Saskatoon in Saskatchewan - The land of ever shining sun in Summer and never shining sun in winter. Rivers with clear water, forests, fresh air, friendly people, acres of agricultural land-- see and believe!
Saskatchewan is a Canadian province named after the Saskatchewan river meaning swift flowing river, which has a land area of 592,534 square kilometers. The presence of lakes, ponds, reservoirs and rivers make it beautiful. Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the United states of Montana and North Dacota. As of December 2013, the population of Saskatchewan was estimated at 1,114,170.Of the total population, 257,300 live in the province's largest city, Saskatoon Regina, while 210,000 live in the provincial capital, Regina. Other major cities include Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Swift Current, and Notrh Battleford. Saskatchewan has been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups, and first explored by Europeans in 1690 and settled in 1774. It became a province in 1905.In the early 20th century, the province became a stronghold for Canadian democratic socialism. Tommy Douglas, who was premier from 1944 to 1961, became the first social-democratic politician to be elected in North America. The province's economy is based on agriculture, mining, and energy. Saskatchewan's current premieris Brad Wall. Saskatchewansummers are usually hot and dry. Temperature reaches from 15 C (60 F) in May to the mid-30s C (90-95 F) in July and August. Nights tend to be cool. Sometimes temperature reaches above 38 °C (100 °F) during the day. Winters are usually bitterly cold reaching sometime to even -40c. Saskatchewan is in Central standard time. Saskatchewan is the only province that does not switch to daylight savings time in the summer and is seven hours behind Greenwitch Mean Time(GMT). Thus, extreme climate is a reality for the Saskatchewans. Saskatchewan summer is very unique. " Saskatoon shines" is an encrypted pillar I see when ever I travel from Ever Green housing complex to the university of Saskatchewan in the city of Saskatoon.
I arrived on the 8th of July 2015 from India via Frankfurt and Toronto to Saskatoon. I like flight travel a lot. Nineteen hours in the aircraft with a lay over time of 5 hours at the Frankfurt airport and an Olympic run to catch the last flight from Toronto as the last passenger, where by all means challenging to me, although I managed to get tucked in the Toronto- Saskatchewan flight! When I reached Toronto I wished my journey ended there.
I traveled another three and half hours to reach Saskatoon. Abhinav, my grandson along with his dad Rajesh and mom Lakshmi were eagerly waiting outside the airport to receive me. It was 12 35 am.The dawn of the new day was beautiful specially because of the extra large moon on the blue sky, blossoming in its warmth to receive the new guest of Saskatoon.
K.R. Meera with myself and Sheela, the President of FSA and Jaji
Falicitating KR Meera at the function
My best friend in Pre- Degree - Sheela Panikar (1965-67) Batch 1965-67
Meera with Principal
The best period,rather my golden time was when I was a student of the Women's college. I still maintain contact with my teachers in SNWC. Recently, I spent 2 hours with Menaka teacher who taught us Economics in the Pre- Degree course. She was so happy to see me sharing the 49 year back incidents. She remembers me as a small girl wearing full skirt and half sari, flying evry where in the college like a butterfly to do many things. I participated in sports, games and cultural activities. I was in the N.C.C., although I was too lean and small. She was surprised to hear that my blog's name is flying butterflydrsarada. I was fond of another teacher- MR.Saraswathy. At the time when I studied in SNCW, she was very beautiful and she beautifully taught us Indian History. I visited her every year and now she is a member of our family.
My best friend in our class was Sheela Panikar. She studied in Delhi and Pune. She was my English teacher! I was poor in English as I studied in Malayalam medium in Govt. girls high school at Kollam. I used to seek her help in learning English grammar. I was extremely happy to see Sheela after many years. We ate lunch together as if we were college students in 1965!
Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam is the Sabiramala festival for Women. It is a women empowerment festival. The collective power of women supported by men ,just for the day is a unique visual treat!The function starts with lighting fire at the brick hearth known a Aduppu, which originates from the Pandara Aduppu of the Attukal temple, where the pongala payasam is prepared as nivedyam (offering) for Devi by the temple designated persons. Pandara Aduppu is lighted exactly at 10 30 am from the lamp in front of Devi at Sreekovil of the temple.
