Last week I had puja at home so I needed to learn how to make apungo and halwa for puja. I had never tried to make it before but I had no choice but to learn this time around. So here I am sharing the recipe. It turned out really well and I was surprised how easy it was.
Ingredients
1 cup ghee (clarified butter)
3 cups plain flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Steps
Take a thick pan and pour ¾ cup ghee in the pan.
When ghee starts to melt, add plain flour and fry it stirring continuously. Make sure, the flour doesn’t turn brown.
After a while when the flour is cooked, it should smell really good.
Once it is cooked, take out half of the fried flour and set it aside on a plate.
Add 2 table spoons of sugar to the plate and mix well.
Apungo is now ready.
With the remaining flour, fry it some more until it is light brown in colour.
Add the rest of the sugar and then add the water and keep stirring.
When the water and flour is mixed well and ghee starts showing on the top, add the rest of the ghee and Halwa is now ready too.
If you are making halwa only skip step 5, 6, and 7.
90% of the people I meet in Nepal told me that I am too skinny and I need to put on some weight. I am not underweight so I am happy with it and as you all know I try very hard with exercise and healthy food to maintain my figure but most people in Nepal have their own ideas about my weight.
In the beginning I used to get annoyed about it but now I am so used to it that I ignored all these comments with a smile :). Also if you look around Kathmandu, most gals are either similar weight like mine or even skinnier than me so I have no idea why they think I need to put on weight. I have a feeling being married is one of the factor.
Anyway I am learning to just ignore and concentrate in good eating habit no matter what people say. Also AS is on my side telling me I am OK and we just need to concentrate on being healthy. I am very happy to have such a wonderful hubby who understands me so well. But I think he has an ulterior motive as well. He doesn’t want me gaining weight and buying more clothes as I won’t fit into my current ones then 🙂
Most of the people especially from AS’s side has seen me only during the wedding. That time I was a bride so I was fully made up in the traditional attire. After the wedding, lot of his relatives added me on their Facebook. So that is the only way they have seen me in causal dresses.
Anyway, I have heard from lot of his relatives that I am photogenic. I am not sure I should take that as a compliment or not. I am just wondering because, normally I think photogenic means I look good on photo but at the back of mind I was wondering, does that mean I don’t look good in person.
Anyway I got that comment from many people so just sharing what’s on my mind here 🙂
As I am married now, I was invited to AS’s grandparents house to celebrate the festival with my in-laws. AS missed the occasion but I was glad I was there as I got to meet all his relatives again.
As I mentioned in my post, this day we eat laddoos (sesame seeds candy ball), chaku (molasses), ghee (clarified butter), sweet potatoes, yam, khichari (mixture of rice and lentils), ginger and salt and green leaf spinach. So a big feast was ready in the house when we got there.
First his grandma put mustard oil on our head and blessed us then we all enjoyed the food. It was fun catching up with my new family.
After a few days of Magh 1, AS’s Mama (Mum’s brother) also invited us for Maghe Sankranti. In Newari culture normally, daughter’s family invites SIL, daughter and their kids after the festival as nakhatya (festival invitation in newari) to celebrate the festival.
I got to meet more family members in this function as well. As you must have guessed,there was a feast prepared which included laddoos, chaku (molasses), ghee (clarified butter), sweet potatoes, yam, khichari, green leaf spinach and many more dishes. .
Ma fussy chu ( I am fussy)
Sometime words have two different meaning in different languages and I got caught into that recently.
The other day I was in a departmental store trying on few make-up items. The sales gal was doing her job well convincing me to buy something so in reply I said, “ Ma fussy chu ( I am fussy), so let me think about it.” But she understood completely different thing.
Fussy (pronounced Fashi ) means con in a gentle way in Nepali language. So she thought I was telling her that she tried to con me into buying something else. For a minute I didn’t understand her reply as it was out of context when she said, “Don’t worry I am telling you the truth” but after a while I understood that she thought I thought she was conning me into buying something different.
Now I think before I say something as it might have a different meaning here.
Pasni Party
While AS was here we were invited to a Pasni of one of our friends’ kid along with my parents. They live in Sydney near us but they came here to host the function like my brother. It was nice to go to this function and enjoy Nepali way of socialising. I met a few friends and relatives in this function because in Nepal, somehow everyone seems to be related. 🙂
Wedding party experience
I am writing this as my own experience and have no intention to disrespect any caste.
As I have told you in my post here, Nepal is a country of four castes and thirty six sub castes which means all of these castes have their own tradition and rituals.
