Night of The Kojagiri Full Moon

The full moon which fall after the Dussehra is called Kojagiri or Sharad Pournima . It is celebrated as this is beginning of the harvest. Since it the full moon, the celebrations are in the night . It is believed that Goddess Maha Lakshmi moves around to see who's awake and ask the question "Kon Jaagat Aahe? " and showers her blessings on all those who are awake.

I remember all those moonlit fun filled Kojagiri nights when I was growing up. We never missed it. Most of the time we walked to Marine Drive or to the Chowpatty. Since we were large group of family and friends, we had great time playing, singing and joking around. Most of the time we made either Bhelpuri or Pavbhaji.

When I got married, I was introduced to totally new way of celebrating the Kojagiri. Here, we gathered at the Khar CKP club, Mumbai and enjoyed all the indoor games, fun filled talks, poetry recitation or small plays. I can say this was like our katta meeting where like minded people gathered and shared. Of course, how can I forget the great tasting Masala Milk.

And then, we all moved to the US. It is not possible to celebrate our all tradition, but we always make an attempt to celebrate the Kojagiri. So far we have never missed it. We always have the Masala Milk and we offer the old clothes to the moon and in return request him to give us the new. Since Kojagiri mostly falls in the month of October, there is a little chill in the night and hence we cannot enjoy the Masala Milk under the bright moonlit sky. It is all indoors, watching the television or having a great time with the family.

There is a magical element in this night, which always turns the simple things into something special. This year too we will have Kojagiri at our place as usual and there will be Masala Milk too.

Posted by Radha Chetan Raj at 10/02/2009 02:05:00 PM Labels: Articles