Pan (literally meaning thread) is a festival originally associated with the spinning of newly produced cotton and worshipping the twin agricultural goddesses, obviously local, Vibha and Garbha to whom roths or sweet bread cakes were offered. Though Kashmir is not said to have a climate suitable for growing cotton, there is a strong tradition suggesting that it actually did grow there. The festival falls on the Ganesh Chaturthi (Vinayaka Tsoram) day and the worship of Lakshmi on this occasion seems to have been inducted later. Not that the worship dedicated to the local goddesses was appropriated wilfully by followers of the cult of Lakshmi, but there appears to have been a mix-up at some point of time. The twin goddesses themselves seem to have merged into one another assuming the identity of the folk deity Beeb Garabh Maj, whose very name- obviously a distortion - points to such a possibility. Beeb Garabh Maj is represented by a lota or a water pot which is placed in the centre of the place where the Puja is to be performed, a cotton thread being tied to its neck and handful of dramun or runner grass kept inside it, pointing again to its agricultural origin. A story is told at the Pan Puja which is quite similar to the Satyanaryana Katha, showing some sort of confusion between two different Pujas. Preparation of the roths and their distribution for ushering in prosperity and auspiciousness has, however, become an important part of Kashmiri Pandit religious life.
Recipe
Serving size: 8-10 pieces
Ingredients:
1 kg or 4 cups of wheat flour/all purpose or whole wheat.
1¼ cup sugar or sugar substitute.
12 tbsp. ghee/clarified butter or 1½ unsalted butter stick (for mixing)
1½ tsp. khus-khus/poppy seed.
3 black crushed cardamom.
Ghee for frying.
Soaked and peeled almond and cashew nuts and silver foil if available.
Water
Method:
Mix ghee, sugar and crushed black cardamom with the flour in a big bowl/chilamchi.
Mix well.
Add water slowly to flour to knead well.
Knead till nice spongy dough is formed.
Make balls of equal size with the dough and roll them into thick rounds bread.
Pierce with a fork all over and make nice designs.
Brush little yogurt on bread and sprinkle little khus-khus/poppy seed
Press peeled almonds and cashew nuts.
Heat ghee in a deep-bottomed kadai/frying pan.
Fry in medium-hot ghee/clarified butter or margarine till roath/ bread is reddish brown.
Fry both sides by turning with ladle carefully.
Take roath out of ghee and put on paper towel to strain extra ghee
Decorate roath with silver foil (if available)...
Sunita Ticku............... Pann marks the beginning of harvest period and yes, we are asking the Goddess of Agriculture, Garbha Devi to bless us so that we can have a good harvest which means prosperity in the end. Same is the thought behind Satyanarayan puja katha which is prosperity and hence the similarity in stories. But the Pooja vidhi in both is different as we are performing it to two different forms of God.
The time of pann also marked the arrival of new crop of cotton into Kashmir and since we have enough evidence from old poetry n photographs that every household had a spinning wheel which means ' saari zanaan aasuh pann kattan '.
So new cotton meant new wardrobe, bedding etc., which again points to getting ready for the approaching harsh winter.It would seem logical to incorporate the new thread into the puja as it would be symbolic of well being and harmony. After all, we do have a lot of symbolism in our pooja vidhi's.
For the dhruva or dramun , that again is an offering to Ganesh who is the obstacle remover and he is also 'Ganapati ' - lord of Gana which means He unites human society. Dhruva grows in great multitudes and is supposed to strengthen memory.
Overtime , I have found a lot of puja's and rituals have more of local habitat n climate related adornments which might not have anything to do with the vast sky of Hinduism under which we perform them. These keep us rooted to the place we come from and that's all. And I believe we should stay rooted. Also Kashmiri traditions might be different from the mainstream Indian plains tradition , but that's because of the geography and the fact that we are still in the older Sarasvati tradition where as the new age India is in the newer Ganga tradition.
I have great regard for my roots and am always trying to find 'why' we do things differently and thank god , I always have found a good solid reason which doesn't mean I have to blindly follow it. These were made by the people, for the people at that point in time. So , using common sense and making sure we are not getting away from the foundation of our religion , we can shun certain things that were made only for human convenience then. But of course, we should stick to the tradition as much as we can so that the oldest tradition in Hindu dharam which is believed by many as extinct, can be kept alive n thriving. I take great pride in who I am n where I come from.
Nice
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