PARV 28 OF 30 · MAGH
सरस्वती पूजा · वसंत पंचमी
Magh Shukla Panchami (January–February)
"या कुन्देन्दुतुषारहारधवला, या शुभ्रवस्त्रावृता"
Katha · The story
Brahma made the world and found it silent. From his mouth came Saraswati, with a veena, a book and a rosary, dressed in white, and she gave the world speech, music and knowledge. Vasant Panchami, the fifth day of the bright half of Magh, is her day and the first day of spring, when the mustard fields turn yellow and the mango sends out its first flower.
In Bihar it is simply Saraswati Puja, the students' festival. Every school, every tola and most houses in Malinagar set up a murti: Krishna Dev High School and the Madhya Vidyalaya, the primary school, the clubs of each tola. Yellow clothes, yellow rice, the loudest speakers of the year, and the ceremony every child remembers: the first letters, written in his or her hand on a slate, on this day, at the age of five.
Mahatva · Significance
It is the start of learning for every Malinagar child and the start of spring for the fields. In a village that built two schools when there was only one in the area, Saraswati Puja is the festival of what the village is proudest of.
"जय सरस्वती माता, विद्या देहु हमें"
A line everyone at the festival knows
Vidhi · How it is done in Malinagar
Khichdi and chokha as bhog, boondi, kheer, and the first yellow jalebi of spring.
No one studies on Saraswati Puja: the books are at her feet. That is the rule, and children have held parents to it for a hundred years.