I also prepared Pongala payasam for Devi . In front of the pongala aduppu is the offering in the banana leaf for Lod Ganapathy. It is a ritual done before lighting fire at the pongala Aduppu. Below is the boiling water with rice spilling to the fire. At this time all of us do 'KURAVA', a special sound of symphony to let others know of our happiness.
This year also the ecstatic festival for
women, Attukal Pongala was celebrated
at the capital great city
of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala in India. With over 50, 00000 women of
different ages lining up all over the city and its outskirts, in the late hours
of February 15 and in the early hours of February 16, with not less than 12
hours of minimum waiting time, to light fire to each woman’s Pongola aduppu is an unforgettable experience.
The offering of pongala, done every year, only by women, is
the beauty of the festival. Pongala is done in and around the Attukal
Bhagavathy temple, in every house, in every street, in every government or non
government office premises .The
pongala line stretches from all directions of the Temple to more than 8
miles. It is an amazing experience!
Women from all over India and even from foreign countries participate in this
Mahotsavam. Attukal pongala is the highest accorded festival of women in India.
It is Sabirimala for women.
The deity at Attukal
temple is Bhagavathy meaning goddess,
who is ingrained in her devotees as the originator, preserver, and destructor
of the universe. At Attukal temple, Devi
is in the form of Durga, predominating as the destroyer of evils and preserver
of goodness. Devotees ardently believe
that ‘sakthi’, the power is needed to fight injustice and create harmony for
good living.
Devi Durga is also known as the mother of all virtues. Sakthi- the mental and physical power is what
women need to seek justice, feel equality and happily live in a healthy
society. And, that is the need of the
centuary.
Pongala, the special kind of offering is done to Durga Devi
to throw away evils in one self and acquire power to strengthen the self to
fight against injustice.
Devotees believe that Parvathy, wife of Lord Siva,incarnated
in Kannaki, the much described heroine
in Chilappadikaram, by the famous Tamil poet, Elankovadikal, appeared in the
form of a beautiful woman on the banks
of Killi river to give darsan to her fervor
male devotee in Mulluveetil house
at Attukal. She asked the devotee to help her cross the Killi river, which the
devotee happily did. But he was so astonished to see her disappearing at the
bank of the river. He saw the same woman as Devi at night who asked him to
arrange a rest place for her at the nearby KAVU ( a place of bushes). He
quickly did what Devi demanded. He placed Devi’s idol and started offering
pooja (worship). The devotee offered
rice made pongala for Devi. Later on devotees slowly started coming for Devi’s
blessings. They also started giving rice
based pongala to seek blessings. Now thousands of women, every year on the nine
th day of Attukal temple utsavam in the month of February, offer pongala to
seek blessings of strength from Devi for
a better life.
Attukal Pongala is a global community festival. Women from all over the world participate in this festival.
Each woman participant is visualized as Devi.
On Pongala day, all religious believers,school and college students, governmental and non governmental employees, actively get involved as volunteers to give all possible support to women participants of the Pongala function. No house is there without providing basic amenities like food and water to these participants. Palayam Muslim Jamayat mosque and the Christian churches on the sides of the M.G. road provided all possible facilities to Pongala women. Traffic police and city police personnel do the most difficult task of facilitating smooth traffi to and from the Pongala vicinity.
In this year, 63 women prisoners of Attakulangara Women's Jail, offered Pongala.
I went to Thiruvananthapuram on 14th February by train. All compartments wee filled with women. The
pongala eve was filled with activities of women buying pongala pots, wooden or
coconut shell made big thavi to stirr pongala payasam, dried
coconut leaves, husks , kothumbu etc. for litting fire to cook, therali leaves,
jaggery, rice, planton ,towels commonly known as thorthu, flowers, avil,
coconuts, malar, kalkkandam, etc.- the ingredients for the next day’s event.
With my puntured left thigh muscle, I was hesitant to participate in this year's Pongala. But my visit to my cousin sister Lalitha accan, facilitated my participation in the Pongala festival .Her daughters Mini and Manju and grand daughter Chandana, and Hari's mother were the members of our group. Hari, husband of Manju, son Mohit supported us in getting and transferring all necessary things for pongala to the spot. We assembled in the compound of the Vanjiyur court, where so many women were preparing for Pongala. Chandana, opened her book and drew her imagery of Pongala.
