Happy New Year 2022
Happy and Healthy New Year!
May these Navreh Thaals (Plates to welcome the New Year) from our and our daughters’ homes usher good look and shower you and your families with delight, wonder and joy!
The plates (thaals) show traditional ingredients of bowls of milk and yogurt, sugar and salt, fresh and dry fruit, book and notebook, pen and pencil, gold jewelry and a mirror. The items are placed over uncooked rice. Modern items added are red chili, pods of tamarind or similar items. At the end of the day each ingredient is transferred back to their containers to bless the household and its dwellers.
Rice symbolizes sustenance and gold abundance. The transformative process of milk turning into yogurt signifies skill, method, duration and patience it requires for a task to begin, jell, develop and complete. Fresh fruit and flowers celebrate fullness of life; dry fruit passing of time. Sugar, salt, sour and spice signify inevitable emotions that are experienced through the year.
The mirror reminds us to look frequently at ourselves during the year to assess ourselves, contemplate who we want to become and cultivate kindness. Such an attitude results a joy and contentment.
Jennifer D. Diamond
I love how the spices “signify inevitable emotions that are experienced through the year,” and the “mirror reminds us to look frequently at ourselves during the year to assess ourselves, contemplate who we want to become and cultivate kindness.” Beautiful! Happy New Year!
Madhu B. Wangu
Jenn, so glad you enjoyed reading about the meaning of the thaali ingredients. Thank you for your comment! Hope your first week of 2022 is as productive as I plan mine to be!