Aavani Avittam Dandi Komanam - a tradition that is no more
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Upakarma |
"AvaniAvittam Dandi kOmaNam, ..."
We chanted loudly in unison as we went from one house to
another, seeking alms of a curious kind.
We were all young boys, mostly under the age of 12, shirtless and draped
in simple mundu or thorthu and holy ash smeared on the forehead, chest and
arms. And, we carried a stick or dhandam
on which hung many strips of cloth, collected from different houses.
It was the morning of the ritualistic Aavaniavittam
(upakarma) day when most males in the brahmin community change their 'poonool'
or sacred thread. The males would congregate by the banks of the river or at
the temple pond where the lead 'Vadhyar' or 'Pandit' would guide the group
through the lengthy ritualistic process of 'tharpanam' (offerings to the dead elders/ancestors as a mark of gratitude) and changing the thread, to the recital
of contextual vedic chants.
I had no thread since
I had a delayed thread ceremony and, moreover, we were Sama Vedis and did the
upakarma on a different day. However,
all the kids joined together in other activities of that day morning, which
included the traditional 'Komanam Thendal' (begging for Komanam).
The young and unmarried 'Brahmachari' , who sought the knowledge
of Brahman in a Gurukula, led a simple
and austere life, learning the vedas and generally preparing for the
next phase of life. They were expected
to wear the inimitable Komanam or the more elegantly sounding Kaupeenam or
loincloth as the inner garment.
Probably, poor brahmacharis would not have money to buy even enough
Komanams and would go begging for it.
I will venture very briefly into Komanams. As someone aptly put it, Komanam (Konakam) or
Kaupeenam is the Indian male version of the G-string. A thin (about 4 inches wide) strip of cloth long enough to be hooked to a Aranjaanam
(waistband) from the front through back, and covering the male essentials, was
generally torn off old unusable Mundus.
Most of the males of those days used this as the predominant underwear
and from my brief experience during my childhood, I would say it was very
functional. Now, there are serious
attempts being made at returning to tradition, with a number of groups that are practicing the use
of Kaupeenam. Just Google the word...
So, continuing the tradition, the brahmin boys will go
begging for Komanams on the Avaniavittam morning. By the previous evening we would have picked
up a nice 'dhandam' (3 to 4 feet long
stick) with a couple of leaves from the top of the holy 'palaash' (Butea
monosperma) tree. We would tear up a piece of cloth to Komanam
dimensions, dye it yellow with turmeric and tie it at the tip of the
stick. As if by pre-arrangement, all of
us boys in the village will get together at some spot and then go from house to
house, begging for Komanam, reciting in unison -
"AvaniAvittam Dandi kOmaNam,
ambi piranthAl SObhanam,
ankichi piranthAl Ayiram paNam
akkA piranthAl ukkArai
aNNA piranthAl kottaNNai
thankachi piranthAl kottAmpoochi"
Roughly translated from Tamil -
"It is Avani Avittam, please put a komanam on the
stick,
If boy is born, it will be auspicious,
If girl is born, you will get a 1000 coins,
If elder sister is born, there will be sweet to eat
If elder son is born, it will be like castor oil (used as
laxative)
If younger sister is born, it will be pesty."
Elders in the houses will put a strip of cloth on the stick
and/or give a Chilli or Anna coin. For
those non-brahmin friends of ours, it was a hilarious sight to see a bunch of
semi-clad boys going around begging for Komanams. The ridicule would continue in the school for
a few days before the incident is slowly forgotten. I have
no recollection as to what we did with the Komanams that we collected.
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Palasha tree and blooms |
A quick word about the holy Palaash tree. The twigs from the tree were used for doing Samithadhanam (a fire worship ritual done by brahmacharis) and other homams. Platters were made by stitching together many leaves. I distinctly remember mother using the Palaash leaves to make rice vadams. The crimson bunches of flowers looked glorious and were used for pujas.
Since we did not do Upakarma that day, there was nothing special
done in our home. However, those who
observed it that day prepared a sumptuous breakfast with steaming hot soft
idlis, vadais and pooran poli and an equally elegant lunch. Most of the time, someone would invite me
over and I would get to partake the special food items somehow.
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Aavani Avittam feast |
The main dish for lunch on this day used to be either
Morukootan or Parikkai /Pavakkai Pitlai.
A complex and intense dish that is bitter, sour, sweet and spicy, the
Pitlai still remains a delicacy unparalleled and appears only rarely on the
Iyer household menu. And, like many
other Palakkad Iyer delicacies, the Pitlai is not available in restaurants or
'hotels'. Mother used to make Pitlai for Shraddham (death anniversary) of my
grand parents too.
Paarikkai / Paavakkai / Kaippakka / Karela (Bitter Gourd /
Bitter Melon) Pitlai:
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Bitter Melon |
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Pitlai |
- Wash the Bitter Gourds (2 reasonable size), remove the
seeds and cut them into very small pieces.
- Cook well with
salt, half a spoon of turmeric powder, a piece of jaggery, a table spoon of
tamarind paste and a dash of hing (asafetida).
Use a pressure cooker if you can.
The bitter gourd has to be well cooked.
- Pressure cook half
a cup of tuar dal and keep it aside
- Dry roast Channa
Dal (1 table spoon), Dry Red Chillies (4 or 5), Black Pepper (1 spoon or as per
tolerance). The flavor and spiciness of
the black pepper is expected to stand out in this dish.
- Separately dry
roast 1/2 cup grated coconut till brown (not burnt)
- Grind/blend well
the roasted items in a blender with as little water as possible and make it a
nice paste.
- Add the ground
paste to the cooked bitter gourd, mash the cooked tuar dal and add, mix well
and let it come to boil. Add some water
if needed to ensure a medium thick consistency.
- Temper in a spoon
of coconut oil with mustard seeds and a couple of broken red chillies. Add a sprig of curry leaves when the mustard
starts bursting and pour over the dish.
Have it with hot rice and ghee. Generally accompanied with Pappadams and any
dry vegetable fry like cabbage thoran, vazhakka and chenai or brinjal
mezhukkupuratti, etc. Enjoy the
delicious dish and feel the after taste and heat of pepper in your mouth and
innards!
The same recipe can be used for making Poricha Kuzhambu. In place of bitter gourd, use vegetables like
beans, brinjal, yam (chena), raw banana, carrot, black-eyed peas, etc., cut
into small cubes. Also, don't add
jaggery.
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