Starting on the fourth day of the bright half, (Vinayak Chaturthi, also known as Vinayaka Chavithi, Pillayar Chaturthi and Vinayagar Chaturthi in different parts of the country), this festival lasts for about 10-11 days. In Kashmiri Pandit community, coinciding with the Ganesh Festival days, a very interesting socio-religious celebration takes place, known as Pann Puza! Colloquially, in Kashmiri, Pann means ‘a thread’ so, translated literally, Pann Puza can mean ‘worshiping the thread’! In the current context, Pann involves making of Roth, a sweet and thick flat bread that is deep fried (or baked) and offered as prasad to the deity! However, there is difference among scholars (and the public at large) about its connection to the Ganesh Puja! In absence of authentic texts as sources of reference, there is a definite confusion about the origin of this Festival, its deity, and its processes! Over the years, several variants of the story associated with Pann have evolved, generating confusion!

Soon after Vinayak Chaturthi this year, a doctor whom I hold in great esteem, asked me to explore and examine the various prevalent aspects of this festival – and draft something which can appear logical to our younger generation! The doctor, a non-KP but married into a reputed KP family, wanted me write about the Pann Festival so that she can handover the document to her two NRI daughters. The idea was so appealing that I set right away to explore various sources of information available, including senior family members and different social media platforms/ internet! So, here goes my journey of exploration!

Pann in Kashmir – Exploring its background 

I realized that almost half a dozen different versions of the Pann Katha are available and at least three scholars have tried to explore the origins of this festival.

• Dr SS Toshkhani, the renown KP scholar and author has associated Pann with a thanksgiving pooja to two agricultural deities known as Vibha and Garbha. Over the years, the two names got corrupted as ‘Beebgarbh” Maej (mother Beebgarbh) who is considered the main deity of Pann Puza. This appears very logical since agriculture was the primary occupation of people and thanking deities for bountiful crops makes sense. Cotton cultivation, though not very widespread, was known in Kashmir which explains the tradition of spinning of a thread from raw cotton and the name Pann! The festival season is close to the harvesting season in Kashmir (called Harud). This also strengthens the agriculture angle theory.
• Kashmiri Pandit Scholar and commentator Sanjay Raina Ji associates the festival/ puza with the worship of Matrika Devi, a deity who resides within our house. In support of his theory, he cites a parallel with the Gad-Batte pooja associated with Ghar-devta or Dayat raaze – the deity who is invisible yet always present in the house, to protect its inhabitants! He also identifies the name ‘Beeb Garb Maej’ as a corrupted form of Matrika Devi!
• Youtuber Ujjawal Handu, whose videos about KP events, rituals and festivals have become very popular (and even reference points) also has associated the pooja with the two agricultural deities.
• Traditionally, in Kashmir, Chaturdashi (Gane Chodah) was associated with Ganesh Pooja, not Vinayak Tchoram! About 40 years back, my wife was asked by our Kul Guru, a very vidwan Brahmin, to keep a fast on every Chodah (Chaturdashi) and to offer Ladoos (made from atta, Kashmiri style) to Ganesh Ji. Vinayak Tchoram, it appears is a recent introduction to Kashmiri pantheon! Hence, though some people nowadays associate Pann with Ganesh Puza, it is actually related to offering worship to BeebGarbh Maej,a traditional Kashmiri deity!

