5 States- Memoirs of Ranchi, Jharkhand

 

5 States- Memoirs 

"Homesickness is not a thing until you have left the place you call home."

 

 

Come and delve with me 

as I jump into the experiences 

of my four friends

 and one including my own,

 who are from different states; 

as they share their thoughts

 on what it feels

 to be away from home

 and what do they miss

 about their place the most!

5th State- Ranchi, Jharkhand by Shivangi Sinha

About Shivangi- A talented dancer, she also loves to write.
Her answers to every question will portray a story of her homeland in your mind.
So without any further ado let's dive into it!

1)What is your name and it's meaning in your language?

- My name is Shivangi and it means beautiful and is also used to symbolise goddess Durga or Lord Shiva.

2)Which special dish is your favourite that reminds you the most of home?( Could be your state special but please do mention who makes them that makes you reminisce the feeling of back home)

- The dish that reminds me most of my home Ranchi is Gitti Chokha, though it's native in Bihar and not at all the staple dish in Ranchi, it still reminds of my home as I remember my father making it with so much love with tomato chutney and giving me at evening to eat.

3)Tell me about the landscape of your place where you live(The weather, geography of the place etc)

- Ranchi is mostly known for it's weather, it never gets too hot there. It has such pleasant weather all year around that even celebrities have praised. In evening, cool wind starts blowing even if it's summer. The morning dew in cold winters looks like crystals sparkling in sun. Ranchi is situated in hilly area and if you got out of the city, you will have to come down from the hill, hence it is also been designated as a hill station. I miss the hilly slopes and the cloudy skies.

4)There is a general vibe decided by the people living in that place.How are the people in your hometown?( You may compare it with the current place you are living in eg:Punjab)

- The people there are quite nosy nut also very helpful. They are very naive and kind, even if there are some misunderstandings they will still come and help you. If you are someone they have known for quite some time, you will become a part of their family. The families living in Ranchi are quite conservative though it is changing. But they still stick to their culture. A lot of them also belong to the tribal community and their native festival Sarhul is celebrated throughout the city with much enthusiasm and even non-tribal people join in.

5) Can you please speak something in your language and translate it for us?

- This will be hard as I myself don't know much about the language of my state but we often use the word "Johar" for welcome; as in "Johar Jharkhand".

6) How does your lifestyle look like in your hometown and what has changed after coming here? (Compare with providing examples like the food you eat or the pace of life here etc)

- In Jharkhand we used to have holidays for every tribal festival and our native festival "Chaat", the festival season is what I miss the most, the festive food, clothes and ofcourse holidays for tribal festivals.

7) Which festival is the most celebrated in your hometown? Describe in detail how you celebrate it at home as well as in your locality (Perhaps something that your mother used to make or do which reminds you of home or the overall rituals that only people in your hometown do which makes it so memorable and festive)

- Chhat is a festival that is celebrated the most in my hometown. My mother used to do Chhat past few years. It all starts after Diwali, the songs will start playing and markets will be adorned with Sup( A pooja plate made of straw but can also be of a metal such as chandi to keep all fruits and pooja items in it) and all kinds of fruits.

Festival of Chhat

 

• Chhat starts after Bhaidhuj and goes on for 4 days:

 1)The first day is also called "Kaddu Bhat" or "Nahaye Khaye". On this day we have to eat Kaddu Bhat(Pumpkin rice kind of preparation) after bathing in a thali from where the Parvatin( woman who perform the Chhat- fast) has already eaten, those who are younger than her eat directly from her thali(plate) while those older are given the prasad separately.

Parvatins distributing prasad on Ghat

2)The second day is "Kharna", the Parvatins are not allowed to drink even water. In the evening, they eat gur kheer( sweet milk with rice) also called "Rasiaav" together with roti and then again that bhog is shared with everyone, neighbours are also invited on this day to join in.

Here you can clearly see the "Sup" on which the fruits and pooja items are kept. 
It is so heavy that someone has to hold it from behind as Parvatin walks.

3)The third day is "Aragh" and Parvatin goes on a full day fast without water. Prasads are made by the Parvatin and also the family members. At evening, we walk barefoot to the Ghat carrying our Sup on our heads and the Parvatin steps into the water and then Aragh (water) to the Sun God through a series of ritual, after the puja we all go back to prepare for the next aragh known as "Bhorkha Aragh", the fourth day of festival.

Offering of Aragh to Sun God

4)We all get up before the sunrise, go to the riverbank again to offer the aragh to the sun God as the sun rises above the horizon. After this, the protection of the child and the peace and happiness of the entire family is sought from Chhatti Maiyya( The sixth avatar of Parvati, known as the protecter and good health of children). After the puja, thekua( a kind of sweet) is given to everyone as prashadi, the Parvatins break their fast by drinking water and then the Ghat ka Prashadi is shared with family members and neighbours.

The Ghat where everyone gathers to do Puja

8) Which special dishes are prepared in your festivals?

- The special dishes are many, some of the most common is thekua.

9)Can you give us the recipe of one of your favourite dish back home? (Please keep it original, something that your mom makes or grandmother or dad or grandfather or some local special; you can ask the recipe from anyone but the internet!)

- Gitti Chokha: First of all I am not at all the expert since i don't really know how my father makes it, I will just outline how he does it. First he prepares the sattu, with ginger, mustard oil, chillies, salt, water, lemon. Then the dough is made from wheat, my father then fills it with "sattu"(the preparation) and makes it nice and "gol" like a momo.

   It is then placed on the Tawa(pan) at low heat and left for cooking. In every few minutes, my father would check and move it so that it gets cooked properly. "Choka", he prepares with potatoes and brinjals. for me specially since brinjals is something I can't eat, he prepares a tomato chutney in his own special way, which unfortunately I have no clue about and serves us as a side dish hot!

10) If you would go back home today,what would be the first thing that will tell your senses, mind and body that you are back at the place you belong? (It could be the first thing that you do, like eating some food you only get back home or taking a ride in a vehicle you only find there or the classic weather that you only find in that place!)

-Ofcourse the air, the nice cool breeze and the smell of rain which is something that never goes away, no matter what season it is. The weather will alert me that I have reached my home, my city, my Ranchi. 

I want to acknowledge that I literally sat down beside my roomate Shivangi listening to her intently while she described me the festival of Chhat, which is very important to their family and extremely fascinating for me to hear.Lastly, I want to thank all my friends who took out their time and shared not just with us their diverse backgrounds but also graced us with an insight of their home, a place where they belong...and miss the most.

Thankyou for all of your support and encouragement in writing this blog series. It means alot.
Until Then,
With Love and Light,

Priya.