Finest Post Nominations - July 2017

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‘Saawan ka mahina, pawan kare shor,
Jiyarara jhoome aise, jaise ban ma naache mor’.​

Yes, here we are once again. The monsoons have arrived bringing with them showers of blessings from above and the cool weather is extremely welcome after the scorching summer.

Half the year has flown by and we are all ready to step into the second half of the year - a period of one festival after the other in India.

Did you know that July is named after Julius Caesar because it was the month of his birth and more interestingly, it was known as Quintilis before that? This was because it was the fifth month according to the Roman calendar.

Here is a puzzle for all of you. What do lambs and dogs have in common? I shall give you the answer at the end. Just making sure you read on till the very end.

By the way, the 5th month of the Hindu calendar also starts in late July and goes on until August. It is known as Shravan or Saawan in India and as Aavni in South India.

Shravan is the month of many festivals in India. It is a very important month for Hindus with a lot of vrats or fasts for Shiva or Parvati. This year, the festivals of Hariyali Teej and Nagapanchami fall on the 26th and 27th of July respectively. Hariyali Teej is a festival that celebrates the union of Shiva and Parvati. Many women fast for the well being of their husbands. It also celebrates the arrival of the monsoons and the accompanying burst of greenery – therefore the word ‘hariyali’. Traditionally married girls used to visit their maternal home to celebrate the festival of swings. Who can forget the song from ‘Bandini’:

“Ab ke baras bhejo bhaiyaa ko baabul
Saavan ne liijo bulaay re
Lautengii jab mere bachapan kii sakhiiyaan
Dejo sandeshaa bhijaay re
Ab ke baras bhej bhaiyako baabul

Ambuvaa tale phir se jhuule padenge
Rimajhim padengii phuhaaren
Lautengii phir tere aangan men baabul
Saavan kii thanDii bahaaren”. ​

This song describes the longing of a young girl to return to her parental home in the month of ‘saawan/shravan’ for the festival of Hariyali Teej.

Nag Panchami is a festival which leaves me with mixed feelings. It used to be my favourite festival. The call of ‘nagobala doodh’ used to wake us up to this day every year. Unfortunately, this is based on the myth that snakes drink milk and cobras used to be captured and brought from door to door to be worshipped and fed with milk. Having never seen a nag pooja, I don’t know whether they really drank milk or not! Of course, this has now reduced considerably – I wonder if anyone comes with snakes anymore. I ‘d eagery wait for this festival to apply ‘mehendi’ which used to be frequently home ground. Every year I used to crave for the colour to turn a deep brown to black, but that never happened. It used to be dark orange at best and now I know it was because it was purely organic – no added chemicals.

Looks like I have just had a bout of verbal diahrroea! Well, let me stop now before you all run away (if you have not already done so!), but not before keeping up my promise to you. Have you forgotten? I have not. The answer to the puzzle. The month of July is sweltering in the Northern Hemisphere and therefore referred to as ‘dog days’ and it is spring in the Southern Hemisphere – spring lambs born in late winter or early spring are usually sold before July 1. So that is the connection between dogs and lambs and July. Sorry, bad joke.

Now before you leave and before I am booed out of here, let me remind you to please shower this forum with nominations and more nominations for July.

 

Dear, dear Amica,

Thanks so much for starting off the nomination process so promptly and with such a wonderful post. We face so many tribulations in life. It is how we deal with them that makes all the difference. BB could have gone to pieces and wailed her way into oblivion. Believe me, I know a lady my age who did just that. Such a beauty, so intelligent. She got divorced and never came out of that event. She just let herself go and it is really sad to see her the way she is. BB on the other hand is using the experience to help others in the same boat. Kudos to her and I look forward to more posts from her.

 

Hey Kamala, thanks so much for bringing this wonderful work of art to this forum. Fabulous work this.