Peculiarities that make Pann Festival unique

• The pooja can be conducted on 4-5 different days within the Shuklapaksh of Bhadrapada – these muhurtas (Pann Saath) are mentioned in KP Panchang (Jantri).
• Since the festival is not restricted to a fixed date, that rules out its association with a fixed day event like a deity’s birthday (Jyethe-Aatham or Haar-e-Navam etc).
• The lady of the house/ clan conducts the pooja, not the Kul Guru. That the Lady of the House handles this event makes it unique!
• That a young girl(kumari) is invited to weave a thread from a freshly harvested cotton flower pod (phamb in Kashmiri) points to a link to agricultural produce. It is the Cotton Thread (Pann) that gives the festival its name! The girl would have to weave two threads – one for the Kalash and the other for the Lady of the house who must wear it in her left side athoru while preparing the Roth; she would receive some money in lieu! Also, tradition has it that the first Roth that gets fried is, after the pooja, offered to this very Kanya (hence the name Kanyeke Roth)! Was this an attempt to train young girls in the fine art of weaving and knitting? Kashmiri women were known to handle the charkha (Yender in Kashmiri) for weaving wool (called yaer) and even pashmina thread! I have seen a Yender in my ancestral home in Alikadal, probably a heirloom, used by my great grandmother! This tradition of weaving Pann for Pann Puja would have been a way of empowering girls to learn a skill/craft that could help in life later!
• That Roth, the main prasad for this event, is distributed amongst all neighbours and relatives speaks of the social connect of this festival. The only parallel we can find is the Kashmiri Tradition of distributing Walnuts (doony in Kashmiri) amongst all friends, relatives, and neighbours after Herath (Shivratri) pooja!
• In case a family has seen some death (or any other negative happening) in the preceding year, Pann Puza would still be offered but only on the last saath(muhurat) – Anant Chodah. Such families would reduce the volume of their offering as Roth would either not be distributed or, distributed only to close relatives.
• That pooja ‘samgri’ for Pann includes barley and green grass (scutch grass?) called dramun in Kashmiri, is significant considering the story associated with the pooja. Tradition has it that only the tender tendon of the dramun grass called “seaman kanj or Habilkanj” is to be used for the Puja. The person who performs the pooja in the story is described as a very poor person, barely able to sustain herself. Only such a person can make an offering of dramun and barley to the deity! This also signifies that for success of a pooja it is the ‘bhav’ (devotion, faith) that matters – not the cost/ quality of ingredients. Incidentally, green grass is also associated with Ganesh Pooja across India.
• Pann Pooja requires utmost and rigid adherence to rules of cleanliness and ‘purity’ (tsrooch in Kashmiri). In earlier days, the entire kitchen would get a fresh coat of lipan(livun in Kashmiri), including the cooking surface( daan). All utensils needed for Pann prasad preparation were washed/ cleaned on the previous night. Only freshly collected water is used – Kashmir valley had plenty of streams, lakes, and rivers but only flowing water was used, not stagnant water from ponds and lakes, for preparing Pann Naveed. In Srinagar city, taps would provide running water 24x7 but before tap water became available, people would go to the Vitasta (now called Jehlum) river for filling their water pitchers. Material purchased for Pann Puza would not be used for any other purpose till the puza was over! Water designated for Pann Pooja was not to be used for any other purpose – even for preparing a cup of tea till the Puza was over! Even burning coals from the ‘daan’ (earthen fire stove prevalent in Kashmir for centuries) were not to be used for any other purpose. The kitchen would be used exclusively for Pann preparation – any cooking other than Pooja related would have to be done outside the kitchen. The Lady of the house would observe an upvas(fast) till the Puza was done! This could be a reason why most families preferred starting the Pann related activity early in the morning (by 3am?) – before the children and menfolk woke up and started asking to be fed! This also ensured that the lady of the house did not have to fast all day long!
• Pann Pooja is performed in the kitchen, mostly. Menfolk have a limited role to play, other than buying Pooja/ Pann material on a good muhurat, participating in pooja and, post Puza, delivering the prasad to neighbours and relatives!
• Traditionally, not all families had the ‘reeth’(tradition) of Pann Pooja which means that it was not mandatory for all. There were several families in our KP Samaj that did not observe Pann at all. Certain clanswomen of Mata Rup Bhawani, from the Sahibi Dhar Clan would not perform Pann pooja in their homes or participate in Pann Pooja elsewhere – reasons not clear!
• There was a tradition in Kashmir of the eldest son (or the one living with parents) ‘inheriting’ the responsibility for performing the ‘reeth’ of poojas like Herath and Pann – remaining brothers would participate in that pooja but not install Vatukh or Pann Kalash in their individual homes. In our family, till we were living under one roof in Srinagar, Vatukh and Pann were installed at our ancestral home only! It was only after my father constructed a house in Jammu that we decided to start Pann & Herath Pooja, formally! Till then, pooja in our name, too, was done at Srinagar and we would receive the prasad thru post (doonye after Herath and Roth after Pann!

