Traditional ties

“My mother is a walking miracle” ~~ Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor and film producer.

“சித்திரா பௌர்ணமி” (Siththiraa Pournami) is observed by those who have lost their mothers. This day falls on the first fullmoon after the new Lunar year (also known as Tamil New Year or Sri Lankan New Year)has dawned in the Tamil month of Sithirai. The day is observed by the Tamil Hindus with fasting, carrying out rituals at temples and homes, cooking and offering vegetarian meals to their departed souls with a day long prayers. 

It also brings endless cherishing memories of our mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers and so on whil we carry out this ritual. This year’s Siththira Pournami falls on April 16, which also happens to be our parents’ wedding anniversary. My father has never failed to observe Siththira Pournami in the most traditional way while carrying out rituals for many decades, ever since he lost his beloved mother. Our mother would freshly cook scrumptious Jaffna’s famous traditional vegetarian meal from dawn to be served and offered before 12 noon. Making Jaffna’s traditional meals is a tedious process, but the end results would always excite all of us. Sometimes we may not be able to get all necessary ingredients to make this meal while not living in Sri Lanka, but we always explore other avenues to experiment and it turns out to be edible and extraordinary. This traditional menu includes Red Rice, Roasted Green Gram curry (வறுத்த பயத்தம் பருப்புக்கறி), Amarnath leaves curry (முளைக்கீரைக்கறி),Long Beans curry (பயத்தங்காய்கறி),Cassava curry (மரவள்ளிக்கிழங்குக்கறி),Eggplant Gravy (கத்தரிக்காய்க் குழம்பு ),Carrot and Ginger Salad, Pappadam, Curd Chillies (மோர் மிளகாய்), and homemade Lime pickle. A Hindu priest comes home and performs rituals related to this particular fasting for almost half a day. We invite families, friends and neighbors to partake in meals. It’s always fascinating to see the whole village would gather to partake in meals and join in prayers. Fond memories of the departed souls are emotionally shared. Some who travel from far away would stay at our house overnight, while the rest would take some traditional food along with them when they leave from our home to theirs.

This auspicious day in April has never been forgotten by any of us, whether we were in Sri Lanka or living offshore. I very well recall once we observed this important fast at an Internally Displaced Persons camp in Jaffna. We cooked and served  meals to the people who were displaced from their homes due to war.

It’s also believed that during the first year of passing away of a soul, Siththiraa Pournami is not observed by any of us. We as Tamil Hindus from Northern Sri Lanka believe that the departed soul must rest and be united with the divine first and foremost.

Many generations have passed by, but we continue to follow our roots wherever we are, be it in Sri Lanka or overseas. 

அம்மா (mother), அம்மம்மா (maternal grandmother),அப்பாச்சி, (paternal grandmother),பூட்டியாச்சி (great grandmother) we miss you dearly and you are remembered everyday. We are extremely happy and proud that our paths have crossed and we have spent time together. We cherish those memories. We continue to live humbly and treasure all those values you have taught us when we were children. In this digital era where values are not treasured much, we would like to let our ancestors know on this auspicious day that we continue to follow your footsteps and live up to your standards.