Today is Maha Saptami when Devi Durga’s pran pratisthan is done.The Mother Goddess comes as a clay pratima and human faith and ceremonial rituals help to draw the universal life forces into her. It’s said that the Kala bou has a big role to play in this, before the real puja can start.
I told you about Mahalaya and my Durga puja memories.
Today’s post is a little bit about the Kala bou,and my love for all things Prasad and bhog.
The Kala bou is the Young banana tree with leaves of the turmeric tree ,wood apple,pomegranate, jayanti,arum, ashoka,colocasia,paddy, all tied together,taken for a bath and then draped in a saree .
All these plants are also embodiments of various Gods and Godesses . Its also called naba patrika and Kala bou is dressed up in a red bordered white saree with vermillion and married with Lord Ganesha before Maa Durga can officially start battling Mahishasura.
The stories about the why and what behind Kala bou are many,but important thing to note is the female embodiment being crucial for the real fight to begin.
It’s on the seventh day of Navratri that Maa Durga’s epic battle against the buffalo headed demon king Mahishasura started.
Now because of the COVID 19 situation everything happened low key,but the puja made us happy.
But guess what made us even happier?The Bhog.
Growing up the neighborhood pujo had a system of bhog which somehow never reached those of us living a little farther away.
But by God’s grace for the last several years,having the blessed bhog is like a wish come true.
What’s not to love about the bhog?
It looks great,smells great,tastes sublime and always makes you happy
So what did the Maha Saptami bhog consist of?
Fragrant Basanti pulao with dried fruits and nuts.
Assortments of vegetables fried in ghee.There were pumpkin fried,sweet potatoes,potatoes,Pointed gourd and bitter gourd.
A mixed vegetable mash ,lightly spiced and delicious.
Payesh (fragrant rice cooked with creamy milk and cooked to a perfection.)
Sweets
The beautiful part of the puja bhog has a lot to do with the sights , sounds and emotions than with the actual food.Even if you follow the recipes to a T ,they never taste the same when it’s not offered during Puja ,but just made at home.
So while every year I document a little bit about Durga pujo ,my love for the puja bhog is a recurring theme.
P.S The bhog was eaten at home after being heated for one minute in the microwave for safety concerns.