MUMBAI, INDIA, November 3, 2007: (HPI note: The following review is by Sanjukta Sharma of Livemint.com.)
This two-volume compendium on celebrating Hindu festivals in South India, “Follow the Hindu Moon,” is a great pre-festival buy. The author, Soumya Aravind Sitaraman, is a Silicon Valley housewife who embarked on a long research project about South Indian festivals out of personal interest–away from home, she wanted to catch up with her family’s religious roots. Sitaraman made many trips to India, and spent long hours observing and listening to elderly ladies here and in the US, before she finally decided on the format for her guide. It is complete with charts, glossaries of religious terms in Sanskrit and regional languages, their literal translations and symbolic significance, and family photographs of festivities taken by Usha Kris. In her introduction, Sitaraman writes, “This two-volume set is the missing record of the method and mythology of traditional ways and, most importantly, of the importance of ceremonies that make this legacy meaningful for us to sustain and carry forward to the next generation.” Later on, she says: “Although the book is tailored for a generation that counts time by seconds, taking that extra bit of time makes all the difference. Slowing down to savour the moment has a purpose and a subtle but distinct result…” Her long introductory piece is, in fact, one of the best things in the book. It is the story of her personal journey of rediscovering rituals that she grew up with. She fleshes out the characters of her teachers, her “new grandmothers,” in great detail.
The 900-odd pages–meticulously divided to include the basics of a home puja, specifications according to festivals throughout the year, organizing for traditional rituals, easy explanations of the complex system of Hindu cosmology and festival food and recipes–fulfill the purpose she set out with. Sitaraman’s guide should not, however, be mistaken for a short cut or simplified version of festival celebrations suited to modern urban needs and time constraints. She tells you how to do it the authentic traditional way.
Follow the Hindu Moon: by Soumya Arvind Sitaraman, Random House India, 908 pages, Rs3,500.