THE PEOPLE

HINDUS

The census of 1961 indicates that 10,39,777 out of 12,30,716 of the population of the district are Hindus. The only other important group is that of Muslims who number a little over 75,000. The other important group is that of Jains who are 48,373. Hindus are not enumerated castewise in the census of late but caste has not ceased to exist though customs and considerations associated with this or that caste have become loose and rather inconsequential except when the problem of marriage arises. Sub-castes are showing a tendency to merge in a larger caste with similar characteristics. This tendency may eventually lead to abolition of caste, but how long after is difficult to say. It is only intercaste marriages on a large scale that can lead to the end of the caste-system but such marriages are by no means very frequent even now. Castes have generally conformed to occupational divisions. It is craft or occupation followed by some families for generations together that have given those families the name of a particular caste among Hindus. Modern life conditions and education have released forces which enable the coming together of people of various castes and sub-castes on a common cultural plane and, therefore, at not a very distant date, caste system may break down completely. Even now relations between the various castes and sub-castes are not unfriendly in normal dealings. Under the instigation of ambitious political people, caste feelings and pride are artificially awakened now and then and hostile action and demonstration are noticeable. Generally, the people get on well together, following their usual avocations peacefully and meeting one another's needs. Social intercourse is restricted only where inter-marrying comes in. Inter-dining is becoming common among members of various castes and sub-castes and even followers of different religions, particularly in urban areas. In rural areas also partaking of pansupari and smokes and of late even taking tea and snacks together are by no means rare. The means of transport and communication have also accelerated this process. Even untouchability, which was very rigorously observed once upon a time, is disappearing both because it has been done away with by law and social reformers have carried on propaganda for decades against it as an inhuman practice. Once upon a time untouchability meant even unapproachability and unseeability, if such expressions might be used. Some untouchable communities, especially Mahars have embraced Buddhism under the guidance of the late Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and they call themselves nav-Buddhas.

Occupational groups in the Hindu religion.

Among Hindus, Brahmans seem to be slightly in larger numbers and in a better position in Sangli district chiefly because of the Patwardhan Rajas of Sangli and the State authorities of Miraj, Budhaganv and Aundh. Even then Brahmans may not be more than seven per cent of the total Hindu population of the district. The Marathas and Kunbis form the biggest group. They belong to the same stock but Marathas are generally better placed in social status and Kunbis are usually tillers of land. Some Maratha families claim their origin to Rajput families from north India, but this is difficult to trace genealogically. The Marathas usually prefer military or police service, and of late, any Government employment to agricultural pursuits. Since sugarcane plantation and sugar factories came into vogue, they are taking to this cash crop and sugar manufacture. Marathas are usually of a fairer complexion and have refined manners but they cannot be distinguished from Kunbis on that account. Now-a-days all communities which are non-Brahman form under the absorbing banner Marathas and similar communities. Due to the growth of the co-operative movement in the field of sugar and oil production among the Marathas, they now generally wear a prosperous look.

Several other groups among Hindus still follow, at least partially and periodically their time-honoured and traditional occupations, besides such agriculture as they can manage. Such groups are the Malis or gardeners, Beldars or quarrytnen, Buruds or bamboomakers, Ghisadis or tinkers, Kasars or bangle-sellers, Kostis or weavers, Kumbhars or potters, Lohars or black smiths, Lonaris or cement-makers, Otaris or casters, Patharvats or stone-dressers, Patavekars or tassel-makers, Rangaris or dyers, Sonars or goldsmiths, Sutars or carpenters, Tells or oilmen, Vadars or earth diggers, Ghadsis or musicians, Guravs or temple-tenders, Nhavis or barbers, Parks or washermen, Dhangars or shepherds, Gavlis or milkmen, Bhois, who once used to be palanquin-carriers, Kolis or ferrymen, and Pardesis who hailed originally from North India. All these and similar other groups are classed as communities similar to Marathas. People belonging to groups such as Kaikadis, Ramosis and Vanjaris have practically lost their traditional occupations and are being absorbed among Kunbis or agricultural workers. Formerly the Kaikadis were basket-makers, the Ramosis were guards or sentinels and Vanjaris were caravan drivers with bullocks in their possession as cargo-carriers.

Scheduled Castes.

The scheduled castes are very backward, needing special help for uplift in society. Seats have been reserved for them in village panchayats, municipalities, Zilla Pari shad, the State legislature and the Parliament. Special educational facilities are also given to them. Belonging to the scheduled castes in Sangli district are Bhahgis or nightsoil men, Mangs, Mahars and Camars. The Mangs were regarded as serviceable and trustworthy village watchmen as also scavengers, hangmen, musicians and songsters. Among the Mahars there are many sub-castes all of whom were petty village servants of the State. Camars are shoe-makers.

Itinerant Castes.

The Gondhalis are a tribe of dancers and worshippers of Ambabai of Kolhapur. Their services are usually requisitioned in Hindu households after some event of rejoicing like a wedding or the birth of a son, for performing a Gondhal or a special worship of Ambabai. Formerly, they functioned as Bhats or hands who composed and recited crude but vigorous versical compositions in eulogy of their patrons or their ancestors who were usually princely people and Sardars. These compositions were called powadas. A special peculiarity of the dress of the Gondhalis is their long, shabby, greasy coats and a necklace of cowrie shells. Otherwise they look like the rural Kunbis.

The Kolhatis or tumblers constitute a strange set of people who wander from place to place all the year round. They are a light, active, intelligent people with fair skins, dark eyes and short black hair. They speak a mixture of Marathi, Gujarati and Hindustani. They generally move in gangs of about 20, carrying small mat huts and cots on the backs of donkeys or ponies or their own heads. Both men and women as also children are acrobats among them. All the same, they hold the cow as a sacred animal, an index of their being Hindu. Tirmalis or Nandkars who take decorated bullocks that are trained to react to particular words and sounds usually go round villages and collect their grain cess from the peasants at harvesting time. They are becoming scarcer and scarcer. They originally came from Andhra Prades and they have kept up the same corrupt Telugu still. Vaidus who also are believed to have come from Andhra Prades have become practically extinct.

All the castes and sub-castes among Hindus are generally peaceful people, follow their traditions loyally and believe that whatever was ordained by time-honoured customs and practices was good enough for them. They are God-fearing and tolerant. They hold that there is only one source responsible for this creation and that source must be worshipped in any of its manifestations according to individual taste and family tradition. This way of life and behaviour does not make for any pursuit of strife or competition. All are taught to remain content with what one was endowed by the Almighty and to this teaching it is considered moral to conform. Generations have lived for centuries in this belief. But western education with its emphasis on the teaching of Science in its various branches has generated a spirit of questioning and an emphasis on scientific outlook. Modern concepts about social equality and justice and individual freedom are gripping the mind of the modern generation. Swaraj has only accelerated this process. In all spheres of life, static ways are yielding place to dynamic ways and as a result, a transformation of society is in progress. Effects of this transformation are noticeable in the changes that the traditional customs of Hindus are undergoing.

