Chamaththa slokam sollu...appo dhaan padippu varum!

A close pal of mine had called me up from India yesterday and we were talking about the Saraswathi Pooja celebrations at home. I remember the celebrations which we had at home every year. My mom would take the Saraswathi, Lakshmi and Ganesha idols from the pooja room and place them on a 'manai'(a low wooden plank), after decorating the plank with a 'padikkolam'. She would decorate the idols with chains, flowers etc. Then she would keep her office books, bhagavad gita, cheque book and would ask dad to do the same. As for me, I would be asked to keep my academic books(majorly text books), 'suthee petti', music notes, pen, geometry box etc etc. After I joined college, it was my OS, DS, DLD, CO books...phew...Happy to find that things are well kept before the idols, she would go about cooking the delicacies while my dad would insist on a 1 hour recital of slokas with me sitting next to him and offering flowers mumbling 'namaha', 'potri'. Since I was a hindi student (I know Sriram, I am a tamil drogi :p You need not re-iterate that here :p) I escaped reciting all the tamil slokas from books. Once the sloka recital is done, my job was to keep sandanam and kumkumum on every damn thing in the house - main door, television, refrigerator, music system, computer and what not...Next day keekave vendaam...Akshadai pottu, ellla subjects lendhum oru page padikkanum...Phew...Adhu poradhunnu amma would ask me to sing few carnatic songs...Maattennu sonna..."Chamaththa slokam sollu...appo dhaan padippu varum!"

Whenever I think of those days, I drift into nostalgia. Though I made a fuss about getting up early for those pooja(s) then, when I think of them now, I am like "Good old days!". I loved those days more for the reason that I got to eat vadai, chakkrapongal, more kuzhambu, appalam and what not...My childhood friend Pratap who used to join me in this food exploits had his own reason to rejoice these festivals especially Saraswathi Pooja. Guess why? That was the only day his parents would not urge/nag/pester him to study. Especially during our board years (10th and 12th), he was made to study for 8-10 hours besides school. So Saraswathi Pooja day was the only day he could watch television and hang out with friends rather than studying. Unfortunately his joy was short lived for a day and his parents would be back to their usual self on Vijayadasami...Ennatha padichu, ennatha panradhu!!!