On this day, in Kashmir we would have been going to Sharika Devi temple on Hari Parbat. Prayers would be offered and then we would head back home for lunch, says Kachru
While the city's streets were busy celebrating Gudi Padwa on Sunday, Kashmiri Pandits in the city observed the Kashmiri New Year — Navreh and Zangtrayi — which is celebrated few days from the New Year.
"On this day, in Kashmir we would have been going to Sharika Devi temple on Hari Parbat. Prayers would be offered and then we would head back home for lunch," said SP Kachru, president, Kashmiri Pandits' Association (KPA), which organised the Navreh celebrations in Marol, Andheri.
The celebrations were attended by over 100 Kashmiri Pandits from all over the city. Almost 80 per cent of those who attended had moved to the city during the 90s exodus from the Valley when the persecution started. "New Year is basically the end of winter and beginning of New Year. During this time flowers blossom in Kashmir," said Sanjay Peer, a Thane resident.
The celebrations included delicacies like the traditional Kashmiri Kahwa, Nadir Munjya (chips made of lotus stem), luchis (poori in Kashmiri style) and halwa.
Zantreyi, a festival when married women visit their maternal home, saw a symbolic giving of money and salt. "It is a tradition and both resemble prosperity. We would be given that by our mothers," said Sarojini Bhatt, a resident of Powai. Like many other women, Bhatt too sported the Kashmiri mangalsutra which is worn in the ears and hangs down the shoulders. "We would offer yellow rice on this day to Devi in Temple. In the evening we would spend time an almond garden. New Year celebrations were supposed to be in open," said Bhatt.
For sprucing up of the language and ensuring that children learn it too, the organisation invited scholar SM Raina who helped children learn the nuances of the language. "I know the language because I was in Kashmir. But for our children, they learn only from what parents speak at home. We do not want them to lose out on this or the language to go extinct," said Kachru.
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