Make this Ram Navami Special
Why should Gods have all the fun? With Ram Navami celebrated with such fervor in certain pockets of India, ANUPAMA CHANDRA writes about some uncommon yet simple recipes for you to relish
The ninth and ultimate day of the auspicious Chaitra Navaratri unfailingly culminates in the birth anniversary of Lord Ram, the Purushuttam avatar of Vishnu, in the Hindu calendar. With some devotees fasting through the entire course of the day,
bhajans and recitations from the Ramayan and the Ramacharitamanas are common place everywhere. After holding special prayers at noon when Ram was supposed to have been born, a decorated cradle in which an image of infant Rama is placed and rocked tenderly by the faithful.
In North India, where the occasion is also called Ram Navratri, places with a purported connection to the divine figure such as his birth place of Ayodhya and Sitamarhi (the birth place of Sita) see special arrangements. The pious in Ayodhya make it a point to take a dip in the sacred Sarayu and follow it up by organising Rath Yatras with idols of Ram, Sita, Laxman and Hanuman, and its grandeur is on the lines of the Jagannath Rath Yatras in Puri. It is a little known fact that Ram Navami is the day when preparations begin for the famous Jagannath Ratha Yatra in Odisha.
The Janki Mandir in Sitamarhi is famous for celebrating the day with a host of tourists in attendance and an annual fair. The puja organised in the Bhadrachalam temple in Andhra Pradesh is unique in that the priests celebrate the marriage of Ram to Sita on that day, in the midst of what they refer to as the
Vasanthothsava.
All Indian festivals are made complete with a tender balance between fasting and feeding on dishes marked specifically for that occasion and Ram Navami is no different. While many sweets are the order of the day, in the South, a sweet drink called Panakam/Panagam, which means sweet drink in Sanskrit, is ubiquitous to the naivaidyam offered to the Lord that day. Sweetened with jaggery, spiked with ginger, the drink soothes your soul and fortifies you to take on the increasingly warmer afternoons. The Neer Mor is another lovely drink offered to the god and then his devotees to a similar effect. And, of course, a special payasam.
On the other hand, the North and West with their nine-day long fasts, have many satvik dishes on offer. Here are some of these easy, healthy recipes for you to try out in the kitchen and relish during Ram Navami or even afterwards.
For all you bachelors and bachelorettes out there, these recipes are so simple that you can prepare them after a tiring day at office also. Jai Shri Ram!