Preparing Pann Prasad and performing the Pooja

• For preparing Pann Prasad (Roth) the basic ingredients needed are: Freshly ground Atta (wheat flour), Shakkar (raw sugar), Desi Ghee, Khaskhas (poppy seeds), Moti Ellaichi (black cardamom), a bit of fresh curd, some diced dry fruits (almonds, coconut, dry dates) etc.
• Another dish that was traditionally prepared in some families was called ‘Buzz Wangun’ – brinjals(wangun) roasted on fire, mashed, and then mixed with curd, some green chillies and salt to taste! In Kashmir, we used to have very typical long, light pink coloured brinjals that would have minimal seeds and mostly were insect free!
• Some families would prepare a typical roti called ‘du-wore phulka’ in Kashmiri. These were offered to the deity as part of prasad and, later, also distributed along with Roth amongst neighbours, relatives, and friends. Again, this would be part of family Reeth(tradition) and could vary from family to family. Some families would prepare Aata poori (instead of duwore phulka). Dough for these ‘phulkas’ was prepared separately!
• All these raw items are procured fresh – specifically for pooja. The quantities for ingredients depend on the volume/ quantity/ number of Roths to be prepared. The rule of the thumb is that first 5 pav are for Devi (measuring used to be done using a khos – a traditional bronze cup used for drinking tea but also used for measuring atta or rice). This would amount to appx 1.25 ser (1 kg?) of atta. Offering must be 1.25 pav and, its multiples. Plus, one measure per family member, present or otherwise! Families would even add additional measures full for families of married daughters! So, the quantity of atta needed would go up to 5-7 kg, depending on family strength!
• Amongst the utensils needed are: a big parat (platter vessel) for kneading atta, again, size depending on volume of atta to be kneaded. For deep frying Roth, a big flat ladle with big kadhai is needed. The dough is prepared adding ghee, sugar, moti-ellaichi seeds and water (or milk) to atta. Well kneaded dough is given some time to rest before using a rolling pin-rolling board combo, thick flat breads are rolled out, mostly round but some with designs as well – some families embellish their Roths with dry Fruit (almonds, diced coconut, dry dates etc)! As per tradition, there are two kind of Roths– one is called “Krayi pak roth” (fried in Ghee) and other is called “Sava Seer” roth which used to be baked traditionally in coal fired Tandoors. These days baking on Tawa or electric oven is the norm!
• Roth are deep fried/ baked and then stacked; khaskhas is sprinkled on the hot Roths to give those a nice look! Some families make special Roth (for a married daughter’s family, for example) by baking those on a tawa and decorating those with dry fruits and silver warq (thin food grade silver foil, used for decorating sweets too).

Preparing Roth

• Before starting, the Lady of the house would tie a longish wick like ‘pann’ spun out of raw cotton by a young girl, in her left Athoru(fresh one used for the festival). In earlier days, the lady would wear a new sari as well – such was the importance of Pann. For the younger lot, it used to be fun activity – all boys and girls, womenfolk of the household and some neighbours/ relatives would join, participating joyfully in rolling out of Roth breads from the dough.
• Only seasoned players were allowed to fry the Roth – if Roth breaks or develops cracks, such Roth is not offered for Puja. Ladies would exchange duties to reduce job-fatigue! I recall that after my marriage, my wife would invite her two younger sisters for help. Likewise, once our own Pann was done, my mom and wife would visit my Massi’s house for helping her out.
• Quite often, families would decide the date of Pann in consultation with each other – so that they can be available for help to each other on the Pann Day!
• Every lady would have her own recipe and technique for preparing the dough for Roth, based mostly on her own experiences or what she had learnt from her mother (nowadays, from You Tube!). Some ladies add a bit of Maida (refined wheat flour) to the atta to make the Roth look ‘fairer’ and a shade crisper! The proportions for sugar, ghee and atta-maida combo vary from family to family!
• The vegetables to be cooked on the day of the Pann (for lunch) would also follow the family ‘reeth’(tradition). In our family, my mom would prepare a ‘sabzi’ of paneer and capsicum. Another family would cook Dum Oolu and Bumchoonth wangan!