Samskaras.

The majority of Hindu customs and traditions consist of rituals related to various religious practices known as Samskaras or sacraments. In theory, they are purifying rites, conducted under the direction of Brahman priesthood, according to orthodox practice. Regarding the exact number of these Samskaras, the writers of smrtis are not agreed. According to some of these lawgivers, 16 of these Samskaras are compulsory and 24 are optional. Nitya and Naimittika are the Sanskrt words used to convey this meaning. Of late even these sixteen have now been reduced to less than half a dozen in most of the Hindu, communities including Brahmans who abided by them some decades ago. These rituals are associated with birth, death, marriage chiefly and also with pregnancy and school-going age. Thread-girding or Upanayana is peculiar only to the twice-born, i.e., the dwijas now consisting of all divisions among Brahmans and some Maratha families who claim to be Ksatriya and Vaisyas. Garbha-dhana, signalising the child-bearing capacity of the girl-wife used to be performed once separately after she came of age with much fan-fare and tom-tom, but now forms part of the marriage ceremony. The marriage age of girls has now been about 20 and their child-bearing capacity is taken for granted.

Marriage and Morals.

The most important and far-reaching in its effects on every individual Hindu, men or women, is the marital rite. Till late this was observed most ceremoniously, but under the stress of modern thought, economic necessity and reformist ideas, even this rite has been reduced to the minimum by the Dharma Sastra Nirnaya Mandal. Even well-to-do and conservative Hindus now resort to what has come to be designated as the Vedic Marital ritual, which retains the essentials of the ceremony and drops a number of non-essentials which have been associated with marriage by customs. As a matter of fact even what prevailed before was Vedic as distinguished from the registered marriage system under which parties to the marriage could belong to different religions and still join in wedlock as man and wife. The four-day wedding ceremonies, interspersed with a number of dinner parties thrown by the people of both the bride and bridegroom have become a matter of the past and the ritual has become quite brief with a reception to friends and relatives, but the religious requirements like Saptapadi, Kanyadana, Vivaha-homa being preserved intact in keeping with the injunction of the sastras and the smrtis. The Brahmans themselves have led the way in bringing about this reform. Other Hindu communities have willingly and conveniently followed their lead.

Marriage is among the most sacred and significant of obligations according to Hindu religion, ethics and philosophy to which human life is subject. According to the Hindu view, marriage is not a contract but a sacrament which is indissoluble. By usage only members of the same caste or sub-caste are eligible for marriage subject to certain other conditions like agreement as regards gotra and astrological suitability. Marriages could take place only in certain months of the year, the rainy season being totally excluded. A number of customs and practices, wholly unessential from the religious view-point, have also grown around the marriage event, some of which even extend to a whole year. Many outdated non-essentials, however, now tend to disappear in this age of reason, education and a rational outlook on life. Several of these were even stupid and frivolous which grew around child marriages which the elders considered as occasions for revelry, rejoicing and show of pomp. Public opinion has gradually undergone an unmistakable change. Popular opinion has found expression in the legislation of the representative and democratic bodies that came in the wake of awakening under the British rule and more particularly since the attainment of political independence by the country. Thus, child marriage has been abolished altogether by law. The justice and the desirability of the contractual concept even in the holy wedlock has been recognised and divorce under certain specified conditions is now permissible. Freedom to marry beyond one's caste and sub-caste and even creed, has been conceded and the gotra barrier too has been legally done away with. Marriages between members of sub-castes have become common enough. Even those between members of different castes and creeds have also ceased to be sensational though not of frequent occurrence there is no longer social ostracism and criticism of a severe character of such marital unions. In urban areas particularly, they do not even rouse the idle curiosity and spicy comment they once did.

The marriage customs of the so-called higher and lower castes among Hindus do not differ in important details. Only the ritual is conducted among the former according to Vedic mantras and among the latter according to Puranik mantras. Polyandry does not exit in Maharastra anywhere. Polygamy was current enough and cases may be found even today in this district in which a man has taken even two or three wives though polygamy has now been legally prohibited. By convention, rules of endogamy prohibit marriages outside a caste or a sub-caste; rules of exogamy prohibit marriages between sagotras, sapindas and sapra-varas. Brahmans claim gotras and pravaras and by the gotra and pravara, exogamy though reformed Hindu law no longer requires conformity to this. Marathas claim kuli or devak as well as gotras but the chief restrictions are that the bride and groom must not belong to the same kuli or devak. The prohibited degrees of kindred for marriage beyond agnates vary according to the custom of the community concerned. As regards cross-cousin unions, except that of the brother's daughter with the sister's son, which is not only tolerated but even keenly sought among Saraswat and Desastha Brahmans, other types are disallowed. Marriage with a wife's sister is allowed and a brother may also marry his brother's wife's sister, i.e., sisters can become sisters-in-law.

All marriage agreements are conveniently reducible to five types. In salankrt kanyadana, the bride's father bedecks her with ornaments and jewellery and bears the expenses incidental to the marriage including even travelling expenses of the groom's party. In kanyadana, the bride's father's expenses are limited to his own side. In Varapaksa-Vadhupaksa each side bears its own expenses and considers it honourable to exchange suitable gifts and dinner parties according to the means of either. In the hunda form, the bride's father pays a heavy varadaksna so that the groom is as if were purchased and in the deja form, the proposal is made from the groom's side with a price for bride. There may be variations suited to mutual convenience in all these forms in individual cases.

The marriage ceremony as such covers a number of stages. Among the poor and backward communities, it is the father of the groom or some such elderly person on his behalf starts negotiations with the bride's father. In the case of the well-to-do and the advanced people the process is reversed. This is called magani. If there is no initial hitch, it was usual until recently to compare the horoscopes of the bride and the groom particularly among the advanced communities but this stage is resorted to in many cases now-a-days to leave room for a denial or approval if it is considered desirable on second thought. If this stage is passed, there takes place what is called Sakharpuda. On a mutually agreed day, the groom's father or an elderly person or relative of similar standing accompanied by some friends goes to the bride's house to present her with a sari and bodice cloth and ornaments.

Five suvasinis, i.e., women with their husbands living mark the bride's forehead with kumku, present her a sddi, a khan and ornaments with a packet of sweets. The others are given pansupari and light eatables and tea. This ceremony is called sakharpuda. Some days later, the bride's relatives go to the groom's place and present him suitable clothes, a head-dress and a ring. The groom's forehead is marked with a tila. The sakharpuda and tila together constitute what may be called the betrothal. In marriage ceremonies which extended over three or four days in days by gone, these two were primarily repeated and were called Sevati and vangniscaya. These are followed by patrikapujan or worshipping of the papers on which the names of the bride and the bridegroom are written by their respective priests with the God Ganesa as witness. All the family deities, local deities and goddesses are also specifically invited to bless the contemplated marriage by placing a few rice grains before the idols. This is often done by a procession of friends and relatives going to various temples.

