Sheetla Ma Ka Puja

We do this puja every year about a week after Holi and there is always a big debate on which day we should do it, whether this day is too early or too late and so on and so forth. Anyway so we finally settle on a day and preparations begin. Ma Sheetla is the goddess of good health and especially in the case of children warding off smallpox, chicken pox and measles. That’s why when my children were young the importance of doing this puja was emphasised and I always did it more out of fear than really understanding why I was doing it. One is supposed to eat cold food all day ie food that has been cooked the day before and nothing hot should cross your lips. And this used to extend to bathing in the morning… we were strictly told not to have a shower with hot water… only cold. Now for someone who absolutely hates cold water this used to prove to be the most difficult part of the day and I would end up just literally splashing myself with cold water!!! So as I said earlier the food had to be cooked the previous day so that day was a hive of activity. Of course it was only the women who ate cold all day… the men used to have cold food for breakfast and then hot food was made for their other meals. The hardest thing I found was not being able to have my tea and coffee throughout the day. This was actually the one day in the year that my mother in law didn’t have her hot tea first thing in the morning. She used to make a wonderful concoction where she would soak the tea leaves and a few cloves in water the previous night and in the morning strain it, add as much milk as you liked and drink it. It actually didn’t taste too bad and to be honest I still drink a cup of this every year on basera…. more in her memory than anything else! We all used to love the karahi ki puri, the dal ki puri and the various vegetables that were made. In fact we would come home from the mandir at about 7.00 to 7.30am and attack the food. We probably ate more in that one day than we did in a whole week. Then there would be puchkas, bhel, papri chaat, dhokla…all cooked the previous day and eaten with gusto the next.  But by evening our throats would be parched for a nice hot cup of tea!!!! I remember Vinay’s taiji used to have hot tea stored in a thermos flask the previous day and drink this throughout the day claiming that it was baasi so didn’t qualify as hot!!! There are always ways of getting round things when you want to. When my son got married I gave my daughter in law the option of just eating cold food till noon and then eating whatever she wanted later on which she gladly accepted. For me… it wasn’t difficult as I had seen my mother do this every year despite living in England… and we absolutely used to love it. In fact every year we would suggest we do this at least once a month but my mother flatly refused as it was her who had to make all the food!!

I have also now succumbed to eating cold food till twelve and then having my cup of tea. In fact I am doing baseraa today whilst writing this and half of my attention is on the clock and half on what I’m writing… so if I start writing gibberish please excuse me… I am having withdrawal symptoms!! We really are slaves to the clock but I guess this has been ingrained into us. The best is my daughter. She is married into a Jain household so where it suits her she follows their customs and otherwise she suddenly becomes a Marwari girl… she has covered all her options!!! Ok now I’m sorry but I need to sign off… the clock strikes 12!!!!