I am from Newar caste and in our culture wedding parties goes till late at night. It is common to see Newari party starting around 6 pm and finish at 12 midnight but other castes like chhetri or bhaunu may have wedding parties that start in the afternoon and finish a bit early like 6-7pm.
One of my friends (a chherti by caste) had invited me for his sister’s wedding. He asked me if I needed a physical invitation card but I said it’s OK as I didn’t want to bother him. So I went to the party hall where he had told me in that day with one of my cousins.
When we reach the hall, the hall was almost empty so I thought either I mix up the day or the venue. But as I entered, I saw my friend. It was 7 pm at most but there were only a few people left there. Even the bride and groom had left as they had to travel few hours to reach their home.
He informed us that the party was almost over. I was a bit embarrassed because I didn’t know what to say. I had tried to contact him earlier to find out the details but he was unavailable as he was flying in from the US the same day. Even my mum had reminded me to check the time but I just assumed that it would be same as ours but I was so mistaken.
I was happy to meet my friends after a while but it was a bit embarrassing situation and for the first time in my life I reached a party when it was almost over.
Latest update
I am having a great time with my parents. I am spending lots of time with them talking and having a great time. We have been to many temples around Kathmandu which I will post details of later. I am really glad that I extended my 2 weeks holiday to spend with them as they are very happy to have me here and I am very happy to be here.
I still miss AS a lot but I will be seeing him soon. We talk on the phone or Skype everyday so I am happy to be in Kathmandu in my birth home.
The last day of Tihar is Bhai Tika which is also called Bhatridutiya in Sanskrit. “Bhai” means brother in Nepali. The festival culminates in Bhai Tika, a day that rests on the premises of love, rituals, beautiful hues, reverence and puja done especially for one’s brother. This occasion honors brother-sister relationships, celebrating the holy emotional bond that they share. It is marked by offering special prayers for one’s brother’s prosperity and long life.
Legend holds that when the Kirati King Bali Hang fell mortally ill, his sister Jamuna looked after him and guarded him. When Yamaraj, the God of Death, came for Bali Hang’s soul, Jamuna pleaded with him to wait until she finished worshipping her brother; that is, until Panchami (Bhai Tika). She then conducted a long and elaborate ceremony for her brother, and performed the same for Yamaraj. She also put forth some conditions: that Yamaraj should not take Bali Hang until the tika, which she had smeared on his forehead, fades away; until the water sprinkled on her brother dries; and until the makhmali flowers wilt. Over the years Yamaraj sent his messengers to inspect the flowers, and when the next Bhai Tika puja arrived Yamaraj admitted that he had lost Bali Hang’s soul to his pious sister and granted him a long life.
The modern day Jamunas remember the legend and perform the rituals with much enthusiasm, love and gaiety. They believe that the required rituals will protect their brothers from untimely death and that they will enjoy a long life, health and prosperity.
In this day, sisters apply sacred Tika on their brother’s forehead and pray to Lord Yama for her brother’s long life and prosperity.
Some of the ethnic groups in Nepal use the Pancha Rangi Tika (Five coloured Tika) for Bhai Tika. First a base, rice flour is applied vertically on the forehead then yellow, green, red, blue and white colour Tika are put on top of this line in a row.
But in the Newar culture, we just use rice, vermilion and yogurt, mix them and use that as a Tika.
Those who do not have a brother or sister visit Yamarajeswor Temple at Rani Pokhari, in downtown Kathmandu. There they pay homage to Lord Shiva and receive bhai tika. Interestingly, the temple remains locked up all year round except on this particular day.
For this occasion, I had invited my brothers and their families to my place and we did the Bhai Tika on my balcony.
Before the Bhai Tika, just like in Maha Puja, the floor was purified by sprinkling water on it, and then we made Mandaps in front of a row of seats on the floor where my brothers were sitting. I used a copy of the same Mandap which was designed by AS but this time I printed them on A3 paper.
In Nepal, the Mandaps are made by hand on the floor using oil, rice flour, vermilion, puffed rice and sometimes beans. The number of the Mandaps needed is three plus the number of people doing the Puja. So I had two big Mandaps, for my brothers, in a row and three smaller Mandaps at the top of the row for the Family Deity (Kuladevata), Yamaraj and Janmaraj, and one crow drawn at the end of the row symbolising Lord Yama.
Beside the three Mandaps at one end, I also had a Sukunda with a candle on it.
