Navrathri is next week,how many of you are excited! One of the festivals I look forward with so much excitement is navrathri! The 9 days of pooja, meeting friends and foods excites me even more. I plan and visualize it months before, what decoration to do? What theme shall we add this year, and I go for my navrathri shopping when I m in India both for new dolls and also for the thamboolam.
I love to pick gifts for thamboolam, for my lady friends and also to all the kanya ponnu/girls who tag along their mommas. I take extra care and loads of love when I buy something for them, it might not be big or lavish but the love and thought behind it counts a lot.
A small packet of pottu/bindi or a pair of hair bands make them squeal with joy. I gift even the boys who come, i keep a stash of stationery(2 pencils, a scale, eraser and sharpeners) for them.
- While buying gifts, please keep in mind the utility of it, try avoiding plastic, my manni/co-sister once gave a good agarbathi/incense stick in thamboolam, something that is useful and will be gone in 10 days.
- I don’t gift blouse pieces with my thamboolam, all of us know it gets circulated, instead I give small face towels which can be carried by kids with their lunch box or by adults for gym/workouts/walks.
- Once I got some magnetic holders that can be stuck to fridge or doors and can hold utilities like scissors, knives in kitchen or pencil/pen in living room. For the past 3 years I m getting SS utensils from Chennai.
Coming to poojai, I m sharing what i do in my home, hoping a few would find it useful.
- First and foremost, don’t get tensed or overly worked up, you are celebrating Ambal, a supreme power, a lady who knows everything and also you. The shradhai with which you do the pooja matters more than how many hours you do it or what you offer for neivedhiyam.
- I chant Ashtothrams(Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi) and do the pooja, usually around 9:30 -10 in the morning.
- I do neivedhiyam both morning and evening. Mornings I usually offer freshly cooked rice, paruppu and payasam, as it is made everyday during navrathri, even otherise rice and paruppu are staple at home.
- If you dont have time to make the above, a glass of fresh milk in the morning is good as neivedhiyam. If offering boiled milk, add a tsp of sugar and offer. Evenings are mostly Sundal, that too, just a cup of any lentil/legume .
- God’s grace till date I have one or the other coming for thamboolam all days so I offer the neivedhiyam done in the evening to them and coffee/tea and there will be snacks if I m expecting lot of people. Usually vadai/salad/poha etc along with the Sundal and coffee.
- Many people club one or two places together for their evening golu visit, so don’t expect them to be eating a big bowl of sundal or a big cup of coffee at every place. Serve less, so they also don’t feel guilty about wasting food and you too don’t feel bad about them not finishing what you offered.
- While there might be days where I have to goto another pooja in the evenings , those days I offer fruits and a mix of nuts with rock candy or milk with sugar.
- If expecting a big crowd any of the days, I keep their thamboolam ready a day ahead, make a big batch of sarkaraipongal/payasam and sundal. So I don’t spend much time in the kitchen, and enjoy the golu with my friends.
- Golu/navrathri is all about enjoying the goddess at home, do pooja and chant naamas everyday, be positive all days, do poojai/neivedhiyam with shraddhai and loads of love, for that is what will be measured by her not, what you offer and in what you offer !! Have fun ladies, for it is your 9 days!!
Here is the list of Neivedhiyams
Super planning and we are so excited to take blessings during 9 nights. God bless you and your family!!!
Awesome planning and lovely post priya
I also look forward for this festival. You have such a nice golu and decorated so well. I loved the way how you planned every event well before. That actually makes the day better. Thambulam gift ideas are very good as well. I am sure goddess Devi must have been very pleased with all your nice preparations and prasadam. A very happy navrathri celebrations to you for this year.
So good to know dear… love your idea of trying to make the festival as friendly as possible… Your post will surely benefit those who are looking for making their festivals memorable yet waste free…
I loved your detailed post and especially part of gifts for little boys and girls. Love your ambal alangaram. Wishing you a very Happy Navarathri!
It's so good see your post about everything in detail. Superbly written so that execution is very easy. I am sure this will help many of us who follow it religiously.
Loved your thoughts about mindful gifting.
Awesome share.
Lata
Good to know about Golu celebrated during Navaratri… Love the ideas you had shared for gifting with some thoughts behind it.
Beautiful post. Love reading this . Nicely written . Last year went for Golu darshan . It so amazing
Very informative post Priya! i love to read about the various traditions in different parts of India!
Informative post Priya, apt for the season. It is better to give something that is useful as tamboolam.
This is such a lovely and informative post Priya. Your pre planning is so well that obviously helps to be stress free on a festival day. Loved your gift options too.
This is such detailed and informative post for people doing golu. Love your ideas of gifting to avoid plastic. kolam looks so good.
I never knew about south Indian style navratri poojan until I started blogging. such a informative and interesting post, love learning something new everyday, I learnt that you guys don't observe fast in Navratri 🙂
I have always been awed by the Golu celebrations. The first time I saw it, was at one of my friend's home who hails from Chennai. Was really taken aback with such beautiful way of celebrating the Navratri festival because we North Indians, kind of do not have such elaborate decorations. Your post reminded me of some beautiful memories. Thanks for the lovely share.
Great share !! full information are here if anyone is going to celebrate GOLU 🙂 And in current time this a amazing helpful for people who are going to celebrate the festival 🙂
What a wonderful tradition Priya. Your Golu looks so beautiful and I hear some add a new doll or idol every year. For such events, advance planning is vital. And you're so right anything offered with Sharaddha is far better than offering a multitude of things without Sharaddha.