Deepavali-The Festival of Lights

                                                  DEEPAVALI - THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

Deepavali or Diwali is celebrated throughout India with great enthusiasm.   Deepavali literally means a row of lights.     In the northern parts of India it is a celebration to  commemorate the victorious arrival of Sri Rama in Ayodhya after vanquishing the king of Lanka  Ravan who had abducted his wife Sita.    In the south,  it is associated with the slaying of  the demon Narakasura by Satyabhama  and Krishna.  Narakasura was an evil demon who terrorised his subjects by killing them and making a meal out of them.  Krishna and his wife Satyabhama decided to put an end to his atrocities.  When he was about to be killed the demon realised his mistakes and requested the Lord to  observe the day of his death by lighting lamps .The festival actually extends to 3 to 4 days.  It starts on the 13th day after full moon(Thriodashi),  extends through Chathurdashi(14th Day) and Amavasya (the full moonday), then ends on Badyami(Bali padyami) the  day after Amavasya. Bali Padhyami is believed to be the day on which the Asura king Bali Chakravarthi was banished to the netherworld by Vamana, the 5th incarnation of Vishnu.  Mahabali was the grandson of the great Narayan bhaktha - Prahlad. The kingdom was very prosperous and whoever came to him for alms he readily gave it to them. His fame spread far and wide and this made him very arrogant.  And also Indra,  the king of Suras (gods) was afraid that Bali woud take over his kingdom. So , he approached Lord Vishnu and requested him to save him from Bali.  The lord was then born as Vamana (the diminutive one).
  He approached  Bali chakravarthi and asked for land that he would   cover in three steps. The demon king agreed thinking that Vaman
  would end up having only three feet of land.  Suddenly, Vamana

  grew in size,   his head reaching  the sky.   He placed one foot on     the earth.  the second on the heavens and then he asked Bali
  where he could place his third foot. King Bali realised that the      vamana was none other than Lord Vishnu and bowed his head and
 asked the Lord to place it on his head.  The lord sent him to the   netherworld (Pathala) by pressing his foot on Bali's head.
While people of Karnataka celebrate Bali Padhyami during the   Diwali festival, people of Kerala
celebrate it as Onam during the month of Shravan.

Whatever the legends say,  Deepavali is a time for celebration.  It not only signifies the triumph of the good over the evil and also deliverance from darkness to light and hence .people light lamps in front of the house.  Children love firing  crackers,  but there is a growing awareness among people and  many avoid firing  crackers to avoid noise and air pollution..

Some of  the customs followed by South Indians during Deepavali: 
Thriodashi is the day on which preparations for the holy bath are made.                                             
 It is  believed that the River Ganga's water flows into the vessel in which water is heated for bath the next day.  So the bath rooms are cleaned thoroughly and the vessel (Handa) is decorated with sandal paste,haldi, and kunkum and a rangoli is drawn in front of the fire place where the water is heated.   Then the vessel is filled with fresh water. This is called NEERU THUMBUVA HABBA  in Kannada. This is a special ocassion for a newly married daughter of the house.  She comes to her parent's place with her husband.  The daughter and the son-in-law are received with great joy and a feast is prepared on this day.  They both join the family members in the festivities of the next day which happens to be NARAKA CHATHURDASHI.  The daughter and son-in-law are showered with gifts such as new clothes, ornaments, etc.

Very early the next morning,  the members of the family are woken up and they are made to sit on a plank or carpet and the eldest lady of the house(the grand mother or the mother) anoints their heads with sesame oil.  After this,  they have their bath one after another.  They wear new clothes and eatables are kept ready for them to consume.  After this they start bursting crackers and lighting sparklers.  In the evening,  lamps are lighted in front of the house on the threshold as well as on the Rangoli.  As usual there is feasting,  meeting with friends and relatives to greet them. In Tamil Nadu, it is  customary to greet each other with the words "Gangasnanam aaccha" meaning "Have you had your Ganga snaan?"

