Navaratri 2025 @ Sobha Palladian

 

Ten Days / 10 Intense chanting sessions /  16 hosts /  40++ participants!

That sums up the Navaratri 2025 celebrations in Sobha Palladian!!

Hindu religion has a wide range of festivals, traditions and rituals. Many of them have survived over centuries and many still retain the essentials in  rigor, bhakti and enthusiasm  with which they are practised & celebrated today.

Given the diversity of India, the various states, religion, language and cultures and the great many intellectual leaders  and religious people who were born and preached from these places, we literally have thousands of festivals and traditions.

The Cultural committee has done a wonderful job in celebrating a few popular festivals like the recently conducted ONAM and Ganesh Chaturthi  and Holi, Deepavali, Christmas events in a grand scale.  However, it is impossible to give prominence and celebrate every other festival we have in india.

 

So, it is left to smaller groups to take up the baton and organise and observe other traditions , like Saraswati Puja,  Karva Chauth, Golu & Navaratri. And what motivates folks to attend these festivities is not just their devotion but also the delicious prasadams and bhog that are distributed.

Golu and Navaratri tradition has been practised every year since the early residents moved into SP.  A few families put up a grand display of ‘Golu Bommai’ each year.

 

Navratri is traditionally celebrated over nine days, concluding with Dussehra or Vijayadashmi.

The word Navratri means nine nights. During this period , people worship nine different forms of Goddess Durga. Each day is dedicated to a different avatar of the goddess like Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, and so on.

 

Devotees observe fasts, wear different colored clothes each day, and take part in Garba and Dandiya Raas, which are traditional dance forms.

In South, we celebrated with Golu – a colorful display of idols and dolls.

 And as per South Indian tradition we celebrated each day with the chanting of ‘Lalitha Sahasranamam’.

Each day one resident hosted the chanting session in their home and also distributed prasadam at the end of the session.

 

This time the response was overwhelming. While the core group consists of around 12 regulars, this year we had more than 25 attendees each day. And the enthusiasm and devotion and the chorus recital of Lalitha Sahasranamam was amazing!

People turned up and were seated on time – 100%

The Lalitha Sahasranamam chanting starred on-the-dot at 4.30 PM each day.

People wore the specified colored attiire each day as specified.  Bright, vibrant &  colourful pattu (silk) sarees with matching jewellery & accessories.

And if one were to roughly compute the prices of all the sarees and jewellery worn over these ten days, the amount would easily fetch an apartment in Sobha Palladian !!

And here is a snapshot of each day’s happenings…..

Day 1 @ Seshambal & Prabha’s. # 2051

Dress color : White / Ivory.  White – For Peace & purity

Pratipada Puja for Maa Shailiputri

Prasadam : Black chana shundal and Mysuru Pak !

Shaila means mountain and putri means daughter. Since Goddess Parvati is the daughter of the Mountain God, she is given importance on this day.

And as we enter their apartment, we are greeted by a wonderful Golu display. A twin tower Golu, 5 steps each displaying all the traditional dolls.  

Check out the beautiful Tanjavur paintings on the wall and the bright red saree clad ‘KuttuVilllakku’ (Blass lamp) in the centre of the two towers.

And the first day of Navaratri started on a strong note.  We had a house-full attendance !!

And for more photos ....

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cDoAU475Hfzx46b1A

Day 2 @ Jayashree’s (4041), co-hosted by Preeti (1061) & Vinaya(1063)

Dress color : Red.  Red – For Energy, & strength 

Dwitiya  Puja for Maa Brahmacharini

Prasadam : Badam milk, Kabuli chana shundal & Assorted Indian sweet packet from Asha sweets !

Goddess Brahmacharini is a form of Durga Devi and she is the one who reduces anger. Hence, the second day is dedicated to this Goddess.

Day 2 @ Jayashree’s home was red in full bloom !

Gorgeous silk sarees covered every inch of her hall!

More Photos ??  Check them out .....

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KN8QUHm1pcKZyLGT7

Day 3 @ Dhyuti & Mohana’s # 4055

Dress color : Blue.   Royal Blue –  For Courage & protection 

Tritiya  Puja for Maa Chandraghanta

Prasadam:  Masala Milk, Pattani  shundal (green peas)  & Occarai (a Tirunelveli speciality sweet made from Bengal gram, jaggery) !

It is believed that Mata Chandraghanta  has a third eye and fights against evil demons. During puja, jasmine flowers are offered to please her. 

Here again we saw a splendid array of dolls in a seven step Golu. 