Pann Pooza

Once the Pann Roth were ready, along with the Du-vare Phulka and Buzz Wangun, preparation for puza would start. Puza would mostly be conducted in the kitchen by the seniormost lady of the house! For Kalash, a gadvi or jug is decorated with a tilak, the Swastik mark or Om Sign, a small garland of marigold flowers and a woven cotton thread (Pann). Other material needed for puza would be: freshly plucked grass (dramun in Kashmiri), cleaned and washed barley(wushke), a bit of washed rice(argya), flower petals, one coin per head to be used for offering to the Kalash. The other requirements would be dhoop-deep (ratan deep and dhoop), a bit of water for preypyun(puza).

Kalash being at the centre of this Pooja, all family members gather around the Kalash. For Pooja, Ratan Deep and Dhoop are placed to the right of Kalash (half filled with water) and thalis full of Roth are kept are kept in front of Kalash. Three Roths are kept on the Kalash along with du-vaer phulka and a bit of Buzz Wangun as offering to the deity. The first Roth called Kanyke Roth( or Kanykewor) is kept along with other Roths but reserved for the Kanya who spun the Pann thread! Tilak and Raksha sutra (Narivan) are offered to each member (obviously, those must be prepared in advance!). Each member is handed over a fistful of the mixture of dramun, barley, rice, flower petals and a coin (called athyiphol). For prasad, some fruits, particularly green pears (Naakh Tang in Kashmiri) or peeled apples are kept separately. After Puza, the contents of the Kalash are very reverentially immersed into a river or water body, including the offerings made to BeebGarbh Maej!

Who is the Deity?

Traditionally, BeebGarb Maej is said to be the deity to whom worship is offered (origin of term Beebgarb Maej has been discussed above). Sh Sanjay Raina calls BeebGarb Maej as another form or name of Matrika Devi. However, since the days on which this puza is conducted are associated with Ganapati Pooja, nowadays, Bhagwan Ganapati too is considered its deity.

Katha

The story of the Pann is told by the lady of the house; before narrating, she has to remove the ‘Pann’ she is wearing in her left athoru and keep it with her share of dramun+ floral petals etc. The story revolves around a King (or a rich merchant)) whose wife would offer puza to BeebGarb Maej every year on Vinayak Tchoram-the story starts as, “ryethavn manz ryetha te badyirpyatha, Vinayak Tchoram te aathvar,”. One day, the King (or merchant), out of anger, desecrates the pooja process by violating its purity(shuddhata). He leaves the house in anger, gets trapped in a conspiracy by his enemies and is imprisoned. In desperation, the queen runs away to a jungle with her young daughter and starts living incognito. She can barely make two ends meet and is forced to work in other households. In due time, her daughter, too, grows up and starts helping her mother by working as a domestic help. One Vinayaka Tchoram, she gets delayed – the household where she was working were offering Pann and they asked her to wait till the process was over so that she could carry Roth prasad to her home. On reaching home, she hands over the Roth to her mother – which brings tears of despair and sorrow to her eyes, in memory of days gone by. Mother explains to her daughter that every year, their household, too, had been offering Roth to BeebGarbh Maej and due to the desecration of pooja, they had fallen on bad days! The young girl suggests to her mother that they can offer the Roth to BeebGarb Maej again – but being too poor, they probably cannot afford it! Not discouraged, the girl and mother set about collecting material. From the King’s stables, they collect horse dung daily and after washing it, are able to gather undigested grains of barley and wheat. Over the next few weeks, they wash the barley-wheat grains, dry those, and finally grind those to make flour sufficient for 2-3 Roths. They beg and borrow for the rest of materials, including ghee and shakkar (some innovations too are introduced due to financial constraints); result of their efforts yields 2 and half Roth. For Pooja they use Dramun grass. With great devotion and faith, they offer the Roths to BeebGarb Maej, seeking pardon for deficiencies in their offerings! Mother breaks one of the Roths into half and asks her daughter to drop it in the drywell (chhah in Kashmiri) where her father had been kept by his enemies. As the daughter returns from the drywell, the mother-daughter are shocked to find that their Roths had turned into gold!