Although it is now dispensed with in most cases, there used to be a day before the marriage a non-essential symbolic ceremony called ghana in the houses of both the bride and bridegroom. A turmeric bulb, some wheat and an areca-nut are tied in a piece of cloth to the handle of a jate (grinding-stones) by married and unwidowed women. They grind some wheat and turmeric by the handmill to the accompaniment of prayer songs to Ganes and Sarasvati. Two wooden pestles are then tied together with a piece of new cloth containing turmeric bulbs, a betel-nut and a little wheat. Some wheat is put into a bamboo-basket and pounded with these pestles. Provisions for the marriage are supposed to be prepared after this ceremony but it is not really observed in practice. The grinding-stone and the pestles used for this ceremony are kept in the same position till all functions in connection with the marriage are over. This is usually done in the early hours of the morning. The next item is that of halad and telvan. A party of Suvasinis from the groom's house goes to the house of the bride to the accompaniment of music, taking with them in a basket turmeric paste, articles of dress, etc. The bride is smeared with oil and this paste and she is given a hot water bath. She is presented with a new green sadi and coli. What remains of the turmeric paste and oil is taken to the groom's house. He is rubbed with these and given a similar bath. The bride's father presents him a dress which he puts on when he starts for the bride's house in a procession for the actual marriage ceremony.

On the marriage day, a number of propitiatory rites are gone through in the camps of the bride and the bridegroom. They are called mandap pratistha and Devaka pratistha and include Ganapati pujana, punyahavacana, nandisraddha and graha-makha. A spot in the marriage-booth is washed with cowdung. Suvasinis decorate it with rangoli (quartz powder) and arrange three pats (low wooden stools) in a line and cover them with rich velvet or woollen material. The parents of the bride and bridegroom take bath, put on silk apparel and seat themselves on the pats with their faces to the east. Next, because some samskars which ought to have been performed on the bride and the groom, but were not, they are made to go through a prayascitta. The father of the bride or the groom declares solemnly; " I am going to marry my son or daughter named so and so in order to be free from the debt of gods and ancestors and to continue the performance of righteous deeds and to propagate off-spring fit to perform these deeds." In this declaration is contained the essence of marriage as a social and sociological duty. In order that the whole marriage ceremony may pass off without any inauspicious occurrence, prayers in propitiation of Ganapati, the family deities, Mrtyunjaya and the ill-favoured stars of the party are held through priests. These prayers commence before and end after the marriage and are known as anusthana. Gadagner or kelavan are felicitations accompanied by dinners offered to the bride or bridegroom by relatives.

There is a performance called matrkapujana which is in essence a worship of ancestors. The bride's party arranges a dinner in honour of the groom's party when images of ancestors are brought by the groom and they are worshipped. Among the Marathas families of this district, it is traditional to remember those ancestors who fell on the battle field and seek their blessings. An elderly male member of the family personates this Vir Purusa. He is taken to the bank of a river in ceremony. The water deities and he are feted. He is presented with a dress and he holds a sword in his hand. He is brought home and smeared with red powder. At the entrance of the house, rice mixed with curds and coconut are waved near his person. The sword in his hand is then taken and placed near the house-gods. This Vir Purusa has then to remain in the house till the marriage ceremony is over.

A formal declaration of the marriage settlement in the presence of friends, relatives and invited guests is held on the eve of the marriage day or even on the same day at the bride's house. It is called vangniscaya. The groom's father accompanied by a party of men and women goes ceremoniously to the bride's house. After they are welcomed and seated, the bride dressed in new clothes is seated near her father. The groom's father gives into her hands a coconut, a betel leaf packet and says thrice addressing her father, ' I shall accept your daughter in marriage for my son'. The bride's father says to him, 'Please do ', also thrice. All this is recited in Sanskrt. Both of them embrace each other and the ceremony is over. When the time for marriage draws near, the groom wears the dress presented to him at the halad ceremony by the bride's father. His brow is bedecked with a basing or marriage coronet. His left cheek is touched with lamp black. He rides a horse or nowadays is seated in a car. Musicians and drum-beaters walk in front and behind them walk all the men of the party with the bridegroom. Behind the groom is usually his sister holding a sakundiva (lucky lamp) which is laid in a dish and another woman follows her with a metal or earthen pot holding rice, betel-nut and water covered with a mango-branch and coconut set on a heap of rice in a bamboo basket. Other ladies follow. The party halts at the place previously fixed upon for performing simanta pujan or worship at the boundary. On reaching the bride's home one or two suvasinis pour water on the hoofs of a horse which the bridegroom rides. Another suvasini pours water on his feet. The bride's father hands him a coconut and leads him by hand to a place called bahule or marriage platform. The guests are received all seated in the marriage hall where soft music is kept going. While all this goes on and the auspicious moment is watched by a priest the bride is given a bath, is dressed in a special marriage dress and she is seated before what is known as Gaurihara. She prays there to God Siva and Goddess Parvati and Sakti or Indiani, the wife of Indra, head of the celestial World for blessings to herself and her husband to be.

A little before the auspicious moment, the bride's father worships the paper on which the Muhurta has been written. Two small heaps of rice grains are made near the marriage altar by the priest and a cloth with a central cross mark is held between the heaps. The bride and the groom are asked to stand on these heaps, the former facing east and the latter west. Maternal uncles of either stand behind them. The priests stand on either side of the curtain and ask the pair to remember their family gods. The priests recite auspicious verses and fling rice mixed with kumkum on both. This is distributed to the guests also and at the end of each verse and when the word savadhana is repeated, this rice is flung over the heads of the pair. When the auspicious moment arrives, the astrologer priest claps his hands. This is a signal for all to start clapping and the musicians to play on their instruments. The priests draw the curtain aside and the bride and the groom garland each other. If the performance of madhuparka was not performed before for lack of time, it is performed now. This consists of the father of the bride worshipping the groom by pouring on his hand, a spoonful of honey mixed with curds which is called madhuparka. The bridegroom sips it. If the parents have senior sons-in-law or a son-in-law, they are also offered madhuparka in order of seniority. The hands of the pair are then joined by the bride's father, a pot of bell metal is held under them by the priest and the bride's mother pours water with some coins in it over their clapsed hands. This completes the kanyadana or giving over the daughter rite. This is considered to be a highly meritorious act on the part of a house-holder because the priest keeps saying kanya tarayatu; punyam vardhatam. This means: May the daughter save her father and let his merit grow. The bride's father then presents new clothes, ornaments and other articles to the groom. He puts round the neck of the bride a lucky necklace called mangalasutra which is made of black glass beads and some gold beads and a locket. Ganapati is then worshipped by them and Brahmans are distributed daksina. The couple also worship Laksmi, Parvati and Indrani.

While all these religious rites are in progress, the guests in the hall are given pansupari, coconuts, sweets, flowers, attar and rose-water as witnesses to the wedding. This done, they disperse. Vivahahoma or marriage sacrifice is then performed and saptapadi, i.e., going round the marriage fire seven times on the part of the bride and the bridegroom makes the marriage valid. Another rite called panigrahana that follows makes it wholly irrevocable. Kankanas or marriage wristlets are tied to the wrists of the couple and they are shown the Dhruvatara or the Pole Star while they hold each other's hands. This is a symbol of their vow to remain steadfastly loyal to each other.

