Saraswati Poojai – A Journey Through Learning and Light

Saraswati Poojai – A Journey Through Learning and Light
Vasant Panchami in northern India is synonymous with Saraswati Pooja, a day devoted to the Goddess of learning, wisdom, and art. In the South, this festival of Saraswati Poojai is celebrated one day before Vijaya Dashami or Dashera and is also known as Ayudha Pooja. In some parts of Maharashtra and Goa, the celebrations even begin from Saptami or Ashtami of Navaratri.
For me, Saraswati Pooja has always been a very personal celebration. I was born on this very day and my parents named me Vimala in gratitude to the Goddess’s blessings. Perhaps that is why I have always felt a natural pull towards learning, towards books, ideas, and the joy of understanding something new. The pursuit of knowledge, I believe, has been my quiet prayer all along.
My mother, a devoted worshipper, loved the song “Annavaahan Devi Saraswati,” while my father’s favourite was “Vellai Tamarai Poovil Irupaal,” the immortal song written by the great Subramania Bharati. These melodies filled our home every Navaratri. After the pooja, we would keep our books before the Goddess, and we were not allowed to touch them until the next day. As a child, I loved that part the most, the sense of devotion mixed with the delight of being told not to study for a day!
This year too, I began my day by placing the image of Saraswati Devi on a small altar, adorning it with flowers, and keeping my books and laptop before her with a silent prayer for completion of my PhD. In every South Indian home, this is a familiar sight books, musical instruments, and work tools placed reverently before the Goddess, seeking her blessings for wisdom.
On Vijaya Dashami or Dashera these are taken back from the prayer place as we sit in front of the Goddess to start learning again.  
Vijaya Dashami also marks Vidyarambham, when little children are formally introduced to learning. Parents gently guide their child’s hand to write alphabets on rice, marking their first step into a lifelong relationship with knowledge, music, art, or language. It’s one of the most endearing traditions of our culture where learning begins with reverence.
As I reflect on our celebrations, I realise how deeply these rituals have shaped me. Growing up, I only knew Saraswati Pooja and knowledge, has always been our focus, thanks to our parents. We started celebrating Lakshmi Pooja years later.
Our son, Vishnu, carries forward the same devotion. I still remember him reciting the sacred shloka at school:
Yaa Kundendu Tushaara Haaradhavalaa,
Yaa Shubhravastraavritha,
Yaa Veenavara Dandamanditakara,
Yaa Shwetha Padmaasana...
This year, even though we were in different cities, me in Delhi, Vishnu at BITS Pilani Goa, and his father in Mumbai, we all began the day with the same prayer: for wisdom, for learning, and for the grace to use knowledge well.
In a world where information is available at the click of a button, I feel it is even more important to pause, to seek true knowledge, knowledge that enlightens, refines, and deepens understanding. Let us encourage our children to inculcate habits of reading at least for ten minutes and writing at least one page everyday. In an age made easy by artifical intelligence and chatgpt this is the least we can do to remain grounded with true knowledge. 
May Goddess Saraswati continue to guide us all removing ignorance, inspiring curiosity, and filling our lives with the light of wisdom and learning.

R.Vimala , IAS,
Resident Commissioner,  Maharashtra
Compassionate Civil Servant & PhD Scholar at IIT Bombay