Goa - the land of booze and partying with its vast beaches and swinging coconut trees is what comes to everyone's mind. Ask a Goan and they will tell you of the traditions, cultures which strongly bind the people together. Various festivals are celebrated by people of different religions in harmony. Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Id, Christmas... are all celebrated with the same enthusiasm all across
Being outside Goa and India, the urge to celebrate each festival in the exact way as done at home becomes stronger. Its one of the ways to feel at home away from home
Diwali in Goa is synonymous with Narkasur, Fov (Pohe), lots of festival sweets & snacks, akashdivo (latern) and of course crackers!
In the US, of course there is no Narkasur to see on Diwali eve nor crackers to burst. Diwali festivities begin a fews days earlier with the preparation of various snacks like shankarpali, chivda etc Every year I try to add a new item to my list of snacks and this year it was besan ladoo.
Another attraction of diwali is the Akashdivo or latern which hangs in the the balcony. Everyone gets really creative and a variety of colorful Akashdive are seen hanging in the balcony of every house
On Diwali morning it is a busy busy time! Its the day of cleansing and getting refreshed. A good oil massage followed by application of uthane (uptan) which makes you feel refreshed and smell heavenly.
An inviting breakfast table welcomes you which is laid with all the snacks prepared in advance and freshly prepared varieties of fov (pohe) - dudhatle, rosatle, dhayatle, suke & batata pohe.
This year since I had visited India few weeks before; there was a lot of stuff I had carried back too. So it was a wonderful heavily laid table.
Usually back in Goa Chana usal & Ambadyachi karam are part of the menu. However we are not big fans of the usal and its been impossible to find Ambade hence we have always skipped the two dishes.
Prior to having the breakfast comes the ovalni. All of the family stands in a straight line and the eldest lady in the house does the ovalni (aarti) of each member. In return she receives gifts from each one.
After breakfast its time to get busy cooking lunch however the number of dishes made for breakfast take me quite a while and we always end up having a late breakfast.
Well of course it has gotten quite better over time. It's the 4th year now that we are celebrating Diwali in the US. I can never forget the first time though. I was all excited to celebrate but didn't have the slightest idea how to make any of the dishes. Calling up home and making lots of notes about each ritual, ceremony and dish did the trick except absolute no idea of quantity of food which resulted in enough fov to last couple of days!
Yet its become a sort of a tradition to skip lunch and go out to have an early dinner. So I get enough time to put a nice rangoli on the doorstep. At the time of dusk, all the lights in the house and well as the lighting on the balcony is switched on giving a colorful and festive look to the house. Diwali night warrants for oil lamps to be placed outside though I have adapted to placing tealight candles in my little mud lamps.
Diwali - a festival of lights, color and good food! What more can one ask for
Being outside Goa and India, the urge to celebrate each festival in the exact way as done at home becomes stronger. Its one of the ways to feel at home away from home
Diwali in Goa is synonymous with Narkasur, Fov (Pohe), lots of festival sweets & snacks, akashdivo (latern) and of course crackers!
In the US, of course there is no Narkasur to see on Diwali eve nor crackers to burst. Diwali festivities begin a fews days earlier with the preparation of various snacks like shankarpali, chivda etc Every year I try to add a new item to my list of snacks and this year it was besan ladoo.
Another attraction of diwali is the Akashdivo or latern which hangs in the the balcony. Everyone gets really creative and a variety of colorful Akashdive are seen hanging in the balcony of every house
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| five varieties of fov & various snacks |
An inviting breakfast table welcomes you which is laid with all the snacks prepared in advance and freshly prepared varieties of fov (pohe) - dudhatle, rosatle, dhayatle, suke & batata pohe.
This year since I had visited India few weeks before; there was a lot of stuff I had carried back too. So it was a wonderful heavily laid table.
Usually back in Goa Chana usal & Ambadyachi karam are part of the menu. However we are not big fans of the usal and its been impossible to find Ambade hence we have always skipped the two dishes.
 |
| Ovalni tat |
Prior to having the breakfast comes the ovalni. All of the family stands in a straight line and the eldest lady in the house does the ovalni (aarti) of each member. In return she receives gifts from each one.
 |
| Lighting in the balcony |
Well of course it has gotten quite better over time. It's the 4th year now that we are celebrating Diwali in the US. I can never forget the first time though. I was all excited to celebrate but didn't have the slightest idea how to make any of the dishes. Calling up home and making lots of notes about each ritual, ceremony and dish did the trick except absolute no idea of quantity of food which resulted in enough fov to last couple of days!
Yet its become a sort of a tradition to skip lunch and go out to have an early dinner. So I get enough time to put a nice rangoli on the doorstep. At the time of dusk, all the lights in the house and well as the lighting on the balcony is switched on giving a colorful and festive look to the house. Diwali night warrants for oil lamps to be placed outside though I have adapted to placing tealight candles in my little mud lamps.Diwali - a festival of lights, color and good food! What more can one ask for
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