Tag: Saraswati Puja

Young disabled woman in brightly coloured sari on a bright blue mat next to a young man lying on a yellow pillow on a pink mat

Saraswati Puja 2024

Posted on by shuktara

On the 14th February we celebrated Saraswati Puja at Anna Bari.

Young woman with red lipstick and gold ornament in her hair wearing an orange sari with woven gold design
Lali
Young man in colourful red and yellow button down shirt smiling very widely
Bappa
Young smiling woman with her hair up in a pink shirt
Muniya
Young woman in pink lipstick smiling, wearing a button-down white shirt with a peter pan collar.
Prity
Young disabled woman in a colourful sari standing on a blue and cream woven plastic mat next to a young man in white kurta on a pink mat
Puja Basak and Aakash
Man smiling with sheer colourful saris over the windows with sunlight pouring in
Pinku
Young disabled woman in a colourful sari sitting on a blue and cream woven plastic mat
Puja Basak
Young man in a fancy black embroidered kurta kneeling on a red plastic mat
Subhash
Older man with beard and gray hair laughing wearing a yellow kurta with red trim. Behind him is a younger man smiling in a fancy red shirt and a young smiling woman in a pink and black sari waving.
Sunil, Bappa and Muniya
Young man in black kurta with arms out to the side smiling
Ashok
statue of sarsawati in colourful headdress with jewelry
the goddess Saraswati
Man in bright yellow button down shirt smiling
Sumon
Puja Basak and Prity give puja wishes
Bablu Lal and Moni
Aarti Blessings before immersion of the Goddess
shuktara - boys in front of flowers

Saraswati Puja 2021

Posted on by shuktara

On 16th February shuktara celebrated Saraswati Puja on the roof of Anna Bari. Over the years this has become a tradition at shuktara and everyone is welcome. This festival prepares for the arrival of Spring and is dedicated to Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music, language and all of the arts. Everyone wears bright coloured clothing to celebrate the coming of Spring.

Below are photos and short videos showing this special day at shuktara.

Saraswati Puja at shuktara

Saraswati Puja 2020

Posted on by shuktara

Saraswati Puja came early this year – the date varies according to the cycle of the moon but typically falls in late January or early February. This year the puja was on Wednesday 29th January and is the first puja of the year celebrating the goddess of wisdom and learning, Saraswati.

At shuktara this occasion is marked by a statue of the goddess Saraswati on the roof of Anna Bari, usually surrounded by bright floral decorations. Everyone dresses up in their best clothes and the young people from both homes gather on the roof to talk, eat kedgeree (a creamy savory rice dish) and, as seen in the video to the right, dance.

Everyone loves Sunil and we all love watching Sunil celebrate by dancing. Happy Saraswati Puja!

Saraswati Puja at Anna Bari

Posted on by shuktara

Saraswati Puja is an annual event at shuktara and everyone is invited. Shuktara has a history of celebrating Saraswati Puja going back to the early days in Jubilee Park when our first boys attended REACH school.
Even though they have finished, Aakash has just started! Now that our girls are coming to the end of their studies at the same school, this Puja has a special place in the story of shuktara and this year we remembered Anna and kept his photo next to the goddess.

Here are some photos of the festivities – many thanks to Marci Radin and Sarah Annay for their fantastic images.

2018 Saraswati Puja at shuktara

Saraswati Puja on the roof

Posted on by shuktara

Every year Saraswati Puja is celebrated on the roof of the shuktara boys' home. All of the young people at shuktara eagerly anticipate wearing new clothes and having kedgeree and prasad. Friends and family are invited to this puja and as you can see, there is always quite a crowd of people having a wonderful time.

shuktata home for girls with disabilities - 2017 April - Puja in her school uniform - maybe for the first time ever

Puja and Guria go to school for the first time

Posted on by shuktara

Last week Pappu was really busy with paperwork for admission to REACH school for Puja and Guria. He had taken photos of Guria and Puja and had written deep descriptions of their needs and abilities. We were expecting them to get admission after the Summer holiday in June.

Sometimes things happen fast in India - Pappu was able to get both girls enrolled immediately and they started on Monday (3 April 2017).

Of course Guria is loving it because she is completely delighted with each new experience. Puja is feeling more and more settled and she loves going out to school every day.

The girls' interaction with other people is of primary importance. In school they are learning to be in different situations and coping with different experiences outside of their home. This is just one of the ways they will become part of their community.

shuktara homes for young adults with disability

More photos from Saraswati Puja

Posted on by shuktara

Please click on photo to see full image.

All photos by Sarah Annay Photography / Vision For Empowerment

shuktara home for disabled young adults - 2017 January - Bablu and the swan - setting up for Saraswati Puja

Setting up for Saraswati Puja

Posted on by shuktara

Preparations are happening for Saraswati Puja which will be held here on the roof of our boys home on Wednesday 1st February.

Sunil is helping Jogen by placing old saris around the swan that we have made. A flat marble slab on the swan is ready for the goddess to be placed on. Now we are just waiting for Saraswati!

Saraswati (Sanskrit: सरस्वती, Sarasvatī) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts, wisdom and learning (Wikipedia).