Then I put all the sweets and Rotis that I had made or bought as well as some fruits around the Mandap along with the sweets, Masala and Sagun.
Then I had trays with fruits like mangoes, oranges, apples, cup-cakes, lamingtons and cakes. I bake it and wrote Happy Bhai Tika on it.
I made Masala at home this year with dry coconuts, dry dates, raisins, almonds, pistachio nuts, apricots, dry figs, cashews, cloves, cardamoms, beetle nuts, hard shelled walnuts, palm sugar cubes and lots of Chocolates. I used clear cello wrap and colourful bows to make it look beautiful.
For Sagun, I boiled the eggs, took the shell out and fried them in a pan. I made Bara, fried some chicken, fish and cut fresh garlic.
I made Mala out of tinsel and bought Jajanka in a Nepali grocery store.
Jajanka is made of many rounds of a white cotton thread forming a circle of about two feet in diameter and tied with a small piece of colourful cloth in order to have no ends. Jajanka symbolizes the integration of the beginning with the end. It is about creation, maintenance and fullness of life. Normally the Mala is supposed to be of Makhmali ful/Supadi ful (Globe Amaranth) as it never dries and always looks fresh.
My Bhai tika process
First I gave Nasala, a few drops of water, in the palm of the right hand of my brothers to sprinkle some into the mouth and rest over the body for purification.
I worshipped the Family Deity and Yama’s Mandap with water, rice, flowers, and vermilion powder.
I gave water, rice, flowers, and vermilion powder to my brothers, first to worship the Mandap of the House God and then the crow, then to worship their own Mandaps. The Mandap is used as a medium to present the various offerings to the self.
Then I put Tika made of vermillion, rice and yogurt on my brothers’ forehead and gave them flowers to put on their head as a blessing form God. This was followed by Mala and Jajanka around their neck.
Normally in Nepal, they use Itaa (special long strands made using white cloth soaked in mustard oil) but here we used tea light candles instead. I gave both my brothers the candles. They took the candle from my hand, lit them and put them on their Mandap. This light is believed to brighten the inner self and keep evil at bay.
Then I took some water in an Ankhura (a small pitcher for Puja) filled with oil and water and Dubo in my hand and circled around my brothers three times.
Then I gave them some rice and flower in their hand. I then gave trays of Rotis, fruits, Masala, sweets and clothes to them and they had to hold them and keep them from touching the ground. Then I took some rice and flower in my hand and showered each of them and worshipped the god within them. Only after that could they put the trays down.
Then my brothers put Tika on my forehead, touched my feet for my blessings and gave me the gifts they had brought for me.
I gave them the Sagun. For Sagun, you put a plate of egg, Bara, meat and fish in the right hand and yogurt or alcohol in the left hand.
Once everyone finished eating the Sagun, we used Kucho (broom) to sweep the mandaps starting from the top end of the row of Mandaps to the bottom of the row, touching each Mandap to erase them and concluded our Bhai Tika.
Today is Goru Puja, Govardhan Puja, Mha Puja and Nepal Sambat.
Goru Puja
Nepal is mostly an agricultural country so oxen are considered important animals as they help in ploughing the fields. That is why on this day they are worshiped with tika, garland and offered nice food.
Govardhan Puja
Govardhan Puja is performed by making a hill called govardhan parbat using Cow dung. Cow dung has big importance in Hindu culture. In the olden days it was used for everything from light at night (Methane) to polish mud floors of traditional houses. Even now no Puja is complete without cow dung in Nepali Hindu culture.
It is believed that once there was a drought in a village in Vridavan. The villagers were very worried and they wanted to perform a big Puja in honour of Lord Indra, the God of rain. But Lord Krishna convinced them that, they should not pray to Lord Indra since it was the Mount Govardhan that brought the rain and not Lord Indra. This made Lord Indra very angry and in his wrath he sent forth a big thunderstorm to flood the village. Lord Krishan lifted the Mount Govardhan as an umbrella above the village to protect the villagers and their cattle from the rain and flood.
Mha Puja
In this day, after sunset Newar community perform Mha Puja.
“Mha” means body in the Newari language so on this day the Newa people worship their body and their inner self in the evening. They believe that the soul never dies and our body is only a vehicle and so we need to understand and respect our body as it is the chosen vehicle for this incarnation. This Puja is believed to bring prosperity and physical well-being.
Members of the family, first males followed by females, sit cross-legged in a row. The elder group of females plays the role of facilitators for each member. A mandap, decorated with different colours and various grains, fruits and flowers, is drawn for each member of the family.
