Sunday, January 16, 2011

A Special HARVEST FESTIVAL

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Today we celebrated a special Festival commemorating the winter solstice and the end of the Harvest season.
 
Yes, we know we are not farmers and we do not own any agricultural land but this doesn’t deter us from celebrating this special Harvest Festival which is associated with a great deal of feasting and festivities.
 
Know by different names in different parts of India, this festival is like an Annual ‘Thanksgiving’ Day.
Prayers and Thanks are offered for the full granaries, people exchange sweets and prepare special dishes to mark the occasion.
Children go from door to door, singing folk songs and are gifted sweets, savouries and sometimes money.
 
These collections are called ‘Lohri’ and hence, in the North Indian states of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana, the festival is called ‘LOHRI’ or ‘LODI’.
Like most Indian festivals, there are many legends associated with this Harvest fest too. (You might want to read about them HERE)
 
In India’s North-East it is called ‘MAGH-BIHU or BHOGALI-BIHU’.
‘Magh’ is the Assamese month starting from mid-January while ‘Bhogali’ is the word derived from ‘Bhog’ meaning ‘A feast’!
 
The name is associated with the abundant feasting that is a part of this festival.
Traditionally, people stay up overnight, dancing and singing around a bonfire, feasting on special barbecued food.
 
In Western and parts of Southern India, it is called ‘Makar Sankranti’ while in the Tamil Nadu, it is called ‘Pongal’.

One special feature of this festival in the Western Indian State of Gujarat is the beautiful ‘KITE FESTIVAL’. It is almost a week long event and attracts people from all over the world.
The skies are dotted with exquisite creations which are truly lovely.
 

Some lovely kites are being sold all throughout this month, here in our city too.

 
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We decided to have our own bonfire and barbecue last night on the terrace.
This will be our last ‘January Fest’ here before we move to Delhi and we decided to have fun on the terrace one last time.

Our plan was a rustic, traditional ‘Barbecue Night’, without the electric grill or the rotisserie, which meant Mummy and Daddy had to go to the woods to collect fire-wood and hunt down a bird or two.

 
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Or so we thought till we saw these pictures!

Ha! Not only did our chicken come out of a super-market shelf, Daddy bought our wood at this shop he found!

 
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Our make-shift grilling board, though, was more in line with our ‘rustic’ plans!

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We were a little doubtful initially, about the fire. The crackling noises disturbed us a bit.
And believe it or not, our Puppy brother turned out to be the bravest of us all!!

 
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He was the first to go upstairs to investigate the goings-on!! And then, he settled down with Mummy beside the fire.

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I, Ginger, chose the Safest place- Daddy cushion!

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Now, there isn’t such a thing invented or discovered yet that can keep Buddy away from yummy food.
And of course, the crackling fire was no exception!

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Everything went into the fire....
 
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 ...and Thankfully came out!

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We had a lovely time last night, and collected warm memories of our time in this home.

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Today morning, we all went to the rocks for our walk.
 
Now, we do believe that whatever happens actually happens for a good reason, however small or inconsequential.
I, Buddy, was complaining the other day about Mummy not finding the time to help me with my ‘Special Morning Walk’ post.
Good that that happened. Because, after our walk today morning, I have some nice photographs for you.
We will definitely post them in our next post.

 
Have a good weekend, Everybuddy

Wags,
Ginger, Buddy and Shadow

17 comments:

Two French Bulldogs said...

Very cool. Sure looks like lots of fun. We like going in those kite stores.if you need a taste tester for that stuff let us know
Benny & Lily

Mariodacat said...

What a fun time. All dat fooid is mazking us hungry over here, and we'd love to curl up by the fire. It's the middle of winter here with lots of snow and cold so the fire looked extra good to us.

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

Any excuse for a party! Are you sure you aren't part Australian?

Great food and we know you were celebrating Thanksgiving that your Daddy is at home!

XXXOOO Daisy, Kendra & Bella

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

My mom is drooling!!!

Great pikhs!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

Trixie, Lily, and Sammy-Joe said...

The festivals there sound very cool! Our Mama thinks that in the USA the holidays get so watered down and commercialized.

Diana Chiew said...

It's good to learn about some festivals celebrated in other parts of the world. Thanks for sharing. Anyway, the best part of it is the food. We have never had food that came out of the fire. Those chicken look yummy to us.

Teddy Bear said...

What a wonderful festival! We love all the pretty colors and the yummy food and learning more about your culture.:)

Love,
Teddy Bear

Chewy said...

wow all the food looks great! It is always great to learn about different cultures!

Chewy

koko said...

Our friends from India over here also celebrate Ponggal festival... thanks for the informative posting. Oh boy! the BBQ looks so yummy... *salivating* :)

Licks, hero

Pat said...

Thanks for telling us about your festivals. The kites look so bright and cheerful - and there's nothing better than a full tummy and a warm fire!
How blessed you are :) xx

Molly the Airedale said...

Your pawty looks so yummy!
How colorful the kites are!

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

Unknown said...

BBQ is one of the best! Mika loves it the most and spare ribs is the must in the menu!
Thanks for the information of your Thanksgiving day.
We love your colourfuls post all the time.

Anonymous said...

What a great idea to celebrate with a rustic BBQ! That chicken looked really yummy! What did you put in it that gave it the green color?

Mom says she luvs kites! Such pretty colorful ones you have to choose from!

Waggin at ya,
Roo

Lola and also Franklin, too said...

Oh, that food looks marvelous. What a great celebration all around. I think lots and lots of kites in the sky is the most festive thing in the world, too. I'm so glad you had a great time. I think, though, that your Daddy is going to need a bigger cushion for you.

the booker man said...

buddy, miss gingin, and shadow!

super cool post! thankies for woofin' about the harvest festival! it's always so neato to learn about other parts of the world!
so even if your mama and daddy maybe sorta cheated just a smidge (heehee), you still had a nifty bonfire and way delish chicken noms! i saw some cauliflower, too! we like that lots at my house!
those kites are totally awesome sauce! have your mama and daddy ever been to the kite festival? mama and daddy like to fly kites when they go to the beach.
lookin' forward to seein' pictures and hearin' about your walkie!

*woof*
the booker man

Jed and Abby in MerryLand said...

What an interesting post! The kites look absolutely gorgeous. We used to fly kites a lot when mama was a girl, many decades ago. Now, all the kids seem to be inside playing video games. We hope Ginger got extra noms from the feast, as Shadow & Buddy got the good mum & dad cushions.

Jed & Abby

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

We think you all need an agent - about time to cut a CD - great job - we loved it!!!

Mom doesn't envy you all that packing - very stressful.

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

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