Food for the Gods – Chappan Bhog and more

Eateratti this time is going to give you a peek-view into the food that was meant for Gods.For the first time in my life, I witnessed the scale of spiritual dimension of food up-close. As a part of the Deewali Festivities (one of the most important Hindu Festivals), Annakoot Utsav was celebrated with opulence by my in-laws. Annakoot literally means a mountain of food, where at least 56 different varieties or ‘chappan bhog’ is prepared and offer it to Lord Krishna. I had seen this, once at the Iskcon Temple, but this one was celebrated at home!!

Finishing touches to the offering being added by Mom-in law

The idea is to invite Lord Krishna or Thakurji in to our homes & offer him gratitude in the form of food, for everything that he has been blessing us with. Therefore, every single item that’s offered to Lord Krishna or Thakurji is hand-made at home for which, weeks of preparation was devotedly put in by my mom-in law, her sister-in law my Aunt Sonal Kaki and their mother –in law whose is my Dadi. Since I am a newbie in the clan, I offered what I termed as ‘intern’s support’.The idols are dressed fineries with bright clothes & lots of ornaments.

Thakurji is his fineries

The significance of 56 offerings? Like the lotus has eight petals, surrounded by 16 and then 32, which makes it 56, it is this symbol that makes the count. But as the many ‘gopikas’ who brought different offerings for Krishna, the ‘bhog’ can therefore be more than 56 and in our case my mental count when arranging the food had touched almost 70 -75 main items.

The Bhog also needs to be arranged in a definite sequence; with milk and milk products arranged the closest to him. So all sweets containing milk, dry fruits are arranged first. This confirms the fact that, indeed sweets are divine & the 1st preference of Thakurji himself. Second, when Gods can begin their meals with Sweets, it hence forth is acceptable for us to also have sweets first, and there is no need to wait till deserts arrive!!

This is followed by Besan items and then the salty food of rice, vegetables, curries etc.

Kudos to the effort put in by the ladies of the Gandhi family where along with tradition, a touch of creativity was also added to the food offering with sweets shaped as fruits.

The other exciting aspect of such festivals is the coming together of people, and that day,close to 35-37 members of our family and friends came over to have the bhog Prasad.

Now putting together 56 and more items wasn’t the only challenge, but accommodating them into a single plate is even more daunting, but here is my brother-in law Sahil, doing an excellent job.

For some, food is all about survival, for few it associates with their heart & soul and not just stomach. However, religious merits of food just cannot be ignored as food finds a very sacred space in the world of worship.Pick up any religion across the world and somewhere you'll find that food will play a role where it weaves rituals, people and faith together.