A Day of sharing and giving! My mother always told me the best thing we could do for anybody was 'help them in nurturing the mind.' This festival is dedicated to 'Saraswati' the divine Goddess of Wisdom & Arts. A childhood memory which will always stay in my mind is 'giving your old books to charity', opening a library for the neighbourhood by collecting all the books together, flying kites in harmony...coloring our clothes with saffron dyes..the color of spring !!
Most of all I remember praying to the pen and book which developed in me an eternal respect for the written word.
Basant Panchami is a Hindu festival celebrating Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music, and art. It is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the Indian month Magh (January-February), the first day of spring. During this festival children are taught their first words; brahmins are fed; ancestor worship (Pitri-Tarpan) is performed; the god of love, Kamadeva, is worshipped; and most educational institutions organise special prayer for Saraswati. The color yellow also plays an important role in this festival, in that people usually wear yellow garments, Saraswati is worshipped dressed in yellow, and yellow sweetmeats are consumed within the families.
Goddess Saraswati prepared for Vasant Panchami in the streets of Kolkata......
