Stirring images. Compelled me to share the significance of these three aspects of #Kashmiri Dress code too. ~~~~ kpamumbai.org/kashmiribhatani.html provides a wonderful glimpse into the gracious garb of a #Panditani . [the #Taranga of course featured briefly in fashion/ Bollywood limelight most recently when donned by Nargis Fakhri a la #Rockstar in the Valley. ] (Chandra Dhar- Im sure nothing can compare to your lovingly, handmade wonder for Moms wedding Indira Sadhu speaks of her #Taranga with such reverence...) Excerpts: The #phiran, #Taranga and #dijhor are the last three left with Kashmiri Pandit community especially women as a result of mass migration from the valley of Kashmir. While Dejhoor has the same significance among the kashmiri pandit women as the Mangal Sutra has for the women of northern part of India , the Mangal Sutra is abandoned after a lady becomes a widow, but Dejhoor is not abandoned till death The taranga has in real terms both, religious and historical importance for Kashmiri Pandits. Some argue that the taranga is associated with the great philosopher Shankaracharya who visited the Valley in the eighth century and lodged atop the hill in a shed with Brahmans of the temple. Swami Abinaugupta was the Acharya of the then head institution here, since Kashmir was one of the chief centre of learning and called the Shardapeetha. Students from distant parts of the World used to come there to study Sanskrit. A simple discussion between the two, Swami Abinaugupta and Swami Shankaracharya brought the latter to the Shakti cult. Some claim that the Goddess Sharda administered the final test to Shankaracharya to prove to the World his power to ascend the throne of learning and character when he defeated all the participants in the discussion except the Brahmans daughter-in-law who discussed the Shakti doctrine with him. He was extremely pleased with her mastery of the subject and awarded her a skull cap called taranga to dress the head. Before the arrival of the Sari to Kashmir almost every Kashmiri Pandit lady used taranga and phiran. It gradually faded away from the advent of Indian dresses after the accession in 1947. Today, there are a couple of shrines under the name of Sharda but the main shrine is situated on a small hill, above the junction of the Kishenganga river with a small stream to this day as Madhumati which flows to the south east. The pilgrimage to this place was considerably known in the old days. The valley has earned a proud title as a home of scholarship and special attention abroad to the tirtha which bore the name of Sharda for its above explained importance. Now the taranga has remained confined to a few hours on the day of marriage of a bride. Further, there is a grave danger to tranga once the Kashmiri Pandits are out of the valley with the arrival of the militancy on the scene. Currently, the Kashmiri Pandit community is no doubt under a tremendous strain and facing a great threat on every front and it shall be then their fundamental duty to save the cultural heritage and traditions if they have to live for tomorrow.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 09:38:29 +0000
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