In between the grains and fruits lies a mini mandap of oil, which represents the human soul. The human soul is placed between various grains and fruits so that a person will prosper throughout the year since each object represents a particular God and it is believed that each deity will bless the person. An oil lamp with velvet cloth wick equal in length to one’s own face is lit on top of the mandap facing all four cardinal directions so that a person will be renowned in all the places of this earth.
Apart from worshipping oneself, all the household entities like brooms, water pots, utensils and machines are also worshipped in the same way.
I performed Mha Puja with my brother and his family this year. This year my cousins are in Nepal so there were only 4 of us unlike 9 last year. For the Puja, first the floor was purified by sprinkling water on it then we made mandaps in front of a row of seats on the floor where we were sitting. Our mandap was designed by AS and I had printed them out on A4 paper but in Nepal they are made by hand on the floor using oil, rice flour, vermilion, puffed rice and sometimes beans.
The number of the mandaps needed is three plus the number of people doing the puja. We need three smaller mandaps at the top of the row for the Family Deity (Kuladevata), Yamaraj and Janmaraj, one mandap for each of the member performing Mha Puja. Then at the end of the row, we had a crow drawn symbolising Yama the God of death.
Normally the puja is done by the eldest member of the family but this year I did the process as my elder cousin is not in Sydney.
Process of doing Mha Puja (according to my knowledge):
First I gave Nasala, a few drops of water, in the palm of the right hand of everyone to sprinkle some into the mouth and rest over the body for purification.
I worshipped the Family Deity and Yama’s mandap with water, rice, flowers, and vermilion powder.
I gave water, rice, flowers, and vermilion powder to each individual to worship their own mandaps. The mandap is used as a medium to present the various offerings to the self.
Then I put tika on everyone’s forehead and gave them flower to put on their head.
Normally in Nepal, they use Itaa (hand woven long strands made using white cloth soaked in mustard oil) but here we used tea light candle instead. I gave each person the candle and everyone took the candle from my hand, lighted them and put them on their mandap. This light is believed to brighten the inner self and keep evil at bay.
I used rice and flower to shower each individual and worshipped the god within.
Then I gave every a plate with roti, sweets, fruits and masala.
Then,I gave Sagun to everyone. For Sagun, you put a plate of egg, bara (lentil cake), meat (chicken), a piece of garlicand fish in the right hand and yougurt in your left hand.
Once everyone finished eating the sagun, we used kucho (broom) to sweep the mandaps from top of the row to the bottom touching each mandap to conclude Mha puja.
Nepal Sambat
This day is also New Year’s day for Newar community and is called Nepal Sambat. Nepal Sambat is the national lunar calendar of Nepal. The era started on 20 October 879 AD and was in widespread use for all daily purposes until the beginning of the 20th century. It appeared on coins, stone and copper plate inscriptions, royal decrees, chronicles, Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts, legal documents and correspondence.
The customs of celebrating Nepal Sambat started from October 880 AD. According to a popular legend, there used to be a learned person in Bhaktapur who ordered porters to get sand from Lakhu Tirtha, a river in Kathmandu because he knew that it would turn into a heap of gold the next day. A person named Shankhadhar Sakhwaa came to know about it, and he enticed the porters to leave the sand in his place.
The next day, the sand turned into gold and with that gold he paid off the debt of all the people in the Kathmandu Valley. So from that day, people started celebrating it as their New Year to commemorate their happiness.
Even today, people are very enthusiastic to welcome the New Year. Every year, the day starts with a rally and the greeting of “Nhu Daya Bhintuna!” which means “Happy New Year”. Different programmes and functions are also organised in the Kathmandu Valley every year on this day.
The months of the year in Nepal Sambat are
Nepal Sambat month
Corresponding Gregorian month
Kachha lā
November
Thin lā
December
Pohe lā
January
Sil lā
February
Chil lā
March
Chau lā
April
Bachha lā
May
Tachha lā
June
Dil lā
July
Goon lā
August
Yen lā
September
Kau lā
October
It is Nepal Sambat 1133 this year. Nhu Daya Bhintuna everyone!!!
Also from this day, boys in groups go door to door singing special songs called Deusi similar to the Bhailo sung during Laxmi Puja. You can write just about any Deusi song as long as each line ends with the word `Deusi’ or `Deosuray’. A group of males get together, carry what-ever musical instruments they have or can play, and sing Deusi door to door blessing the home and family in return for money and/or refreshments. Teenagers perform various Deusi songs to collect money for their picnic.
