On Sunday we performed Shri Satyanarayana Puja at home.Most of you know about this puja...but for those who have never heard of this ,here is a brief information.....it is a religious Hindu observance where Lord Satyanarayana an extremely benevolent form of Lord Vishnu is worshiped.It is done on special occasions or during or after times of achievements like marriage,engagements, success in higher educations,beginning a new business or carrier,buying a new vehicle or new house etc.Its an offering of gratitude to the Lord for granting us abundances in all all forms and peace and harmony in life.We perform this puja annually in the Hindu calendar month of Sawan .......just before starting the puja our family priest offers a small portion of prasad to our PUJA-GHAR(worship room....this is my puja ghar where i perform daily puja).
Though the puja ritual are same all over India one sees some regional influences too.I am a Kumauni(uttranchali) married to an Assamese....it was a very different experience for me when for the very first time i attended this puja after my marriage......everything was more or less same except for THE BHOG and BOOT-MOONG PRASAD. Here bhog is prepared mostly by the lady of the house....27 bananas,1.25 kgs of atta(wheat flour),1.25 kg of pure ghee(clarified unsalted butter),1.25 lts of milk,1.25 kg of sugar ....all this in exact measures are used...first bananas are peeled and mashed with the sugar,next atta , milk, ghee are added.....this is mixed till a smooth consistency is achieved ....i love to add lots of dry nuts here.It is not cooked and is distributed after the puja......believe me it is a major attraction among all be elders,young or kids....it tastes out of this world.
Though the puja ritual are same all over India one sees some regional influences too.I am a Kumauni(uttranchali) married to an Assamese....it was a very different experience for me when for the very first time i attended this puja after my marriage......everything was more or less same except for THE BHOG and BOOT-MOONG PRASAD. Here bhog is prepared mostly by the lady of the house....27 bananas,1.25 kgs of atta(wheat flour),1.25 kg of pure ghee(clarified unsalted butter),1.25 lts of milk,1.25 kg of sugar ....all this in exact measures are used...first bananas are peeled and mashed with the sugar,next atta , milk, ghee are added.....this is mixed till a smooth consistency is achieved ....i love to add lots of dry nuts here.It is not cooked and is distributed after the puja......believe me it is a major attraction among all be elders,young or kids....it tastes out of this world.
After distributing it to all the people attending puja and all the neighbours whatever is left is enjoyed by us for two three days....it tastes even better after it gets chilled in refrigerator.In villages of Assam many use peetha-guri i.e. rice powder in place of atta and jaggery in place of sugar but i love this version more.Below is the pic. showing BOOT-MOONG.....it is very common in Assam and Bengal where soaked chickpeas and green lentils is offered as prasad in pujas.After puja is over little salt ,coconut pieces,ginger flakes are added to this...
This is the only picture of the puja yesterday.....Gauri capturede this one as all of us were busy with the puja...even though it is blur i wanted to share this one with you.
