Whenever the evil forces reign supreme, the Lord will come to the rescue and set things right. Accordingly Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the Universe (according to the Hindu mythology) has taken 9 "Avatars" or incarnations to eradicate the evil forces and establish goodness and prosperity. (Lord Vishnu is yet to take his 10th Avatar -
"Kalki). Of these incarnations, the seventh is the Sri Rama Avatar. Sri Rama Navami marks the birth of Lord
Rama. From Ugadi for the next 9 days, we celebrate the Vasantha
Navarathri. It concludes with Sri Rama Navami. It is celebrated on the day when
"Navami" (9th day after the new/full moon day) and the star
"Punarvasu" occur together in the Tamil month of "Chitirai". (Sometimes it might fall in the
"Panguni" month also). The Hindu tradition has a lot of meaningful practices. The Tamil months Panguni and Chitirai (April & May) are the hottest months of the year in this part of the world. Hence the
"Prasadams" offered to God will be directly related to the weather conditions.
For Sri Rama Navami, the "Prasadams" offered are Panakam, Neer Mor (Diluted Buttermilk), Vadai Paruppu and Panchaamirutham. These items are also prepared at the temples and distributed as prasadams to the devotees who come to seek the blessings of God. All the above mentioned foodstuffs can be taken to bring down the body heat. They also make up for the loss of body fluids due to the excessive perspiration. Apart from the above, in olden days, there was a custom to gift hand-made fans to other people. Since there was no electric fans then, to reduce the effect of the heat, these hand-operated fans were very useful during the summer months. It was indeed a thoughtful gesture.
The methods of preparation of these food items are listed below.
Panakam
 Ingredients (To serve 4 persons)
Jaggery (Powdered) - 1 Cup.
Water - 3 Cups
Lemon - 2 Nos.
Dried ginger (Powdered) - 1 ½ Tsp.
Cardamom (Crushed) - 2 Nos.
Pepper & Salt (Crushed) - ½ Tsp.
Procedure
Mix the jaggery in water and dissolve it well. Filter the ingredients in a cloth. Add lemon juice, dried ginger powder, Cardamom, Pepper and Salt. Mix this well. Serve chilled. This can be served as a welcome drink to quench the thirst and cool the system in the hot summer months.
Sujatha Pradeep
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