Remembering Your Ancestors.
Of Annual Events, Festive Seasons, and Lunar Calendars.
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Hello Everyone!
My monthly note is slightly delayed due to my travels. Taking road trips near Bangalore is always fun. Flying to another city? Not so much.
Navigating the traffic without incident, past the construction of the new subway connecting the city, ensures you a 90-minute commute each way to the airport.
Someone, in their wisdom, shut down the in-city airport as part of the agreement with the international airport developer consortium and offered them land to build a new airport 40 miles away from most city dwellers.
The old airport has sued the government, and the matter is still in court for the last ten years.
We have also been promised an airport express train not unlike Heathrow Express. We await it, but not with bated breath.
So much for progress!
Meanwhile, I offer you a longer-than-usual monthly musing.
September: Festivals, Rituals, and Ancestral Homage
Fall not only brings shorter days—with darkness setting in around 6 pm—but also marks the beginning of India's 'festival season.'
Many communities follow the lunar calendar, meaning there’s no fixed date for festivals each year—no ‘December 25.’
Instead, dates are tracked by different communities, through trusted sources, like the Hindu ‘panchang,’ 1 a lunar calendar, which outlines not only annual festivals and rituals but also monthly fasting days and auspicious dates for engagements, weddings, and special worship.
Governments use their sources to publish holiday calendars,2 and private companies build on these calendars and offer additional optional holidays based on different faiths.
Even within the same faith, some celebrations hold more significance than others, so people can choose different vacation days.
I bet you didn’t think it was this complicated to take time off!
Sometimes, marking events by seasons rather than dates is easier.
Fall, for instance, is packed with multiple events.
Let me walk you through one example—this past September.
Removing Obstacles
Many celebrated the birth of the Elephant-God, Ganesha - the remover of obstacles, and a divine scribe - starting on September 7 this year.
During this ten-day festival, people worshipped clay, resin or homemade turmeric paste idols of Ganesha. At the end of the festival, idols were immersed in nearby water bodies or in water barrels in their gardens.
Some may have chosen eco-friendly Ganeshas made from dissolvable materials such as red soil embedded with seeds, which grow into plants after their immersion.
Cities like Mumbai and Hyderabad are famous for grand public celebrations, where towering Ganesha idols—some as tall as 90 feet—are paraded and immersed in the Arabian Sea (Mumbai).
Historically, this festival has been used to foster unity, dating back to the time of local rulers (1630–1680) who fought the Mughals, and later by a national leader in 1893, to build public sentiment for the cause of freedom.
Today, the event is an annual display of affection for Ganesha, with neighborhoods setting up wooden platforms ( ‘pandals’ ) to host large idols.
Donations are collected, food is distributed, and rituals are performed daily.
Loudspeakers blast devotional music or live chant mantras, which might interfere with your study hour or plans for an early night.
In the past, frustrated citizens would often call the police to shut down the loudspeakers.
The neighborhood constable would then ride over on his motorbike, have a friendly chat with the pandal host, and leave with assurances—only to return 30 minutes later after another complaint! This dance continued until someone gave up.
Finally, on a chosen day within the ten-day period, these massive idols are taken out by their host communities in processions, accompanied by loud music, drums, dancers, and participants dressed as gods and goddesses, heading toward the nearest designated water bodies for immersion.
People often drive or walk around select neighborhoods, admiring the creatively designed pandals, enjoying the illuminated streets, and soaking in the festive atmosphere.
It’s also the perfect time to indulge in freshly cooked warm desserts made in 24-hour stalls using large brass vessels over slow-fires, best enjoyed in the cool evening air.
This might qualify as an off-the-beaten-path experience, ideally done with a trusted guide. (Or you can simply watch a video.)
The tenth day of the festival also led to another auspicious day, followed by some, honoring the Preserver-God depicted in his original form resting on a thousand-headed serpent.
This form is found in two famous temples: one, built in 984 A.D., located in a town 90 minutes from Bangalore, and the other, an 18-foot-long statue in an ancient temple in Kerala believed to be nearly five thousand years old.
Honoring Ancestors: Rituals and Beliefs
Soon after this day began a fifteen-day period dedicated to honoring ancestors.
This ancient custom is recorded in many sacred texts where elaborate reasons for these rituals are outlined, and the consequences of ignoring them are highlighted—often through the stories of fabled characters.
The belief is that these rituals help ancestors progress in their spiritual journey, ensuring peace in the afterlife (even in heaven!), while also offering protection and blessings to their descendants. (That is, until they are reborn!)
By honoring ancestors, families acknowledge their ongoing connection to past generations and the role they play in shaping present and future outcomes.
This remembrance is thought to ensure the well-being of future generations.
So, many Hindus pay homage in specific, ritualistic ways at temples honoring ancestors they remember by name, as well as those whose names have been lost, using universal terms provided by priests.
This is a solemn and formal affair, with morning rituals typically performed by a male descendant, as directed by a priest.
During these rituals, families pray for their ancestors to find peace in the realms they inhabit, seek their blessings for the living descendants, or ask for forgiveness if they believe they neglected their ancestors in the past.
Donations of clothes, money, and fruits are given to priests and the needy.
After the two-hour rituals are performed, families gather for a special lunch arranged by the temple.
Some believe that appeasing their ancestors mitigates their suffering in other worlds, while also preventing curses on their descendants in this world.
Even in modern times, many Hindus avoid starting new projects during this fifteen-day period. Businesses delay inventory launches, and families refrain from initiating important events, as the period is generally considered inauspicious.
This year, the final day for performing these rituals fell on October 2, a day recognized as a public holiday in some states to allow the faithful to pay their homage.
After honoring their ancestors, many Hindu families in India have now entered a season of joy, with three of their biggest festivals—each celebrating the triumph of good over evil—arriving in the same month this year.
The first two are lesser-known overseas but hold great significance here.
The Goddess of Power’s victory over a demon-king is a nine-day event that culminates this year on October 12, the same day as Prince Rama’s victory after his ten-day fierce battle with a demon-king to rescue his wife, Princess Sita.
The more widely recognized celebration is the festival of lights, Diwali, or the ‘Hindu New Year,’ which falls on October 31 this year.
Businesses experience peak sales and profits during these events, as promotions and deep discounts flood the marketplace to woo consumers.
It’s the season of gifts, sweets, family, and celebrating the victory of righteousness.
It seems that good winning over evil not only uplifts the spirit but may come with material benefits too!
On that cheery note, I bid you sayonara until next month!
p.s. I hope you liked this take! You can read my other monthly musings here.
Sanskrit: ‘Panch’ = five; ‘ang’ = parts. Here is a good article defining the Panchang with data and visualization charts.
The only national holidays that are the same each year are December 31, and January 1; January 26 (when India became a Republic in 1950); August 15 (when it earned its independence in 1947); and December 24 and December 25.
Thanks for this description of festivals and observances!
We were fortunate to do the Pitru Tarpan puja (for our ancestors) this year - my Guru directed students around the world via webcast. It was a beautiful ceremony.
A lot of communities celebrate HOLI in the States. I keep hoping that they'll start doing it here.