This year (2001), the Basant Panchami falls on the 29th
of January. The day of Basant Panchami is dedicated
to Goddess Sarasvati. It is not a national holiday in
India but the schools are closed and the students participate
in decoration and arrangement of the worship place.
A few weeks before the celebration, schools become
active in organizing various annual competitions of
music, debate, sports and other activities. Prizes are
distributed on the day of Basant Panchami.
Many schools organize cultural activities in the
evening of the Saraswati Puja day when parents and other
community members attend the functions to encourage
the children.
Sarasvati is the goddess of learning. Sarasvati bestows
the greatest wealth to humanity, the wealth of knowledge.
In the Vedas the prayer for Sarasvati depicts her as
a white lady in white dress bedecked with white flowers
and white pearls, sitting on a white lotus, which is
blooming in a wide stretch of water.
She holds Veena, a string-instrument, like Sitar,
for playing music. The prayer finally concludes, “Oh
Mother Sarasvati remove the darkness (ignorance) of
my mind and bless me with the eternal knowledge.”
The Vedas describe Sarasvati as a water deity, goddess
of a river of the same name. According to popular
belief Sarasvati, originating from the Himalayas, flowed
southeast, ultimately meeting the Ganges at Prayag,
near the confluence of Yamuna. Hence the place is called
Triveni. In due time this course of water petered
away.
The mythological history of Sarasvati associates her
with the holy rituals performed on the banks of the
river Sarasvati. She is worshipped as a goddess
of speech, attributed to the formation of Vach (words),
invention of Sanskrit language and composition of hymns.
In the United States, the Bengali community observes
Basant Panchami in the form of community worship of
goddess Sarasvati.
It is usually organized on the following weekend.
Conservative Indians, however, prefer to celebrate it
on the day of Panchami. The commue cultural activities
and the participation of kids is encouraged.
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