SAINT-PAUL, REUNION, May 24, 2018 (Linfo, auto-translated from French): The Tamil community of Reunion is paying tribute to the God Muruga, the leader of the heavenly armies, God of youth and beauty. The cavadee is synonymous with spiritual rebirth and purification of souls. After ten days of fasting and prayers, thousands of penitents will participate in the Cavadee procession on Monday, May 28th. The Cavadee pays homage to the God Muruga who is mounted on a peacock and brandishes the Vel, the spear whose three parts (handle, wide blade and tip) are power, intelligence and victory. This son of the God Shiva is venerated with brilliance on the occasion of Cavadee.
Generally made in an arch shape, the Cavadee is usually made with bamboo. Its shape resembles the ancient calligraphy of the word ”OM,” thus having a mystical meaning. It is adorned with flowers and a portrait of the deity during the procession. The festival lasts ten days in honor of the God Muruga. This is an important moment for the faithful, to repent for misdeeds and take stock of one’s life. More than 1,000 devotees are attending the daily ceremonies. After the rituals, the penitents share a vegetarian meal. And every year, Indians from southern India make the trip to celebrate the God of Youth in Reunion.
Short video at ”source”.
INDIA, May 25, 2018 (Scroll): ”Pull of Pulses,” by Salma Husain and Vijay Thukral, details the cultural history of lentils. In India the word dal is commonly used for lentils, a generic term used for an enormous number of lentils which range in color. Lentils to India are as the meatloaf is to Europe and the United States. Ranging from yellow and red to deep black, these tiny disc-shaped members of the legume family are eaten in some form at least twice a day in any self-respecting Indian household, according to Kavita Mehta, founder of the web-based Indian Foods Co. In fact, India is the world’s biggest producer and consumer of lentils, which are known here as dal.
Cultivated from the earliest days of civilisation, lentils are somewhat indispensable to the Indian diet. Dal with rice either as a separate dish or combined and cooked as in the khichri, can be termed the national dish of India. It is a popular food of the rich as well as the poor, ruling the kitchen in all corners of the country, though different regions prefer different tastes, spices and combinations. Lentils are of several kinds and each variety is as important as others. K.T. Achaya in his book, ”Indian Food: A Historical Companion” (Oxford University Press; 1994), mentions that pulses of several kinds such as maashs (urad) mansura (masoor), mudga (moong) and kalaya (peas or matar) are mentioned in the Yajurveda. About a century later the Markandeya Purana and Vishnu Purana refer to chickpea (chana) as well.
More at ”source” above.
Anger is nothing but an attachment for an object, when expressed towards an obstacle between ourselves and the object of our attachment.
— Swami Chinmayananda (1916-1993), founder of Chinmaya Mission