The concluding social event is the varat or the ceremonial homeward return of the bridegroom with the bride. This is usually done the same night or the next night. In old days when boys and girls were married at a very young age, parents and other elders of the family derived considerable fun by making the newly weds go through a number of funny and frivolous situations. With grown up boys and girls as parties to the marriage this has almost completely disappeared. Yet, even now, they are made to sit to dinner in the some plate and feed each other. After varat, one more socially significant ceremony called sunmukhdarsan, is held. It consists of a cordial welcome to the daughter-in-law by the mother-in-law. Sugar is put in her mouth by the mother-in-law and other elderly women and new clothes and ornaments are given to her. The last religious ceremony is devakothapana or unshrining of the devak in the same way as it was installed. When this is over Brahmans and priests are rewarded for their services. In this district, the custom among the Marathas and similar communities is to treat the guests with a sweet feast during the marriage period, and another feast afterwards. It consists of meat, mutton and fowl.

Since the Second World War, conditions of life have enormously changed. The marriage age of boys has considerably risen. The old elaborate, leisurely rituals, whether religious or social, connected with an event like the marriage has no place in these altered circumstances. So it has been rationalised and abridged. Even a reformist body like the Dharma Nirnaya Mandal has helped the process. Collective marriages have also been introduced among the poorer classes in the interest of economy. Upanayana is still in vogue, though the samskara as such is only nominal. But its retention and coming into vogue of collective upanayanas in order to retain that sacrament in certain places serves to show that people still care for the nominal initiation of their sons into the student stage with some religious ceremony. The only other samskaras that are observed are in connection with birth, death and pregnancy.

Pregnancy and Child Birth.

The prospect of a baby in the offing for a newly-wed bride is greeted with enthusiasm both by her parents as at her husband's. A woman without a child is regarded as an imperfect and immature woman and is looked as even ominous. No Hindu woman will be happy if within a reasonable period after marriage, she does not become enceinte. When happy omens of a coming child are noticed there is joy in the family and every one desires that the first arrival should be a male child. For this purpose, the sacrament of pumsavana was devised while the young wife was in the third or fourth month of pregnancy. But whether because it is really not effective or unnecessary, it has fallen into disuse. The prospective mother's longings, dohale as they are called, are fondly noticed and promptly satisfied by the elderly members of the husband's family. If a child is born with some birth-marks or congenital defects, they are ascribed to non-fulfilment of the longings. It is customary for a newly-wed wife to go to her parents for the first confinement. All arrangements including the engagement of a midwife known to the family are made. She looks after the young mother for ten days after delivery.

All rural communities are particular about the fifth or sixth day worship as they are believed to be full of danger to the new born. The belief that convulsive seizures and most other forms of disease are the work of spirits and they can be warded off only by propitiating the Mothers, Fifth and Sixth. The elderly women of the house are particular about keeping a lamp constantly burning in the confinement room and the mother is never left alone during the ten days. On the fifth day of child birth, friends and relatives are asked for a tiffin. In the name of the pancavi, a betel-nut, a sword or a sickle are placed on a pat and sandle paste and flowers are offered. The mother bows before the goddess with the child in her arms and prays her to protect the child from evil spirits. On the sixth day a blank sheet of paper and a reed pen and ink are placed on a pat and Satvai or the Mother Sixth is worshipped as on the previous day and a few friends are feasted.

During the ten days, the mother is considered untouchable and only the midwife touches her. The family observes suher for the period as sutak is observed in the case of a death. On the 11th day, mother and baby are given a purificatory bath, their clothes are washed and the whole house is cleaned. Male members of the household put on new sacred threads. The midwife is presented with a lugade, bodice cloth and some money as her fee. The mother is cleaned from impurity by spraying Tulsi water over her.

Of late, with the practice of sending expectant mother to maternity and nursing homes, many of the old practices have become obsolete, though some of the rituals may be observed at home. On the 12th day the naming ceremony of the child is held. Women friends and relatives are invited for the purpose. They bring presents, the musicians play, the baby is put in the cradle and the christening is gone through. This ceremony is called barse. The lobes of the child's ears are pierced by a gold thread, usually by a goldsmith. If the male child is subject to a vow, his right nostril is also pierced by a gold thread and a gold ring put there. Cudakarma or first hair cut was also a samskara performed after a child was three years old, but has now died out.

Munja.

Upanayana, vratabandha and maunjibandhana are the Sanskrt terms for what is popularly called the munja sacrament, intended only for the three varnas, viz., Brahmana, Ksatriya and Vaisya as ordained by the Smrtis. Whoever can claim classification in one of these three varnas from among the numerous castes and sub-castes into which Hindu society is divided to-day, can have it performed in the case of their male issues. It is a purificatory right in theory initiating a boy into Brahma-caryasrama or studenthood. It has to be performed when a boy is between eight and 12 years of age. But now-a-days, it is even performed in several cases just before the boy's marriage. It is customary to perform this ceremony only in certain months of the year, viz., Magha, Phalguna, Caitra, Vaisakha and Jyestha, with due regard to astrological considerations.

Maunjibandhana means girding the waist of a boy by a thread made from the munja grass. Its religious or cultural significance is now almost wholly lost and it has now became an occasion for a social gathering of friends and relatives. It is more a festive than a serious function. Preparations for it begin a few days before the auspicious day fixed for the occasion. Mandaps are erected as in the case of marriage. Invitations are sent far and wide to friends and relatives. A day or two before the ceremony, the boy's parents and family priests visit temples and houses of friends and relatives to extend personal invitations for blessing and attendance at the ceremony. This ceremonial extension of invitations is called aksat.

On the thread ceremony day, the ghana is performed as in the case of marriage. Drummers and pipers start playing on their instruments. One of the priests sets up the ghatikapatra (water clock) with due ceremony. The usual propitiatory rites are gone through. Ganpati and the matrkas are worshipped and punyahavacana is performed. It is a prayer offered for the day proving full of blessings. This is the occasion for friends and relatives to offer presents to the boy and his parents. This is followed by the performance of nandisraddha. Twenty seven areca-nuts, representing joy-bringing guardians are placed in a winnowing fan and worshipped with kumkum and flowers. It is then taken in the family godroom. Brahmans and suvasinis are fed and given daksina. Mother and boy are then anointed and bathed together and there is a ceremonial cutting of the boy's hair by a barber who is given a turban, a handkerchief, rice, betel and coconut. But now-a-days hair is not actually cut. The boy is again bathed and there is a ceremonial tiffin when for the last time, the boy eats from his mother's plate. Boys of his age called batus participate in the tiffin and are given daksina. The boy is again given bath and made ready for the upanayana ceremony.

