This story is from July 28, 2018

Aluna - pious fasting to please Shiva

Aluna - pious fasting to please Shiva
Young girls all decked up for aluna vrat
SURAT: With the commencement of ‘aluna’ for little girls and ‘Jaya-Parvati vrat’ for young teens, girls around Surat are observing the five-day fast since the ‘ekadashi’ day. This ritual has been carried on since several generations and hold dear to Gujarati families, whose daughters observe them. For teenagers observing Jaya Parvati vrat, fasting will end on July 27, the Guru Purnima day, while for little girls who are of prepubescent age, aluna will continue till Sunday.
“I grew up in Surat’s Siddhmata Sheri and these five days were just too exciting for us.
Everyday we would dress up in pretty ethnic wear and go to the Shivji temple to pray. Adorning our hands with henna and faces with light makeup,” remembers a schoolteacher Hetal Parekh.
Home kitchens churn up ‘fast friendly’ meals, which restricts most of the food groups. However, Surtis being foodies, have mothers conjuring up some traditional snacks to fulfill the hunger pangs. “My grandmother taught me to make ‘moras bhaji’ pancakes (a halophyte salt tolerant plant) made with fresh curd mixed with rajgira flour, these tasted of salt without adding any,” says a homemaker Binita Patel. While potatoes and yams take centre stage with hot rajgira puris, the absence of salt on the menu takes its toll after a few days.
“I compensate by adding dry and fresh fruits, shrikhand, matha, mango pulp and salt-free chips on the menu to keep the energy and morale of the girls going,” says a resident of City Light area Divya Kapadia. “What disheartens them though is that their school does not allow henna or fancy clothes, which takes the fun away from feeling special,” she added
While the little ones are too young to understand the reason behind observing the fast (mythology states that it is observed to please Lord Shiva and to get a good husband once they are of marriageable age), they are thrilled with the joy of dressing up. On Sunday, a late night ‘jagran’ filled with fun and frolic, games and garba will be observed through Surat’s sheris and by Monday the feasting of feeding ‘gornis’ – the little fast observers — will commence.
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