“Lots of pomp loads of laughter
House is clean no thereafter!
It’s a blessed time that’s clear!
The festival time is here!”
Different ways to celebrate but the feeling is the same!
Every mother wants a son like him! Naughty but innocent!
and then you have the Cheedai!
read on!
In the North I remember celebrating Sri Krishna Janmashtami with pomp!
It used to be a big affair and almost all the ladies of the area would come and make little cradles as a mark of devotion to Krishna!
Those who were newly married would earnestly ask for a child like Krishna and those with kids would lovingly make their kids dress up like the characters of Brindavan! You would find little Krishna’s running everywhere with a flute and golden dress!
Surprisingly, little girls used to make the best looking and cute Krishna! A big tikka on the forehead and a band on the head and yellow dhoti with lots of small chains! And finally the peacock feather!
The ladies would then join together and a big cradle would be built and they would lovingly decorate a baby Krishna idol or photo in the cradle and would rock the cradle gently all night long! They would sing Krishna bhajans all night long and give prasad to everyone! We used to love being awake in the night and running around since Krishna was born late in the night, the festivities also were usually in the night!
In south though we used to celebrate everything in the morning! We got to know about the Dahi handi and the breaking only after watching hindi movies!
Mom used to fast the whole day all the while making some amazing dishes which was the main deal for us! The chief were this small salty concoction which used to be so cute! They were called the Cheedai! My mother also used to make a flat rice based snack called the thattai and a sweet version of the cheedai!
The making of cheedai was an art in itself!
If it is too soft then it would not hold the shape and break the moment we lift it! And it is too hard then no one would take more than one! The perfect one was which was a little hard and crispy on the outside and soft in the centre! Put in the mouth and crack it open! Then repeat! After around 5 to 6 salty ones we would pop in one sweet Cheedai which was always soft! She also used to make another jaggery based sweet called the adhirasam which actually means lots of flavour! And it had nothing to do with rasam! It was a flat soft oily and greasy cousin of chapatti which the kids would not like that much but the elders used to relish it! I guess since most of the oldies do not have strong teeth to handle the Cheedai, the adhirasam was a good substitute!
Making cheedai and these dishes at home was the final certification you needed to be called a great south indian cook!
And eating a hard Cheedai was the final certification you needed that your teeth are healthy!
Other sweets which we were given were Laddoos if the aunty was from North! Peda if they were from UP and Kodbale from Karnataka! Kodbale is literally like small bangles made out of flour! They tasted like Cheedai but they had more varieties and were made all year long! I still remember going to Mathura and seeing the temple and the amazing places there with so many stories including the place where Ma Devaki and Vasudev were kept in a prison! Then after the darshan we had to try the Mathura ka peda! Every other shop we saw had a board saying that this was the original peda! We decided any shop would do! Since none of us were foodies we tried one each and liked it!
The year she passed away also Mom had made some very tasty dishes and we had dressed my kids as little Krishna and Yashoda! They were looking divine and my mom was so happy! Imagine on a Krishna Janmanthami day during COVID time and suddenly there is a ring and lo! Little Krishna and Yashoda greet you! The memories and photos of that day still are one of my most favourite and beautiful snaps!
Happy Krishna Janmasthami
Jai Shri Krishna!
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