As the mahurta (auspicious moment) approaches, friends, relatives and all invitees gather together and take their seats in the mandap or the hall. The father sits on a pat with his face to the east and the boy stands before him facing west. A curtain is held between them by the priests. The boy's sister stands behind him with a lighted lamp and a coconut in her hands. The priests recite mangalastakas (lucky verses) and the guests present cast aksatas (unbroken reddened rice grains) at the boy and the father. At the exact lucky moment, the curtain is withdrawn, guests clap their palms, musicians play on their instruments with gusto and the boy lays his head at the feet of his father who blesses him and seats him on his right thigh. Pansupari, attar-gulab and flowers are distributed to all present. It is customary to hand a coconut to each person while departing. The new custom on the part of guests, now-a-days is to make some present to the boy.

The religious ritual begins soon. The boy is seated to the father's right. A sthandila (earthen altar) is traced in front of the father, blades of darbh'a (sacred grass) are spread over it and a sacrificial fire (homa) is got ready. The priest daubs a cotton string in oil and turmeric, ties it round the boy's waist and gives him a langoti to wear. He then rolls a yellow panca (short waist cloth) round his waist and a white one round his shoulders. Another cotton string daubed with oil and turmeric and a bit of deer skin passed into it is hung on the left shoulder of the boy in the manner of a sacred thread. Offerings of ajaya (ghee), sesame and seven kinds of samidhas (sacred fuel sticks) are placed in the sacrificial fire. The boy is asked to pass between father and fire, sip three deamanas and repeat texts. Again he passes between fire and father and takes his seat to the right of his father. He then rises, bows to the acarya (preceptor-priest) and requests him to initiation of brahmacaryasrama. His request is granted by handing him over a yajnopavita (sacred thread), of danda of palas (staff) and by giving general instructions about acquiring knowledge. He is taken out of the house to look at the sun and offer him a prayer called gayatri. After this is performed, the principal sacrifice in which prayers are offered to Agni, Indra (King of gods) and Surya (the sun) to bestow their powers on the boy. The last rite of the upanayana sacrament is medha-janana in which prayer is offered to the Goddess of Mind that She gives the boy, knowledge and intellect. This is done by preparing a small square earthen mound and planting in it a branch of the palas tree and worshipping it as the Goddess of Mind.

Samavartana which originally meant return from the preceptor's home after 12 years of studenthood has now become an adjunct of upanayana, coming within a few days of it or in the cities even the next day. The boy discards the munja, i.e., the triple waist-cord of sacred grass and his langoti, puts on costly clothes, a pair of shoes and takes up an umbrella and pretends to set out on a journey to Kasi. The priest or the maternal uncle of the boy pretends to dissuade him from his plan by promising him to give his daughter in marriage. He is induced to give up the plan and stay.

After-death Rites.

Hindus usually cremate their dead. But children who have not cut their teeth are buried when dead. When a person is in his last moments and if he is conscious, he keeps on remembering or repeating God's name. If he is unconscious, other people do it for him. At the point of death, his head is placed on the lap of his son or brother and Ganga water which is usually well preserved in almost every household is put in his mouth with a Tulsi leaf. It is also customary to put a piece of gold and a pearl in his mouth. When life is extinct, the news is announced to relatives and friends and also communicated to distant places. Nearmost relations try to come for the cremation and if it is a son or a brother that is expected to come, the cremation is even postponed by 24 hours. When relatives and brothers gather, preparations are started for carrying the dead body to the cremation ground. Usually it is a ladderlike bier that is prepared out of bamboos. Two new earthen pots, a large one for water and a small one for fire, gulal (red powder), betel leaves and white cloth about seven and a half feet long and about a yard in breadth are procured. Arrangements for sufficient firewood, cowdung cakes and a few dry Tulsi planst are made. The dead body is bathed and securely tied in the bamboo bier and veiled with the white cloth keeping only the face bare. The son or the nearest relative goes through ablution. Close friends and kinsmen become the four principal bier carriers and the son leads all the mourners to the cremation ground. He carries the fire pot on a triangular frame fastened to a string. On reaching the cremation spot, a pile of firewood and cowdung cakes is laid. The dead body is kept on it and covered with fuel including the dried Tulsi plants. With the help of the priest, the son,, sets fire to the pyre. He goes round the pyre thrice with a water-filled earthen pot and stands at the head of the pyre. Another person breaks a hole in the pot with a small stone and the son beats his mouth with the back of his hand. He then goes away and sits among the other mourners. All of them wait till the skull bursts. The sound is usually heard by all The stone with which the earthen pot is broken is carefully preserved for further obsequies as a symbol of the dead to which water oblations are given by the dearest and the nearest. The mourners return home. In the evening a lighted lamp is kept burning where the deceased breathed his last. If the deceased is a woman with her husband alive, she is decked with flowers, rubbed with turmeric paste and a kumkum mark is placed on her forehead. A handful of rice, a coconut and betel leaves are placed in her lap. The rest of the procedure is the same.

If the deceased belongs to the Brahman or Ksatriya stock, the after-death rites are observed in the vedic style known as mantragni; in the case of others also priests officiate, but it is a simple consignment to fire. On the third day, the son, accompanied by a few friends and relatives visit the cremation ground and from the spot where the dead body was burnt, they collect the ashes and whatever remains of the bones. These are consigned to a stream or river and those who can afford to do so, take the same for consignment to a holy place like Prayag, where the Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati rivers meet and is, therefore, called Triveni Sangam. On the tenth day, all members of the household take a purificatory bath, and all clothes are washed. The son of the deceased is shaven clean. He bathes himself and asma, the symbolic stone and cowdung and rice oblations are offered to it in the cremation ground. Presents of useful articles and money are made to a Brahman in the name of the deceased which once included even clothes, shoes and a cow. But now a days only money is conveniently given. The normal expectation of the son and others is that when the oblations are offered in an open space, crows should come and dispose of them. If this does not happen, the belief is that the deceased desires that those left behind should give him assurance regarding his possible wishes, sometimes all these efforts fail to induce a crow to touch the rice ball oblations, but most often they are not disappointed. After this procedure is gone through, the mourners go back home.

On the eleventh day, all members of the household take pancagavya and sprinkle it all over the house. This is a mixture of cow's milk, curds, ghee, urine and dung. New sacred threads are worn. On the 12th day, a ritual known as sapindi sraddha is held. By virtue of this ritual, the deceased is gathered to his previous three pillars, i.e., father, grandfather and great-grandfather. On the 13th day, a sraddha is performed in the name of the dead and friends and kinsmen are asked for a feast. After this, every year, the sraddha is expected to be performed on the death of the deceased.

Once a deceased has been cremated, the sraddha is not observed now-a-days every year in the prescribed way in families who have come under modern influences. Some charity is made in memory of the deceased out of feelings of gratitude. Those who can afford it, award even prizes and scholarships in his name or pay poor students' fees. The time-honoured rites and practices are found inconvenient and cumbersome in the present tempo of life. The spirit of the rites is, however, attempted to be preserved by orthodox people. Taking a dead body in the municipal handcart has also been introduced in various places instead of on a bier on four person's shoulders. Only rarely persons allow their bodies to be given for dissection purposes or certain limbs like eyes for the use of the needy, though medical science has made sufficient advance for their use being philan-thropically made. Electric furnaces for consuming dead bodies introduced in Bombay have yet to come to a place like Sangli.

