Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Religious rituals - a colleague invites me to his village

Ok, it's been a while...

Some time ago I was invited by a colleague of mine to celebrate a ritual (puja) with his family at his village of Bhora Kalan. Today I went there. Some 80km from Delhi, the drive took me through a mix of crumbling houses, brand-new developments, spotless highways and pot-holed roads.
The village itself was lovely. The people very friendly. The food very Indian!

Fried bread being prepared for our lunch at the community center

So, here is what wikipedia has to say about a puja or pooja, after which some pictures will follow, enjoy!


Pūjā or alternative transliteration Pooja, (Devanagari: पूजा) (Sanskrit: reverence, honour, adoration, or worship) is a religious ritual performed by Hindus as an offering to various deities, distinguished persons, or special guests. It is done on a variety of occasions and settings, from daily puja done in the home, to temple ceremonies and large festivals, or to begin a new venture. Puja is modeled on the idea of giving a gift or offering to a deity or important person and receiving their blessing (Ashirvad). The two main areas where puja is performed is in the home and at public temples. There are many variations in scale, offering, and ceremony. Puja is also performed on special occasions such as Durga Puja and Lakshmi Puja. The puja ritual is performed by Hindus worldwide. Various poojas are performed at various times of the day and on various occasions.

Enjoying lunch with the men!
Old houses in this village
The courtyard of the community center

The roof, where we ate the food

The women gather & gossip

My colleague Sandeep in the light clothes serving food

Entrance to the courtyard

My colleague (l) and our driver (r) walking through the village

View from the roof...

And another view...
And another...

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