Slowly,  these customs are disappearing. In the place of Handas and fire places,  there are geysers and water heaters.  Instead of oil and soap nut powder we use shampoos and conditioners.   But the spirit of Deepavali will never disappear.   Sweets and savory items are available in plenty in the market.  In addition, there are beautifully packed boxes of chocolates and Dry fruits.  But still,  some people like to make some sweets at home.  Recipes of two such items are given below:

Karigadubu or Karjikai 

 This sweet is made on the Thriodashi day.

Ingredients:(for the outer cover): Maida 1/2 cup; Chiroti Rava(fine soji) 1/2 cup; 2 tblsps. ghee or butter a pinch of salt and water for making the dough.

For the stuffing  Sugar 1/2 cup; copra scrapings 1/2 cup; poppy seeds 1 tsp.; cardamom powder 1/4 tsp.; chutney dal(puffed chana dal) 2 tbl.sps

Refined oil for frying..

Mix the maida and rava, add 1 tbl.sp. ghee and a pinch of salt and mix thoroughly.  Add water little by little and prepare a stiff dough by kneading for at least  5 minutes.  Add  the remaining ghee and knead well and keep it away covered.

Dry roast the poppy seeds.  Mix the sugar, copra and poppy seeds and grind it to a powder.  To this add the puffed chana or fried cashew nut bits and cardamom powder and mix thoroughly.  This forms the stuffing.

Make small balls out of the dough.  Roll out each ball into a small thin puri.  If you have a karjikai mold place each puri on it and place 1 tsp. of the stuffing in the center.  Apply water all round the edge and close the mold and press so that the edge gets sealed.  If there is no mold, after filling the stuffing, apply water to  one half of the edge and fold the puri to form a semicircle and press the edges and seal.Using a fork,  press the edge of the semicircle to give decorative impressions  After filling all the puris,  heat refined oil in a kadai, and fry the kadubus  2 or 3 at a time on a low flame, on both sides till they are golden brown in color.

The filling can alternately be made with coconut and jaggery.  The recipe for this filling is the same as for the sweet dumplings prepared during Ganesh Puja.

Sweet Layered Puris(Jeera Puri):

Ingredients: Maida 1/2 cup; chiroti rawa 1/2 cup; a pinch of salt; ghee 1/4 cup;  Sugar 1/2 cup cardamom powder 1/2 tsp. a few strands of kesar(saffron); 2 tblsps. rice flour;  cashew nuts and pishta; oil for frying.

Method:  Mix the maida, rawa and the salt. add 1 tbl.sp . ghee and mix thoroughly.  Add water little by little and make a stiff dough.  Add 1 more tbl.sp. of ghee and knead well and keep aside. Form small balls out of the dough and roll out each ball into a thin puri.  Mix the remaing ghee with rice flour and rub well till it is light and fluffy.  this is called Saati.  Take one puri and smear this saati on it in a thin layer.  Place another puri on this and again smear the saati on this puri also.  In this manner place at least 4 or 5 puris one over the other and  then roll them tightly into a cylinder.  Take a sharp knife and cut this cylinder into 4 or 5 pieces.  Take each piece and roll lightly into a thick puri.

Heat oil in a kadai and fry the layered puris on both sides one by one,  on a low flame till the puris puff up and are golden brown.  Put them on a paper kitchen towel so that the excess oil is removed
.

To half cup of sugar add 1/4 cup water and dissolve the sugar and bring it to boil.  When the syrup reaches one string consistency,  remove from fire and add cardamom powder.  Dip the fried puris one by one, remove and arrange them on a serving dish.  Sprinkle the strands of saffron on these puris and garnish them with bits of cashew nuts and pishta.

Another way to serve the layered puris:  Powder the sugar and mix cardamom powder.  Arrange the puris on a serving dish and sprinkle the powdered sugar on them and garnish with cashew nuts and pishta.

May the Festival of  Lights bring Prosperity, Peace and Brightness into everyone's life!