The glory of Chaitra month is unique in religious, historical and scientific terms

- To the point-Ajit Parrot

The month of Chaitra started from the 23rd of the ongoing March. Chaitri New Year started. Vikram Samvat changed. Amid the usage of the English calendar today, few would have noticed how glorious the month of Chaitra is. This month is worth knowing in more ways than one. Let's start talking about Puranic or religious matter. Chaitri Navratri is the second of the four Navratri in the Hindu calendar. This is the first feature.

Here is another feature. Shivaji has returned from penance in the forest, mother Parvati is taking a bath so child Ganesha stops father Shiva. When there is a war between father and son, Usha (Okha) gets scared and hides in Namak Kothi. Mataji comes out after taking bath and reunites father and son. He gets angry with Usha and curses her. Your star will decay in Chaitra month. You will dissolve like salt. The scientific secret of the story is to eat very little salt during the month of Chaitra.

Now even modern medicine says that both salt and sugar are harmful to health. Consume it at least. If we stick to the religious or mythological thing, devotees read Ushaharan or Okhaharan in this month. At the same time Aloona fasts i.e. complete month without salt. Pujya Bhagwatkar Dongreji Maharaj used to say that the secret of the taste of any dish, whether Indian or continental, is in the salt. If you want to conquer taste, you should give up salt. Medical science says that just five grams i.e. one teaspoon of salt per day is enough for the body.

One of the reasons why obesity is increasing in children these days is because of ready meals. It contains a lot of salt, so on the one hand the bones of the child will be damaged and on the other hand it will become obese. Most ready-made snacks are deep fried. It contains a lot of oil. It also helps in making the child obese.

We call Chaitra Sud Ekam Gudi Padwa. Marathi people celebrate it wholeheartedly. Vikram Samvat changes from this day. Another health related thing is connected with this month. Knowledgeable elders recommend regular consumption of bitter neem water daily during this month. Bitter neem is a panacea herb if you want to stay cured for twelve months. Even the shade of the bitter neem tree seems sweet. There is also a wonder of nature to be discovered here. Neem is not only bitter, neem is also sweet. We add sweet neem in dal-vegetables or curry. It is also called curry leaves.

A devotee Bodana from our Garwa Gujarat is associated with this sweet neem. When Bhagat was bringing himself to the village in a bullock cart to the Thakor of Dakor, there were no paved roads like today. There were rough roads. So when the car was moving, the drivers sitting in the car felt shocks. At one place, there was a big pit, so Bodana Bhagat said to God, save my Nath! Pit comes. The story says that the Lord grabbed a branch of bitter neem coming on the way. That branch became sweet. It is sung in Santwani- A daal mitthi or ranchod rangila in a whole neem... Thus a Gujarati devotee gave sweet neem to the society. Without it, the taste of the curry does not come.

However, this time it seems that nature is playing hide and seek with man. Hail falls anytime anywhere, rain falls anywhere, so the blood pressure of farmers increases. The informants say that this time not only mangoes, but also grains and vegetables will cause shortage and price hike. According to the folk poet who composed Bhadli sentences, rains in Phagan-Chaitra bring havoc. Astrologers say that Grahadasha is such that there will be political upheaval. Time will tell how this Chaitra month is chosen.