It is considered auspicious to have these groups come to your front door. The house owner will offer them some rotis, fruits and money and they sing Deusi songs blessing the household with good fortune.
A Sample of Deusi Song. Includes a similar meaning in English
Bhana Mera Bhaiho Deusuray. (Say it my brothers, Say it. Deusuray)
Sormelai Kana Deusuray. (Say it louder and say it in tune. Deusuray)
Rato Batoo Deusuray. (Red mud trail. Deusuray)
Chiploa Batoo Desuray. (Slippery trail. Deusuray)
Laddai Paddai Deusuray. (Slipping and Sliding. Deusuray)
Akeya Hami Deusuray. (Finally we made it to your home! Deusuray)
…. …. Deusuray
…. …. Deusuray
…. …. Deusuray
Yo Garma Laxmi Deusuray. (In this home Lord Laxmi. Deusuray)
As I mentioned in my previous post, today is Gai Puja and Laxmi Puja as well.
In the morning of this day, the cow, the mother of the universe, is worshiped. According to Hinduism, the human infant is fed breast milk by its human mother for three years. After weaning, the cow acts as the surrogate mother providing milk for the rest of the human life – through childhood, adult age and old age. Cows are the mothers of the universe, the sacred animal. Hindus consider a cow as sacred and used its milk, dung and even urine for purification purpose. Those performing Cow puja place her manure in different parts of the home, drink a drop or two of the cow’s urine, as a part of a purification process. Also dip a blade of grass into the urine and lightly sprinkle it on each other’s body to become closer to the mother of the universe – cow.
People in villages who have a cow worship their cow but most of the people in Kathmandu don’t have a cow so they either go to a priest’s house or to a temple to worship the cow.
Cow is worshiped by putting tika on their forehead and a garland around their neck. They are offered a delicious meal and fruits.
A cow also symbolises wealth and a form of goddess Laxmi.
In the afternoon, the whole house is cleaned in preparation for welcoming the goddess of wealth, Laxmi. Most of the houses have their front door decorated with a mandap and have a trail of red mud leading to their Puja room (worship room in the house) .
Laxmi Puja is performed using flowers, incense, oil lamps, color-powders, bell and money (both notes and coins). Laxmi puja is performed at dusk using red mud, and puja is often done by a female in the family.
When I was young, I used to help mum do this. It was one of my favourite holiday activities. First, red mud is used to make a trail leading to the Puja room. Once it is dry, a mixture of flour and water is used to make a symbolic footprint of Goddess Laxmi on the floor entering the home. Once the flour footprints have dried, vermillion mixed with oil is put on them along with some flowers. This results in a trail of small red footprints from the main door of the house to the Puja room symbolising that Goddess Laxmi has entered the house.
The entire house is decorated with flower garlands and lit oil lamps in every doors and windows.
Also people use firecrackers to celebrate the festival.
In Australia, we can’t do all this so I printed out small footsteps on paper and used that as an alternative to lead the Goddess Laxmi to our Puja area. Also at the start of the footsteps, I had a mandap of Lord Ganesh.
I set up a photo of goddess Laxmi with some notes and our piggy bank in the Puja area.
Then I performed Puja using tika, flower, garland, fruits, roti and masala.
I had candles lit in the puja area as well as twinkle lights to simulate the ambience of Tihar.
Laxmi puja is not only for households but is also performed by businesses. Business-Laxmi-Puja is done exactly the same way as is done in home. Usually the company’s cashier performs the puja during which time the entire office including office compounds are lit with various lights including electrical, candle lights, and oil lamps and usually the staffs are invited to participate in the puja procession.
From this day on for the next 3 days, there will be women in groups coming door to door singing special songs called Bhailani. It is considered auspicious to have these groups come to your front door. The house owner will offer them some rotis, fruits and money and they sing Bhailo blessing the household with good fortune.
When ghee starts to melt, add plain flour and fry it stirring continuously. Make sure, the flour doesn’t turn brown.
After a while when the flour is cooked, it should smell really good.
Once it is cooked, take out half of the fried flour and set it aside on a plate.
Add 2 table spoons of sugar to the plate and mix well.
Add the rest of the sugar and then add the water and keep stirring.
When the water and flour is mixed well and ghee starts showing on the top, add the rest of the ghee and Halwa is now ready too.
If you are making halwa only skip step 5, 6, and 7.
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