Viseshangal Practices

Festival Preparation: Prep starts one day earlier for Varalakshmi vratham which is one of the most elaborate pujas on our calendar. The following things need to be prepared one day earlier: 1. Kalasam and Puja saaman prep : Get ready all the puja things you will need: kalasam for amman, amman mukham, all the pujai kinnangal (usually 3-4, but nowadays we use the kumamam and sandanam dabbas instead of kinnangal thus reducing their numbers), panchapatram and uthirini, a couple of trays and baskets. Gather them and wash them. Dry them with a towel and keep them aside.  2. Neivedyam prep : Because you will be preparing for the neivedyam, remember to take a head bath one day before Varalakshmi pujai. And start the prep only after the head bath and wearing a set of washed clothes, and complete them before you have lunch.  i. Soak raw rice and ulundu for idli batter for a few hours and then grind them as usual. Note that we use raw rice and not boiled rice/idli rice for neivedhyam coo...

 Taking a head bath as we call it is mandatory on all puja/festival days.  Sometimes you are required to take a simple head bath, and on other occasions, you are required to take an oil bath of the head. That is, you need to oil your head at least briefly and then do the head bath routine. A head bath is a quick pouring of water on the head followed by a shampoo wash. It is not an extensive and elaborate hair wash.  It is a part of the purification process before a puja or before cooking the prasadam for the gods. Ideally all members of the family including children should undertake this routine. Pujas when you need to take only head bath (no oil on head): Garuda panchami nombu Varalakshmi nombu, on the day of the festival and on the previous day, when you will make the preparations for the festival prasadam and kalasam. Vinayaka chaturthi, on the day of the festival and on the previous day, for preparing idli batter and kozhakottai poornam. Masi Panguni nombu  Gokul...

 Personal practices Madi In earlier times, the mistress of the house, or the lady that handles the pujai and/or the kitchen would observe 'madi' or a purification process. While this was very strictly observed on pujai and other religious occasions, they were even incorporated in the daily rituals of women in orthodox homes.  Madi meant remaining pure and untouched by others. It invariably started with the ritual bath, often very early in the morning. It also meant wearing 'madi clothes' or wearing clothes that were washed and dried separately, untouched by the hands of other members of the family. These would be washed by the women who would wear them, and they would be washed by her only after she has taken a bath. The madi clothes for special occasions would be washed and put out to dry by women preferably after a a head bath, and most certainly before the first big meal of the day.  The madi clothes ritual would be incomplete without mention of the madi kodi and the...

This blog strives to keep alive key cultural and religious practices, particularly those associated with religious festivals and social ceremonial events. These are based on extensive documentation that my mother Mrs Hemalatha Padmanabhan has on different occasions done at my behest and now, my daughter, Tara's request, so that we can keep alive whatever we can of the traditional cultural practices of Iyers of North Arcot district, Tamil Nadu. This is no claim of superiority or exclusivity of any kind nor am I a fiercely proud chest-thumping casteist. This is only an attempt to keep some voices from dying out and passing on the experience of a fast disappearing generation for whom these practices were life-defining.  These are being documented to perpetuate childhood memories of a way of living that was founded on a sound base of discipline, regulated living, notions of duty, connectedness to a past tradition, and a sense of connectedness to nature, seasons, the environment and ind...