’s a sweet, hard flatbread made from a mixture of wheat flour, ghee (clarified butter), sugar and cardamom. While some roth is made specially for the deity, the remaining roth is distributed as prasad among family and friends. From what I have learnt from my mother-in-law, every family has a set measure of how much flour to use in the dough to make roths for the deity, the same measure being used generations after generations in the family. However, the measure of the flour to make roths for distribution can differ.
I have fond memories of making roths with my mother-in-law. She would knead the dough, roll it and fry it in a wokful of pure desi ghee, and I would take it out and sprinkle poppy seeds on it, all the while listening to Kashmiri bhajans on the phone.
I make modaks too as it’s believed to be Ganesha’s favourite sweet. So yes, Vinayak Chaturthi is loaded with sweet treats and calories! But hey, this day comes only once a year, right? So why not indulge? You can always exercise later :)
The women usually wear new clothes on pann, at least the women of our house do. We also wear an athoor as it is an auspicious day. (I write more about the athoor here). Once dressed up, the women greet each other by saying, ‘Chhayakh chhui’, roughly translating to ‘Mubarak on your new clothes!’
Pann katha
After the prasad is prepared and everyone is ready, the puja begins. The roth, modaks and flowers are all neatly arranged, and everyone takes a seat. The highlight of pann pooza, besides the roth, is a legendary story about the deity narrated by the head woman of the house. This practice is similar to the compulsory katha narrated during Satyanarayan puja. Back home, my mother-in-law narrates the story to all of us with childlike enthusiasm, as we listen in devout attention. You can listen to the story in the video below. This narration is from pann puja in August 2020.
The puja ends with prayers and aarti as family members seek the blessings of Beeb Garab Maej for a healthy and prosperous year ahead. After the puja, the roth is usually served with kehwa (Kashmiri tea).
This will be the first time since my marriage that I will be away from home during pann as I had moved to England with my husband in March 2021. We will miss our family as much as we will miss the roth. But we take comfort in the fact that Lord Ganesha, or Beeb Garab Maej, has kept all of us safe and healthy in these pandemic times.
This Vinayak Chaturthi, we seek blessings for ourselves and our loved ones and pray for better and safer times.
On that note, pann poshte (pann mubarak) everyone!
