Hayrath, the most revered festival of KPs ---- II

In yesterday’s post I gave a brief account of the importance of the festival. Let me now concentrate on some of its traditional background. KPs worship Bhairwa Vatakanatha on this eve and so the pooja is called Vataka-Poozah in Kashmiri. The preparation for Vatka-Poozah is started with the collection of a good number of earthen or metallic utensils and materials. A large round vessel with a narrow opening at the top called Noet (Gadda) and another smaller one of the same shape called Tsoed is filled with water and walnuts, decorated with flowers and sindoor and placed on grass mats to be worshipped as Lord Shiva and Parvati. Some other utensils used are also filled with water and walnuts and placed on grass mats with specific purposes as one is worshipped as Kalash in the beginning of the pooja. Some details in the pooja settings vary from family to family according to their particular traditions. The importance of walnuts in the pooja is substantial. Walnuts of good quality are abundantly grown in Kashmir and its four part kernel is symbolic of some indications in Hindu mythology as the four Vedas. The pooja, usually headed by a priest (Pandit) or the head of family facing East is an extensive traditional process which starts well before evening and takes a long time till late into the night with all members joining with all sanctity till the offering of all food preparations is made and the final Aarti offered and blessings for the welfare and prosperity of the household and the world at large is wished.

Subsequently a brief pooja of the Vatkanatha is formally conducted every morning and evening and Prasad distributed for two or three days before a formal ceremony preferably on a river bank in the evening as a ceremonial adieu to all the deities with a lighted Diya left floating on the water with loud recitations of sacred hymns. It is just like the immersions of the Durga statues into sacred rivers after Durga pooja in the rest of India especially south. All pooja vessels are thus emptied of the walnuts and the water dropped into the river. The walnuts thus soaked in water for a couple of days are preserved for prasad and sent to all friends and relatives especially to the married daughters and sisters families with some gifts. This exchange of Heyrath prasad with high fervor continues for almost a week and the soaked walnuts are greatly relished for their fresh taste.
There is a tradition of cooking some particular dishes on the occasion in the family for making offerings and taking later as a Prasad. Non-vegetarian dishes were abundantly prepared, offered in the pooja and eaten as Prasad till recently but have now been discontinued as an honour to the sentiment of Hindus of the plains for the festival. Among the vegetarian dishes cooking of Lotus stem (Nadru) is a must besides other preferred preparations. The cooking of fish has been a specialty with KPs on this day and continues as such even now in most KP homes on the following day of Hayrath (Salam) if not on the Hayrath eve.
The following day is called Salam in Kashmiri. It’s the day of celebration, joy, visiting friends and relatives, sharing joys and sorrows and above all extensive eating of all preferred vegetarian and non-veg dishes. The main event in the morning is giving away cash gifts from elders to youngsters called Hayrath-Kharech. The children have a long wait for the day as they receive enough free to spend money from their elders on this day. In Kashmir the Muslim neighbours and friends also joined our celebrations with due fervor by meeting, extending Heyrath greetings and partaking choicest food preparations especially fish, the famous recipe of KPs.... (to be continued)