Hindu Women

Recent legal enactments have considerably affected the position of Hindu women. Equality of the sexes, in general, has been regarded as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Indian Union and women are not prevented now from participating in any field of civil life of the country. They can, in theory, practise any profession, hold any office and even inherit property in their own right. A Hindu widow could take another husband or divorce among the lower castes of Hindus by usage but the Hindu law, in theory, puts a ban on widow marriage so far as the higher communities like Brahmans, Ksatriyas and Vaisyas were concerned. But the Widow Re-marriage Act of 1853 removed this disability, even though, during the last hundred years, widows have not chosen to marry in very large numbers among these three Varnas. The right to divorce was not there at all, because the Hindu marriage, in theory, is indissoluble, but recent legislation in this behalf, has allowed divorce to the Hindu wife or husband for sufficient cause, though the restrictions on securing divorce do not make it easy. There is provision, however, for legal separation on sufficient cause being shown. With the spread of education among women and a desire for self-assertion particularly in the case of those who are economically self-dependant and their having come out of the homes in search of jobs on an equal footing with men, divorce cases have begun to figure in the news from time to time. The natural disabilities to which the women's status is heir, has, however, led to the existence of some kind of traffic in women for ages together with the attendant evil of prostitution. The family planning movement now propagated under the auspices of the State Government itself, has made a success in this district, the consciousness to have only such of a number of children as could be supported well, having spread even among the masses. It is not seriously feared that the preventive measures will be misused on a scale as should cause alarm. To the evil of prostitution are allied, though in a clandestine way, the evils of drink and gambling, but not widespread in this district. Prohibition has been legally established all over Maharastra, though its breaches are found to be rather too many for a reasonable enforcement of that legislation. Gambling has never caused even the trouble that prohibition has caused, though enlightened public opinion demands that measures for enforcement of the anti-drink and anti-gambling laws need to be more drastic and stringent. It also seeks restrictions on corrupting foreign and Indian motion pictures.

Composed as this district is of the former Sangli, Miraj and Budhganv states and parts of the former Aundh state, certain court manners and etiquettes formed part of the behaviour of daily life, which still persist. This district is proud of its altruistic traditions and good manners. Thus, youngsters will not shout, smoke or spit in the presence of elderly persons. Women will be particular about neatness in dress and careful about covering their bodies well while outdoors. All this is observed more particularly in the city of Sangli which presents, on the whole, a clean, cultured and hospitable look to any stranger. It has a certain elegance also in its structures.

Home Life.

A large number of rural dwellings have hardly any touch of architectural beauty or interior decoration. Most of them, are simple tile-and-mud constructions made to accommodate the family. Some of them, however, are maintained very clean by frequent application of mud plastering on walls. The floors are applied cowdung almost every week and on days of festivals cowdung mixed with water is sprinkled on them. The floors are then decorated with fine designs of rangoli drawn with perfect deft. The interiors of the houses are badly ventilated and poorly lighted. Occasionally one comes across photographs of family-members and family-deities hung on the walls or else fixed up at the top of an entrance door. Usually there is no piece of furniture in the house.

As opposed to these, houses in urban areas offer a better sight. They have got better architectural designs and are built with bricks or stones with cement or lime. The house is generally divided into apartments or rooms, the main being kitchen and drawing room. Rooms are mostly rectangular or square in shape with medium height. The drawing room has painted walls. It is often decorated with picture frames, calendars, photos, etc. It is also meagrely furnished with a writing table and a chair and occasionally with an iron cot.

In some of the decent localities of Sangli and Miraj towns one comes across modern type of bungalows. They are built in beautiful designs quite in keeping with modern architectural tastes. Each house is having one, two or more separate self-contained blocks. The interiors are painted with oil-paints and distempers so intermixed as to bring about an enchanting effect of colour-combination. The doors and windows are bedecked with curtains matching the interior atmosphere. The rooms are well-ventilated with large windows and electric fans and are furnished with sofa-sets, dining and dressing tables, a chest of drawers and a radio. A pair of toy-birds, a dancing idol or a plastic cast of an emorous couple may further add to the interior beauty and decoration. Such bungalows are, however, very few and far between.

Dress.

Sangll district Hindus dress like the Hindus elsewhere in Maharastra. The most common article of apparel for the male is the dhotar. But loose pyjamas or shorts are fast dethroning the dhotar from its time-honoured place. Formerly the male upper garments were uparne, sela, sadara, pairan, barabandi, kudta, kopari, kabja, angarkha, servant and dagala. Now it is a shirt, a bush-shirt or a bush-coat. The head-dress used to be a pagote, pagdi, mundase, rumal, patka or sapha, according to taste and means in various colours. Now, it is fashionable to go bare-headed. The male ensemble consists of a dhotar or pyjama, a long sadra called Nehru shirt and a Gandhi cap. In the urban areas, pants have become quite fashionable and a shirt or bush-shirt completes the dress. The old footwears have also gone. It is now a chappal, slippers or shoes.

A Hindu woman's dress is the full Maratha sadi or lugade of nine yards and a short-sleeved coli reaching to the waist covering both the back and chest, the ends being tied in front. Sadis of five or six yards in length have become fashionable for the last twenty years among young ladies in the urban centres and they have now even invaded the villages. They are worn cylindrically over a parkar or ghagra, also called petticoat. The old fashioned call is also discarded by them. The use of brassiers, blouses, polkas and zumpers has become quite common.

A baby, whether a boy or a girl, is dressed in a cap called topade or kunci. For every day use, angdis and jhabalis are sewn. When the baby grows three or four years old, round or folded caps for the head, sadara or pairan for the upper part and caddi, tuman or colana for the lower part are sewn for the use of the boys. Small gowns or jhagas and parkars are made for the girls. Girls of eight or ten, if they do not keep up putting on frocks, parkars and colis, may start using a miniature sadi without passing the end over her shoulder like a grown-up woman. Skirts are becoming fashionable among college-going girls for the last few years. Hair styles have altered from time to time. The former buns are seen only among grown up and old women. Allowing braided hair on the back is the fashion of the day.

Ornaments.

There is considerable difference between the ornaments used by the urban and the rural people as also by the rich and the poor. A castewise, traditional difference is also noticeable. Similarly, ornaments for men, women, boys and girls are also different. Ladies in the urban areas prefer light and delicate ornaments set in patterns of gold and precious stones. Rich ladies in villages use gold ornaments, but they are heavy and crude. Ornaments used for the feet are always of silver and among the poor even less costly metals, because only princely and royal families can use gold for the feet according to custom. Poor people wear ornaments made of silver, copper, brass, stone and glass beads. Now-a-days cheaper but showy ornaments are getting into fashion. Use of artificial jewellery and glass beads is becoming common. Enormous increase in the price of gold during the last fifty years is responsible for this.