Along with the traditional figures of gods and goddesses and the mandatory social themes there were two ‘Annex’.  One depicting Bhakt Prahalad enduring the atrocities showered on him by hi s father Hiranyakashapu and  the second, Hanuman’s visit to Sri Lanka.

If you look carefully, you can spot Ravana’s durbar where Hanuman towers over him sitting on his giant coiled tail, the Ram-Sethu with Hanuman carrying Ram & Lakshman on his shoulder,  & the Ashoka Van to name a few.

Well depicted scenes – especially the small water tank where Asuras try to drown Bhakt Prahalad !!

And the Marapachhi Bommai, the musicians and the Amul baby / the saree clad Kuttuvilakku &  and the Kolam on water!

And the ladies in Blue turned up in encouraging numbers .

And for more photos …

https://photos.app.goo.gl/M6uep5tsi7FjJkvi6

Day 4 @ Jayashree’s hosted by Ranju (3066) & Ruchika(3024)

Dress color : Yellow  . Yellow – For Happiness & positivity

Chaturthi  Puja for Maa Kushmanda

Prasadam :  Masala Milk, Sabudana Khichri, Suji halwa

This day is dedicated for Goddess Kushmanda. Her name means ‘cosmic egg’ and she is known to spread energy and warmth to everyone.

 
And once again Jayashree’s home was jam packed. And this time the fiery red was replaced with golden yellow !

Check it out ??

 https://photos.app.goo.gl/cLrgSkJsTZovvvhD6

Day 5 @ Jayanthi’s # 2001

Dress color : Green    For Prosperity & growth

Panchami  Puja for Maa Skandamata

Prasadam :  Kabuli Chana , South Indian Rava Kesari

Mata Skandamata is one who rules over Budh (planet Mercury). She is revered as praised for both fierce and loving.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6rrENqipctmcA34j9

Day 6 @ Nirmala’s # 3002

Dress color : Grey     Grey – For Stability & wisdom

Sashtami :Maa Katyayani Puja.

Prasadam :  Dry fruit payasam, Pattani (Chickpeas) shundal, sweet appam&  Maa laddoo.

 A mega 9-step Golu invites all the participants into Nirmala’s home.

This Golu transports us form the beginning of time with Brahma, Vishnu , Shiva and follows thru the Matsya avatar to Kalki avatar age.

And it traces the evolution of India’s Space program.

Remember Nirmala works for ISRO and was one of the lead scientists involved int the recent successful Chandrayaan mission.

On 14 July 2023, Chandrayaan-3 was successfully launched on LVM3 and was inserted in the lunar sphere of gravitational influence on 5 August 2023.^[51] On 23 August 2023, the lander Vikram successfully soft landed in the lunar south pole region, achieving humanity's first soft landing in the region and making India the fourth country to soft land on the Moon after Soviet Union, United States and China

In this Golu you can see the very first attempt where a rocket was hauled on a bullock cart on Trivandrum beach for it test launch.  Yes, you can see the bullock cart!

And ISRO’s vision for 2025 and beyond!  And the father of Indian Space Mission Dr Vikram Sarabhai watches this display from above !

Our salute to Nirmala plus Kalai (3005)  & Kiruba (5016)  for their contribution to our space program!!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7Qny5Ms3x5BHuQhCA

  

Day 7 @ Jayashree Nataraj’s  # 1031

Dress code : Orange    Orange – For Power &  enthusiasm

Saptami. Maa Kalaratri Puja

Prasadam :   Daliya-Coconut milk  payasam, Kadala parupppu shundal

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DSzqVvYgoBs5BJmu6

Day 8 @ Janhavi’s (5001), co-host Sangeeta Mahadevan (5024)  

Dress color :  Peacock Green      Peacock Green – For Harmony & balance

Ashtami         Maa Mahagauri   Saraswati Avahan, Mahagauri Puja, Sandhi Puja

 Prasadam: Kabuli Chana Shundal, Hayagreeva (made from Yellow channa dal, jaggery , grated coconut, nutmeg & cardamom) – some what similar to ‘puran poli’ fillings. And the famous Big Mishra Dharwad peda pack.

A beautiful and intricately decorated Mahalaksmi Idol adorns the Puja shelf.

This is the Kolhapur Mahalakshmi (also called Ambabai, consort of Lord Venkateshwara). Kolhapur is one of the major shakti peetam.  

People believe that a visit to Kolhapur Mahalakshmi temple is compulsory after visiting Tirupati.