In yet another unexpected twist, the forces loyal to the deposed king are able to overthrow the current king and restore the glory of the erstwhile king! The story ends with a prayer – the way fortunes of the deposed king had changed, may everyone in the world enjoy such an upturn in circumstances! The festival of Pann is associated with “Prosperity” and “Harmony” of the house. It is all about wellbeing and wealth and hence it is to be performed with utmost cleanliness of heart and soul, honest and noble intentions so that Beeb Gharab Maej showers her blessings and keep the house always prosperous. Traditionally, it is mandated that if a lady participates in Pann Katha at some other household, offering the Dramun-Pushp-Barley-Coin athyephol to the kalash, she is expected to offer Pann at her own house next year onwards. Maybe, this is the reason why some ladies nowadays hesitate in offering Dramun-Pushp-Barley-Coin to the Kalash.

As the story ends, the entire family, one by one, offers the Dramun grass plus floral petals and coin into the kalash, bowing their heads before the Kalash. Before offering her own dramun to the Kalash, the Lady of the house takes off her own Pann (cotton thread she was wearing in her left athoru) and offers the same to Kalash. Then, lady of the house does the basic preypyun pooja, as marked in our Jantri (Panchang) – Amritesh Mudraya…and finally, seeks permission to consume the Naivedya – Agya may deeyatam nath, Naivedya...!

This concludes the Pann Puza plus Katha! Naivedya in the form of fruit (diced pears or apples) is offered to all family members! As the gathering sits to have lunch, a portion of Roth, a part of du-vaer phulka and Buzz Wangun is first served as Pann Naivadya! Later, Roth and Phulka are shared with all neighbours and, sent to relatives across the city (some families do not make or distribute du-vaer phulka – again, the household Reeth!). Nowadays, with relatives living in different locations, Pann Roth is carefully wrapped and couriered across various locations along with some dry sindoor as tilak and Raksha sutra(narivan) for the family members. I recall my sister’s ‘in-laws’ lived in Pune and till they were alive, my wife would prepare special Roth for them – the old gentleman, though a diabetic, would wait for the prasad and, always acknowledge receipt, very gracefully! Even today, my dear MIL sends Roth + Tilak+ Narivan for my family, 42 years after our marriage! Such are the traditions!

Disussion

Since the entire episode is based mainly on oral, word of mouth evidence, over the centuries, number of clones or variations of the story have evolved, often affected by contemporary circumstances. However, the crux and the lessons of the story remain unchanged! Faith and devotion can overcome mountains; it is important, in the words of Tennyson, to ‘meet the adoration of my household gods’! Anger, arrogance, hubris are poor masters and often lead to disaster! Material offerings do not matter – it is the intent of the devotee that matters! As Subhadra Kumari Chauhan has said: 

धूप-दीप-नैवेद्य नहीीं है झ ींकी क श्रींग र नहीीं। ह य! गले में पहन ने को फूलों क भी ह र नहीीं॥ 

Need of the hour: Our community has need for documentation for various rituals and practices that are undocumented or based on ‘word of mouth’ traditions. Our scholars need to find common ground to clear the confusion that afflicts several of our practices. Our younger generation is already facing challenges induced by exodus and its manifestations. They need clarity. Mr Sanjay Raina ji is requested to publish his theory, with evidence, so that it can be debated, agreed upon and then widely circulated! This is my plea to the various ‘mathadeeshes’ of our community – those who occupy high sounding positions that hardly have any relevance or effect! Let them organize conferences, requesting scholars and religious leaders, including Panchang Kartas, not just to put forth their views but also, to reach conclusions! Let procedures be simplified. Let a new book be brought out, giving final, authenticated versions of how and why of our rituals and procedures. Even the Panchang kartas must include these practices in their Jantris that guide KPs living the world over!

That our rituals and religious practices have survived our seven exoduses from Kashmir, have survived seven centuries of tyranny, speaks of the robustness of our traditions and faith. Our culture has been strong enough to survive these challenges. Introspection and a periodic reassessment are cleansing processes that remove the impurities that tend to come in with time; it is like a de-weeding process that helps strengthen the plant. The elasticity and resilience that our community has shown is probably unmatched in the annals of social history of communities that have faced persecution and exile several times over! At current juncture, our younger generation probably needs a bit of handholding and guidance! It is the responsibility of our generation to cut the clutter and remove the cobwebs of confusion!