Men have almost given up using any decorative articles now-a-days, though a savakdr or a saraf may still be met with who wears a pearl earring called bhikbali, a gold wristlet as pooi and a gold necklace called goph or kantha. A chain of gold or silver round the waist was also fashionable once upon a time even though it could not be sported. A young man taking fancy for a thin gold chain with a locket round his neck is not quite rare. Persons wearing gold rings called angathis studded with pearls or precious stones may be seen and those among them who use pavitraks profess that they do so on religious grounds. Buttons, links, studs, collar-pins, tie-pins, wrist-watches of precious metals and set with precious stones are used by the rich. Silver kade and kargota are used by well-to-do villagers and agriculturists.

Fashions in female ornaments have undergone a complete transformation during the last fifty years. Heavy gold ornaments on all limbs are now not popular. Head ornaments, worn in the hair, have almost gone out of fashion. But they used to be found in conservative households till lately; they were mud, agraphul, rakhdi, ketki-kevda, gulabace phul, bindi-bijora candra-surya, gonde-phul etc. Ear-ornaments like caukadi and kudi of pearls set in gold are still in vogue. Earrings of various types are now becoming fashionable. Among the neck-ornaments, mangalasutra is the important which must always be worn by a married woman with her husband alive. It is now-a-days stringed together by different patterns of gold chains. Necklaces known as candrahara, caplahara, jondhalipota, tandalipota, bakulihara, puspahara, mohanmali, putalyaci mala, bormala, Kolhapuri saj, ekdani, sari and vajratika, all of gold and petya, pola, lappha, tanmani and pende, made of pearls are in current use. Gold bangles of numerous patterns and patlya known as todicya, puranacya, jalicya, pailucya, phasyacya and minyacya all made of gold are still current but gradually falling into disuse. Costlier and heavier are tode of various patterns, bangles studded with pearls, diamonds and precious stones are also in vogue but only in rich families. Armlets or vaki of the types known as rudragath, tulabandi, hatricya and modvaki are still in wear. Among the nose ornaments nath is the most prominent and a peculiar ornament of Maratha women. It is made in gold frame with pearls and precious stones. Other minor nose decorations are the morni, mugvata, phuli and camki. Children's ornaments are bindlya, managatya, kaditode, vale, toradya, sakhalya, hasali, which are made of gold and silver. But, leaving children without ornaments is becoming more fashionable.

Food.

Dietary habits of particular sections of the community may be slightly different but broadly speaking the pattern of food is the same in all talukas of Sangli. While in the drier parts, jovar bread may be the staple food, in the hilly western parts bread of nagli and rice may be in vogue. Other eatables like fruits and vegetables, milk and its products are consumed by all according to their means. The main dividing line in the food habits may, however, be the inclusion or otherwise of animal food in the diet. Brahmans, Jains and Lingayats and such Marathas as have taken a vow to eschew animal food, are ordinarily vegetarians. All other Hindu communities take meat or fish occasionally. Mutton is a favourite item in the diet of the Marathas but beef is scrupulously excluded by all Hindus; it is indeed considered sacrilegious to eat beef by them.

All agriculturists, artisans and pastoral classes in Sangli habitually take three meals a day. The fare consists of jovar or bajri, rice and wheat on occasion, vegetables (leafy and fruitarian), split pulse and alan or zunka, i.e., gram flour boiled with cumin, coriander, chillis, salt, turmeric powder and onions. Chutny made of garlic, chillis and salt is used as an appetiser almost daily. Besides grains, pulses, fruits, spices, oil, curds and butter, they occasionally eat eggs, fowl, meat and other flesh but very few can do so except on festive occasions like weddings, family festivals and days like Dasara and Holi. To offer an animal to a deity and then take its flesh as prasad is common enough. These people have a light breakfast in the morning before starting the day's work. It consists of bhakari, chutney and plain water. This is called nyahari. About noon time their meals are taken to the fields or places of work by their womenfolk or children. This lunch again consists of jovar or bajra bread, vegetables and split pulse. It has become common for these people to have a cup of tea also with nyahari. In the evening, between 8 and 9 is taken the supper which consists of bread, rice, milk or buttermilk or curds and some vegetables.

Well-to-do people have for their staple food poll or capati made of wheat flour, bhat (boiled rice), varana (boiled split pulse), tup (clarified butter or ghee), fresh lemon, bhaji (vegetables), pickles and jams of various fruits. Milk and curds are necessary ingredients of their food. Flesh and fish are used by meat-eating communities. It is customary for most males of the family to eat pansupari after meals. Some smoke or chew tobacco. On festive occasions rich dishes like puranaci poli, basundi, srikhanda, Iadu, puri etc., are prepared.

Holidays and Festivals.

Hindus have many sacred or sanctified days during the course of the year. The first day of the month of Caitra is called Gudhipadva which is celebrated by setting up in front of one's house a gudhi, i.e., a bamboo pole capped with a small silver or brass jar and new piece of silk cloth and a string of flowers hanging to it like a flag. A peculiar ritual of the day is to eat nim leaves mixed with sugar early in the morning, have a sumptuous meal at noon and in the evening to visit the leading temple and particularly in villages to hear the varsaphala, i.e., the year's forecast read by the village priest or Josi (astrologer).

Rama's birthday comes on the 9th day of the first half of Caitra. A number of people even fast on this day. On the full moon day of Caitra, Hanuman-Jayanti is celebrated exactly at sunrise in the same way. It is customary to arrange kirtans on the four previous nights preceding Hanuman-Jayanti.

Gauripuja is a ceremony of worshipping Gauri by organising a haladkunku in most Brahman, Prabhu and high class Maratha households on any day between the third day of Caitra and the third day of Vaisakha by women. Aksaya-trtiya is one of the lucky days and is considered proper by cultivators to begin field activities of the year. Vatapaurnima, the full moon day of Jyestha, is remembered in the name of Savitri. Women go to a banyan tree, worship it and distribute presents among themselves. Brahmans are given daksina. This worship is restricted to suvasinis, i.e., to married women with their husbands alive. Prayers are offered for long life for husbands.

Ekadasi, i.e., the 11th day in both the bright and dark halves of every month especially in Asadh or Kartik is a day for prayer and fasting for all devotees of Krsna.

The month of Sravana is regarded as particularly sacred and dedicated to the worship of Siva. A number of fasts, feasts and festivals occur in this month. All Mondays are devoted to prayer to Siva, a half-day fast and a feast in the evening. All Fridays are the days of goddess Laksmi and are called Sampad Sukrvars on which women offer special worship. Every Tuesday in this month is devoted by newly wed girls to the worship of Mangalagauri and at night there is feasting, playing and pranking among themselves by keeping late hours.

Nagapancami, the bright fifth in this month is dedicated to the cobra. Clay cobra or its representation by sandal paste on a pat is worshipped. Milk preparations are a speciality of the feast on this day. Live cobras brought by Phasepardhis and Garudis are fed milk. All activities like digging and ploughing are held up as they are believed to hurt the reptile world. In some places women put on their best dress and dance round in a ring keeping time to a song, which they sing collectively.