The temple thoughtfully provides a darshan of Tirupati too !! As we walk along in Q towards the sanctum sanctorum, we pass by a small shrine of Tirupati Venkateshwara. We take his blessings before entering the Mahalakshmi shrine.

Once again, the room is packed, this time in peacock bule sarees.

And the patio came to life with bright smiling faces!!!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bYPSNnBm2cvmWwEn6

  Day 9 @ Padma’s #5031, co hosted with Moti Sai Vasudevan

Dress color :   Pink  for Love & devotion

Navami     Maa Siddhidatri   Durga Ashtami,

Prasadam Multigrain Shundal, Aravana payasam, Jackfruit payasam.  Organic laddoos and ribbon pakoda.  Jack fruit came from Padma’s own estate.

Goddess Kamakshi flanked by Gaja Lakshmi (left) and Saraswati (right)

Check out the simple, elegant South Indian traditional Yezha Kolam ( geometric curves drawn with Rice paste).

Yezhai Kolam – not to be confused with the popular Christmas song ….

https://in.video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=yezhai+kolam+song&type=E210IN1357G0#id=1&vid=2a61372fa8bcc9d6056402977f6a49c1&action=click

 And we had full attendance – The seniors and the smiling young@hearts !

Check out more photos @ https://photos.app.goo.gl/6BcxbAjymJqvGeVWA

 Day 10 @ Aparajita’s

We concluded on Saraswati Puja  day with the chanting of Lalitha Sahasranamam followed Durga Saptha Shloki.

Prasadam    Groundnut Shundal, Red rice milk payasam.

 Many of us performed Saraswati Puja as well as Ayudhha Puja.

And at Sobha Palladian, the MC team and all the support staff performed Saraswati Puja at the MC room.

 The entire 10 day event was meticulously compiled and directed by Ms Seshambal Satyavasu, who also was the prime lead for the chanting sessions. And apart from leading the weekly chanting sessions she has also conducted regular classes in Narayaneeyam, Bhagavat Gita and Sundarakandam .

Little Ashvika (Ammu, 2054))  led the tradition of singing a song at the end of each chanting session.  Many others followed with enthusiasm and bhakti.

Little Varnika (Leela’s daughter) sang the geetam Shree Gananatha along with Ammu.

Prabha, Sukanya, Ashalatha, Harsha, Sandhya, Moti Sai Vasudevan , Akila (Padma’s sister) and one special invitee @ Nirmala’s, sang  many devotional songs to mark the end of each session.

Another highlight was the superb rendition of  Shree Suktam & Durga Suktam   by mother & daughter duo – Sangeeta & Anuradha.  Amazing performance!!  

Ms Jayashree Srinivasan encouraged many of her friends and initiated them into attending the Navaratri events and they participated enthusiastically. She also co-hosted a few of them in her chanting sessions – Preeti, Vinaya, Ranju & Ruchika Sunil. Our thanks to Jayashree for her enthusiasm and initiatives.

And I must recognise  the super-seniors who regularly attend our weekly chantings without fail.  Thank you for your support, encouragement and your blessings.

And of course, a big thank you to all the participants for turning up in such encouraging numbers each day and making this event very memorable.

The daily Google photo albums will preserve these moments!   

Wishing all of you an abundance of new learnings, knowledge and wisdom !

Stay Healthy & God Bless!

Jayanthi / Krish// 2001 SP

2 Oct 2025

ONAM @ Sobha Palladian, Sept 2025

We celebrated ONAM in Sobha Palladian on Saturday 13 Sept, 2025.

This was the ninth (9) ONAM festival that we all celebrated in as many years when many of us early settlers moved into our apartments in 2017.

And each year we have seen the events getting better and better and the performance bar getting raised a bit higher each time.

So, this year was no exception – we had the works! 

The tall imposing & majestic Mahabali, 

The cute little Kathakali,

The elaborately dressed Mohini Attam dancers with brightly mehndi-etched palms and elaborately styled hair knots wrapped in jasmine strands,

The black ‘panchakacham’ (dhoti) clad Kalaripayattu warriors with swords and shields running all around the blocks doing mock fencing with each other,

The Kerala boat men with their spotless white dhotis, bright pink, red  and blue shirts brandishing their custom designed paddles made out of thick cardboard and blue mop-stick handles

 And the grand finale – the very elaborate and delicious ONAM Sadhya.

And this time we had one interesting dish – Chakka Pradhaman, A payasam   made from ripe Jackfruit and jagghery .A dark brown gooey concoction – my first sip,  and it assaulted my nose and taste buds with its strong and pungent flavour !!

