Faral
Kandeel and Crackers………..
It’s that time of the year when
the festive spirit is at its peak . With the last known Indian festival “Diwali” in full
swing,
its like the saying going out with a BANG
, literally when those crackers burst
and the sky is filled with the best ever sound and light show on the Diwali
night.
Much before the festival comes
around , every household is abuzz with cleaning and generally make the home
spic and span. It is said the Goddess
Laxmi the goddess of wealth goes around from home to home and resides in
the one which is sparkling clean. All the family members used to sweep ,scrub,
polish the doors , windows , ceiling fans and every nook and corner of the
homes. Additional work was carried out by the house maids under the watchful
eye of the woman if the house. The cleaning used to go on for 2 weekends. I
still remember as kids me and Milind used to help our Mom & Dad during
these cleaning sessions. The old flat in which we used to live had a typical
design, the Hall , Bedroom and Kitchen were in 1 row and interconnected with
doors in between and 1 passage and a huge balcony running parallel to these 3
rooms. As a result the itself had around 10 doors which would need cleaning
every year. The white oil painted doors would become dull with frequent handling
and the dust . A big scrub to them during the yearly exercise would bring back
the glow and the house would look sparkling. Now a days you have the facility
of professional cleaners, those similar to the house keeping staff in offices.
They can be hired for fees depending on the package you take standard cleaning,
deep cleaning or express cleaning. These professional cleaners come with vacuum
cleaners, wet mops, duster etc. and make the cleaning job look as easy as pie.
Another important house
holdactivity which made Diwali truly enjoyable was the making of the “Faral” ,
you can call themsnacks or munchies which would be served just after the
special bath on Narak Chaturdashi – he 1st day of Diwali. This would
also be exchanged with our neighbours and served as refreshments to the
visiting guest. Lip smacking items like Chakli, Rawa Ladoo, Dry Karanji, Spicy
Sev , Poha Chivda and Mom’s specialty Deep Fried Spicy Peanuts (these are still
made in our home and gorged on well after Diwali is over. I personally love
them…..)
Today due to lack of time due to our
busy schedule most of the Faral is bought from well known shops in Dadar –Mahim
belt which have become a brand on to themselves. If you are the diet / health
conscious type or want to send these lovely munchies to your friends and family
abroad, head to “Gobole’s”at Dadar
at the corner of Ranade Road. Here you will get baked Shankarpali’s Chakli’s
fried in less oil. Soys sticks instead of
the spicy sev if your pallet wants to taste something different. They
also have the traditional Besan Ladoo and special one made from Sugar free for
the diabetics.If it’s the traditional stuff you desire you can head to Aswad at
Shivaji Park or Thakur’s or Ashok Masale’s at Mahim. Here you will get Bajani
Chakli’s , crisp and spicy and loved by foodies like me who get tired of sweets
and ladoos during Diwali. Then the other
specialty are unique items like Anarse
(crispy sweet discs made from fermented batter), Chavde also known as Mande
or Mandige is traditional Maharashtrian & Konkani specialty
that is made from fried bread made of flour that is stuffed with delicious
blend of grated and roasted coconut , cardamom powder sugar and sesame seeds. Then
there are the sweet sugary Balushahi’s .
They are similar to glazed doughnut in terms of ingredients, but differ in texture
and taste. Another special sweet snack is the Chirote , prepared with plain flour , Chiroti is a fried flaky pastry with concentric circles of delicate
layers that is either sprinkled with a generous amount of cardamom flavoured
powdered sugar or dipped in cardamom flavoured powder sugar or dipped in
cardamom flavoured sugar syrup..
All these available in neatly packed in
250gms or 500gms packets, ready to be picked & taken home, to be savored
not just during Diwali but also as evening snack for next 15-20 days well after
the festival ends. Eating these during tea time brings back sweet memories of
the celebration just concluded.
Diwali shopping cannot be over unless
you have bought those Fire crackers from Sivakasi,
some that make noise and most those spread the light . Every kid and even the grown
ups like to burn these crackers and have a gala time enjoying the beautiful
shower of light coming out of the Anaar-Flower
pot , a cone shaped fire cracker which throws off a huge glow of light from
its belly. The other favorite’s are the Rocket and the 11-in-1’s which fly up
in the sky and burst into hundred colours. Smaller kids are happy with lighting
the Sparklers , regular electric or coloured ones. Or the zameen chakri ,
spinning at top speed on the ground and sprinkling the light all around and
having a little masti.
But Diwali can not be said to be
complete without the lighting decoration each home installs to make it a truly a
festival of lights. The traditional paper lanterns or Kandeels sparkle and
diminishes otherwise depressive and stressful lives in the maxim city of
Mumbai. You can walk the Ranade Road in Dadar or the foot paths leading to
Shivaji Park or if you are a true enthusiast head to the footpaths near
Citylight area and rounding of towards Cadel Road. They will keep the paper
lanterns , some plastic ones some Chinese shaped , some like footballs , some
like hot air balloons, the Star types, cartoon character types for the kids.
All glowing and dispensing their serene light on to the footpaths and the
surrounding area.
Looking at these glowing Kandeels during
the dark nights it feels as if the stars have descended on this Earth spread
the glow and bring some Happiness and Joy in our lives.
Wishing all
my readers a very Happy Diwali and prosperous New Year.
Have fun enjoy and don’t just indulge in
taking selfies or mobile snaps but build memories of the small small incidents
during Diwali in your hearts and minds to last you a life time.
Happy
Reading….