A peculiarity of this district is that of Sirala. There is a collective worship of the cobra for which a public subscription is raised. A number of cobras are let loose in a compound and experts handle them. Great crowd and news-paper reporters attend this function.

The full-moon day in Sravana is called Narali Paurnima. After a hearty meal in the noon, people go to the river side and propitiate the god of water, Varuna, by offering coconuts in the stream. This is a Sravani or upakarma day for Yajurvedi and Atharvavedi Brahmans, when old sacred-threads are discarded and new ones worn. The day is also known as Pavatyaci-Paurnima.

Janmastami, the 8th day in the dark half of Sravana, is the day on which Lord Krsna was born. It is observed as a fasting day by devotees. The next day is observed as what is called Dahikala. Youths and boys band together and display feats of strength and sleights of hand in the style of boy Krsna and his playmates.

The no-moon day in Sravana is known as Pithori Amavasya. It is observed as a fast by women in general, but particularly by those whose children are shortlived or subject to frequent illnesses. This day is observed in some villages as Pola or Bendur which is a peculiarly agricultural festival. It is a day dedicated to bullocks who are fed on sweet dishes and allowed full rest. Clay images of bullocks are gaily painted and worshipped. A procession of decorated bullocks is taken from outside to some temple in the villages.

Ganesa Caturthi is a festival celebrated on the fourth day of Bhadrapada when painted clay figures of Ganapati are purchased and worshipped. The image is kept in the house from two to ten days according to family custom and ceremoniously immersed in a well or a stream. Conjoined with the Ganesa festival on the 7 th day of Bhadrapada, women hold a feast for three days in honour of Parvati or Gauri, mother of Ganesa. A brass or clay mask of the goddess is duly installed near the idol of Ganapati, worshipped and then ceremoniously left in river or stream.

On the third and fifth days of Bhadrapada come Haritalika and Rsi-Pancami which are observed as fasting days particularly by Brahman women.

The second half of Bhadrapada is known as Pitrpaksa, the fortnight of forefathers, and is held sacred to the spirits of ancestors.

The Navaratra festival begins from the first day of Asvina and lasts ten days, the first nine being known as Navaratra (nine nights) and the last as Dasara, the 10th. An earthen jar filled with water with a coconut on the top is worshipped in honour of the goddess Ambabai. On the tenth they worship weapons and field tools and so the day is also known as Ayudhapuja day. Children worship their books and a function in honour of Sarasvati is held in schools. This is a feasting day in every house. Vijaya-dasami is the third name by which Dasara is known. It was the custom in olden times in this district for Maratha soldiers and siledars to start on their expeditions and, therefore, they crossed the borders of their respective villages. The day came to be known as Simollanghana day. Even now this practice is symbolically preserved by people gathering on the border of a village or near a temple and worshipping a heap of Apta or Sami branches and twigs with a Brahman priest to officiate. The Apta or Sami leaves are procured and exchanged as gold among themselves.

The full-moon day of Asvina is known as Kojagiri Paurnima as also Navanna Paurnima. Agricultural communities celebrate it with great happiness. They spend the whole day working in fields and even take their lunch there. At night people keep awake and play different games and take sweetened milk because the belief is that Goddess Laksmi goes about everywhere and does not bless one who sleeps instead of keeping awake on this night.

Divali or Dipavali festival signifying " a feast of lights" starts from the 13th of the second half of Asvina and lasts for six days. Every evening earthen lamps called panatis are lighted in all house frontage as also in every nook and corner of the house. The first day is known as Dhanatrayodasi. On the day women and girls take a special bath and the day is devoted to special cleaning and preparing sweet dishes. On the 14th, which is called Naraka Caturdasi men and boys take a special bath abhyanga, by besmearing oil and fragrant materials to their bodies. The whole day is spent in feasting and merrymaking and visiting friends and relatives. The no-moon day is devoted to the worship of Laksmi. Merchants and tradesmen celebrate this day by holding Laksmi-pujana and asking friends and customers to Pansupari. The next day is the first day of the month of Kartika marking the beginning of the new commercial year. It is called Balipratipada in honour of the Bali, who was a benefactor of agriculturists, but who is known to have been put down in the nether world by Vamana, one of the incarnations of Visnu. Wives adore their husbands by waving a small lighted lamp before them and get a suitable present. The last day of the festival is called Bhaubij, when brothers visit their sisters and dine at their houses. Sisters wave a lighted lamp in the face of the brothers and receive presents. The Divali festival is the king of all Hindu festivals.

On the 12th of Kartik it is usual to celebrate the marriage of Tulasi (holy basil) with Visnu as if it was a human marriage.

The full-moon day of Kartik known as Tripuri Paurnima is celebrated in memory of Siva's victory over the demon Tripurasura. Deepmalas or stone lamp-pillars in front of temples have a big fire lighted on their tops and all niches carrying lighted earthen lamps.

Makara Sankranta comes in the month of Paus which coincides with January 14th when the sun enters the Makara Rasi (The zodiac sign of Capricorns). It is marked with a feast in honour of the God Sun. Men and women in their gay dresses go about and exchange til-gul (sesame sweet) and halva as greeting of the season.

Mahasivaratra comes on the 14th day of the dark half of Magha which is observed as a fasting day by devotees of Siva.

The last festival of the year is Simga or Holi. The advent of this festival is eagerly awaited in the countryside by both old and young. The main day of this festival is the full-moon day of Phalguna. On the Paurnima, the special dish of the day is puranapoli (wheatcakes stuffed with sugar and crushed gram pulse). In the afternoon, a plantain tree, bearing fruit or a long pole of some other tree is fixed, a stone is worshipped at the bottom of the pole and fuel and cowdung cakes are piled in a heap and set; on fire. The next day, called Dhulavad, is also observed as a holiday. The dark fifth of Phalguna is. called Ranga-pancami when coloured water is sprinkled with or without syringe by young and old against all and sundry and no one is expected to take offence.

Games.

A number of major games are played in the district in the school and college playgrounds as also in the countryside. Indian games do nor need much equipment except a well-made playground. Hututu, kho-kho, langadi, atyapatya, vitidandu and lagorya are some of these. These games are popular in every district, with some local variations in the rules of the game concerned. Standardised forms have now been evolved by the Akhil Maharastra Saririka Siksana Mandal which are now widely adopted and strictly observed when the games are played in contested tourneys.

It is only in towns that cricket, foot-ball, tennis and badminton etc. are played mostly in schools and colleges. Lawyers have here and there a tennis club. Gymkhanas are only at places like Sangli where play in cards is met with. Chess and Ganjifas are becoming scarce as domestic games. A number of forms of recreational activity are traditionally known to the people and are practised in the households of the rich and the poor.

The difference between the play interests of girls and boys is such as cannot be overlooked. Girls generally prefer amusements like doll-dressing and are greatly interested in dancing, skipping, and singing. Boys, on the other hand, love to play strenuous games involving muscular dexterity and skill. Some of the games in which girls may he said to specialise are sagargote and all kinds of phugadya.

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