Pongala drawing of Chandana
Mini and Manju pioneered mixing of the ingrediants for therali
appam and mandaputtu. Chandana, her grand mother Ratnamma, and myself joined
them.
At exactly 10 30 am, the muhurtham( time) for lighting fire, all of us started chanting 'Sarvamangalye' and lighted fire at the brick aduppu. The fume, the heat from the hearth and from the sun made all of us sweat and we could not keep our eyes opened due to drifting of water from our eyes. One to one and half hours of the celebration is the real tough test of our devotion to Devi. The pot was filled 60% with water. Once the water was boiled, cleaned rice was put in the water. When the rice water spilled the pot and reached the Aduppu, all of us did kurava. After boiling the rice, we added powdered jaggery and continuously stirred the ingredients in the pot. When it was properly cooked, we again added pieces of planton. The pongala paysam was ready around 11.40 am. We covered the nivedya payasam with the banana leaf. At 2 30 pm, the temple designated poojaris blessed the pongala nivedyam. Lunch was served to all of us. At 3 pm, all of us with our pongala payasam slowly walked to the nearby house of the grand mother. later, we returned to Hari's house.
It was the most joyful day for all of us! Let more and more women join on the next years Pongala Mahotsavam to add on psychological strength to face the growing hurdles of life. Let Attukal Pongala be the icon of Women's empowerment! Let us join in the spiritual feast!
Heavy rains and the flooding in North India permanently
switched off the lives of hundreds of people. Rough weather is constant companion of
the people of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarkhand and Delhi. Safety for them is mere illusion during rainy
season. Nobody knows when one will be
evacuated from one’s life without further existence. Monsoon rains in the third
week of June 2013 wreaked havoc in the state of Uttarkhand. It is a regular
survivor of nature’s multitude calamities.
Rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Sarada, Khagra, Rapti are mercilessly
out flowing. Roads are invisible. Flash
floods, cloudbursts and land slips claimed lives of hundreds of people in
Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarkhand. Nearly 80 thousand people are missing. 60
villages are completely washed out. Thousands of pilgrims and tourists are
stranded in pilgrim centres without food, clothing, shelter, electricity and
safe drinking water. They cannot communicate to their people as there is no
communication system. Several buildings including hotels swept away in the
swirling waters of rivers. Toll will be much more than the official calculation
as several are missing and rescue operations have yet to reach the required
fast rhythm.
I cancelled the Chardham (visiting the temples in 4 places –
Gangotri, Yamunothri, Kedarnath and Badri Nath) pilgrim trip to Himalayas in
this year because I was not healthy enough to walk the 14 kilometre stretch in
the Himalayan Mountain to reach the famous temple of Kedarnath. My professor
friend in Uttarkhand Dr. Latha Gairola was
all set to take me to these pilgrim centers in this year. I was longing to go. But I cancelled my trip in the last minute. But
today, I was so shocked to read the news of unexpected and gross calamities
that wiped off thousands of lives of people, animals and the nature itself.
Lanslides left
thousands stranded in Kedaranath and Badrinath, the most famous Hindu temples.
The temple of Kedarinath stands 3584 up above the sea level, in Himalayas. River Mandakini has squeezed Kedarinath so
severely that the idol of Shiva alone remains undestroyed.
The pilgrims live in
Dharmasalas in Kedarinath. They provide cost free accommodation to all. All the 90 Dharmasalas have completely wiped
off. Nearly hundred poojaris who conduct
religious rituals, 20 security personnel, and other employees of Kedarinath
temple were swept away with in no time. Bad weather obstructs helicopters to
rescue the stranded ones. Damtha, a place 70 kilometres away from Yamunothri itself
has nearly 25000 people, not knowing what to do. The fury of rivers swapped so
many lives.
I stood still, praying for all of them.
The India govt. has declared the situation as national
disaster. Quick actions are executed. All are waiting to get instructions for
participation in the rebuilding process.
Abhinav and his grand mother 
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Dal powder, jaggery, ghee, little water sprinkled to form this mixture to prepare Pandara Puttu
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