And the folks danced in abandon in step with the thumping beats of the Chenda quartet.

And our Emcee, Arjun was in his elements with his deep sonorous voice, easy humour & quick wit!

And the ubiquitous & enthusiastic photo sessions capturing the same faces in different groups to preserve these wonderful moments for posterity!

And so predictably the sound system displayed its inconsistent and un predictable nature every now and then and totally wreaking Hari’s soulful rendering of the famous  ‘Pramadhavanam’ .

But sadly we missed two classic performances this year  – the graceful Thiuvathirakkali dance by Palladian ladies   and the vibrant  “Jimmikki Kammal” jig by the men folks !! I hope they will return next ONAM.

So here we go …..

Onam is the biggest and the most important festival of the state of Kerala. It is a harvest festival and is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm all over the state by people of all communities. According to a popular legend, the festival is celebrated to welcome King Mahabali, whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.

We started the day with the traditional  Poo Kolam  led by veterans Kalai, Ahaana,Prasheeba,  Janhavi, Vinaya and  Roopa . 

A very patient and meticulous process . First a chalk drawing  of the borders, then peeling the petals from all the flowers, deciding and finally filling each section with the petals to create a bright and colourful Poo Kolam!  The polished Kerala brass lamp adds that extra tradition and sanctity to the Kolam.

Trivia :  The Thumbai Poo (Dronapushpi in Sanskrit)  is the flower that is most widely used in Poo Kolam..

And ONAM started off with a bang!

The grand entry of King Mahabali.  

The Legend of Mahabali.

Story goes that during the reign of mighty asura (demon) king, Mahabali, Kerala witnessed its golden era. Every body in the state was happy and prosperous and king was highly regarded by his subjects. Apart from all his virtues, Mahabali had one shortcoming. He was egoistic.

So Lord Vishnu came in the form of Vamana Avataar and asked the King for 3 paces of land.  When the King condescendingly agreed, Vamana grew so big that he took one pace to cover the entire earth, his second pace to cover the entire heavens and then asked  the King where he could put his third pace. Kind Mahabali was humbled , realising that Vamana was the Lord himself, he  offered his head on which the Lord placed his feet and crushed his ego. However, for all the good deed done by Mahabali, God granted him a boon that he could annually visit his people with whom he was so attached.

It is this visit of Mahabali that is celebrated as Onam every year.

And our own resident Mahabali (with spectacles & without moustache) takes a grand survey of all the five blocks before finally taking his position in front of the clubhouse for a group photo shoot !!

And this was BV Sriraman’s third ‘Maveli’ appearance and he gets better each time !!

Methinks he must consider turning Pro and a career Mahabali.  Such opportunity  and  a wide scope for diversification into a host of other similar Mythological Mahapurushas from our Itihasas and Puranas.

The program started  with a melodious song by Swetha Karthik.

The song "Thumbi Vaa" is a beautiful lullaby that praises and invites the beloved to come and join the singer on the swing.  A very popular Ilayaraja classic from the Malayalam movie Olangal - a remake of the Hindi movie Masoom.

Kerala = Kathakali.

 

Getting ready for Kathakali is an arduous task – requiring lots of skill and tons of patience both from performing artist and the make-up artist as well!

 

And here is Ashvika (the performer) and her mother Swetha taking us through the process of making a Kathakali character.

While Swetha took over the costume and makeup responsibilities , the idea / concept and dance choreography came from Nikita & Niveditha.

Look out for Ashvika’s performance  in the coming section!!

And then the children of Sobha Palladian took over the stage and brought to life Kerala’s vibrant art and dance forms.

They performed with both grace and gusto – each performance reflecting a special part of Kerala’s culture—grace, strength, beauty, fun, and drama.

 

Thiruvathirakkali :  A   graceful dance traditionally performed around a tall brass amp. The slow and elegant steps symbolize devotion and harmony. The dance I s usually performed by singing praises of Shiva Parvati.

And the star performers were Dhwani, Manvi, Reina, and Laya.

 Kalaripayattu : Indian Martial Arts Dance.

Kalaripayattu, Kerala’s ancient martial art form is believed to be one of the oldest in the world. With its leaps, kicks, and weapon techniques, it showcases courage and discipline.

According to legend, Parashurama, the creator of Kerala, is said to be the founder of the martial arts tradition in the region, and who introduced it as a self-defence mechanism for the local people.

