Pann Pooza (Pann Pooja) is observed on the Ganesh Chathurthi or Vinayak Tchoram in the Jammu and Kashmir regions of India. 

All Kashmiri Pandits celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm across the world. Yes, it doesn't matter where you are; If you are a Kashmiri living out of your hometown, you will go to your home and celebrate this festival with your family.

On this day Roths are prepared as Prasad, which is a sweet bread that is offered to God and then distributed amongst each other.

Kashmiri Pandits have this unique tradition of celebrating Ganesh Chathurthi differently and is considered the most important and auspicious festival of the Kashmiri Pandit community.

It is also associated with the spinning of newly produced cotton and worshiping the twin agricultural goddesses, Vibah and Garbha to whom the devotees offer the Prasad known as Roths. It is also believed that two goddesses transformed into one on this day, known as Beeb Garab Maej - the Mother Goddess who is prayed on this day.

Also, Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi are revered in the puja as well. Beeb Garab Maej, the Goddess is worshiped on this day and is seen carrying a water jug which is placed in the worship area. Then most importantly, a single long cotton thread is tied to the pot's neck with a handful of dramun or runner grass kept inside it.

This mixture of Dramun, Rice, and other things is then distributed amongst the family members who sit in the puja and the Roth preparations are kept in front of the goddess. Also, there are some fruits kept on top of Roth that are kept in the water jug. This might be an apple or a banana.

The Legend of Pann Pooza Story
Well, to summarize it in one sentence, there isn't one version of the story that is out there across the world.

You will find different stories are spoken while worshiping the Lord across different families in the Kashmiri pandit community. But the moral of all the stories is to pray to God that they help us in ensuring that our deeds are good and that they forgive us for any sins that we have done, and remove our issues or bad situations.

Having said that, some people are trying to preserve these stories across different families by recording them in digital format and ensuring that everything is in the drive.

This is again a great initiative, because not all of us may be able to learn the full stories.

After the story is completed, everyone in the family prays and sings beautiful Kashmiri Lila's (holy songs), and then spends the rest of the day enjoying tasty Roths and other delicacies.

How is all preparation done?
This preparation begins from one night before only. Most of the things are bought a day or two before the actual festival, and then cleaning of the house begins.

Once the house and Pooja room are cleaned, all the arrangements are made for dish making. This is also done because everything that is made there is pure and no one can eat anything before the work is pooja is completed.

As the preparation is huge, therefore, most families start in the early morning by getting ready at 4 or 5 AM morning and then start preparing all the dishes. This takes time because most families prepare these dishes not only for their family but also for their relatives and it is a tradition to give Roth to every relative, every single year.

Although, the practice is diminishing year by year because of families becoming nuclear and because of Covid 19 as well.

But it is something that I believe should be continued because this is the only reason one goes to their family or friends these days. Or else, it has become tough to maintain relationships.

These festivals encourage us to not ask for any appointment and directly visit our family and friends, which was a trend a few years back, and which is ofcourse missed by everyone who loves to be a part of huge joint families.

The significance of Pann is not only in the fact that we have to worship Lord Ganesh or other Goddesses and pray for our wellbeing but also in the fact that we get a reason to connect with our relatives and friends, which is tough these days. Especially for the people like me who are staying abroad and have these days only to visit our families.