Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 22 : Week-long fasts came to an end for devotees today as they offered prayers to goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati on the occasion of Mahaashtami. Ashtami puja was also performed and parshad was distributed among the kanjaks. Functions and kirtans were also organised at different temples in the city. For the young maidens, it was nothing less than a feast day. Clad in cheerful clothes, they could be seen going from one house to the other with plates tightly clutched in their hands. Most of them, particularly those belonging to the colonies and slums, found the experience of being "blessed with so much of honour exhilarating".
Since early morning, they were in great demand. Neighbours could be heard shouting for them over the boundary walls. Inside the houses, their feet were washed. Excitement broke loose among them every time gifts or money was given to them.
A few years earlier there were enough girls in the neighbourhood. Now the people are finding it difficult to find the girls for Ashtami poojan," says elderly Madan.
Abdul, a driver, says, "My two -year- old daughter is sought after by the neighbours from the morning. She returns around noon carrying plates full of puris and channa, a few currency notes in her little hands . She gets baffled by the sudden attention , while her brother feels left out. But for want of girls, some devotees also make him sit along with the kanjaks as there is shortage of girls."
Rajni and her sisters ,whose mother works as domestic help,said," We are happy today as we have been invited to seven houses each. Never have we had so much to eat. But looking at the heaps of puris that have piled up, we do not feel hungry anymore , but thank God they will not get spoiled and we can eat them tomorrow. The householders who do not allow us to come inside, invited us into their homes and even washed our feet. We feel very happy today ,but sad, for our mother took away all the money. |