Another legend states that when Lord Shiva married Goddess Parvathi at mount Kailasa, the world tilted due to the weight of all the gods and goddesses attending the wedding. To restore the balance, Sage Agastya was sent to the South, where he disseminated a martial art tradition reflecting his strength and meditative power.

And the fierce warriors were  Kaira, Aishani, Ameya, and Varnika.

Mohiniattam : The Dance of Mohini.

The dancers take on the role of “Mohini,” graceful and enchanting, with soft music and gentle expressions. Lord Vishnu is said to have adorned the avatar of Mohini (meaning enchantress) in order to distract Asuras during the ‘Sagar Manthan” the churning of ocean and finally during the distribution of Amrut or Amrutam  ( the nectar of immortality).

And the four graceful Mohinis were  Hitakshi, Miraya, Sahana, and Meehera.

 Vallam kali / Boat Race Dance

Onam is never complete without the excitement of the famous snake boat race, Vallamkali. Huge boats, rhythmic rowing, and loud cheering bring entire villages together.

Since we could not divert  a river here, the children brought the spirit of Vallamkali alive through a very lively Boat Race Dance!

And the contestants were  Prisha, Sitara, Meera, and Sitara.

Kathakali:  And finallly, the grand highlight! Kerala’s most iconic art form, Kathakali combines dance, music, and drama with elaborate costumes, striking makeup, and powerful expressions to retell stories from our epics. The traditional themes of the Kathakali are folk stories, religious legends and spiritual ideas from the Hindu epics( Itihasas)  and the Puranas.

 Kathakali is officially recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

And our star performer was Ashvika !!

And then the Grand Ensemble !! 

And Hats Off to this wonderful team !!!

And can you imagine what humongous efforts must have gone into preparing these young children, teaching them dance steps, preparing costumes, dressing them up and making sure they remain properly dressed until their performance.

Must appreciate and applaud the folks behind the scene:  Dance choreographed by Nikita and Niveditha & helped by Sowmithri.

And let’s give a loud shout out to all the mothers who designed and made all the costumes and props while still managing their office work, their children, their hubby, the maids, the cooks and everything else.

And I am positive many a husband also contributed significantly by keeping a safe distance away from the action.

 

And finally the eagerly awaited ONAM  Sadya.

Sadya means Banquet in Malayalam and it is a traditional Vegetarian Kerala cuisine served in all special occasions and feasts.

This time we had Red/Matta Rice, White Rice, Parippu Curry (daal), Sambar, Moru(buttermilk) , Rasam, Upperi/Nendran Chips, Inji Puli (ginger chutney), Mango Pickle, Thoran (dry veg curry with coconut), Kalan (sour & spicy yam curry), Olan (light curry with ash gourd, cow peas and coconut milk) , Kootu Curry (mixed veg with gravy), Mezhukupuratti (stir fried veg ), Pulissery (yoghurt based curry like Punjabi Kadi), Aviyal (mixed veg with generous sprinkling of coconut ), Pachadi (south Indian raita without onions), Paal Payasam, Chakka Pradaman & Papadams..

 One sumptuous meal = 2300Kcal = 4 to 5 hrs Gym = 10 hrs brisk walking = 3 to 4 hrs swimming = 8 hrs Badminton !

 And having complete knowledge of such statistics, I did a leisurely walk around the  blocks twicw, went home and crashed on my bed !!

 

And in summary, ONAM 2025 in SP  was a  fantastic event , well planned, and executed flawlessly !

And Mary Mathew has summed it up so eloquently …..

We had a great time celebrating Onam at Palladian today. Maveli (King Bali) was quite majestic and sportingly posed with everyone for pictures. Next time he should charge for each photo!  The little ones' dances were great and showcased the culture of Kerala. Thanks to the ladies , Nivedita, Nikita and the parents,  who painstakingly choreographed and  taught the kids so that they could put up a beautiful performance.  Swetha and Hari sang Malayalam songs very well.  Arjun kept the audience entertained and informed with his quiz about Kerala. The pookalam created by some of our ladies is gorgeous. Thanks to Krish and the others who patiently took the photographs of all the Residents .Last , but not least the Sadya was awesome .

Thanks to the Cultural Committee  and other Residents who put in a lot of effort to give us a memorable Onam.

 

And drum rolls for all the residents for turning up in such large numbers and giving encouragement to the performers and the cultural committee.

And a big thank you to Leela, Nivedita and Swetha for helping me with the text  and pix!

And for more pictures, Pl check out this link ??   

ONAM @ Sobha Palladian, Sept 2025

And until we meet again,  Adios !

 

Krish// 2001