Navreh is the Kashmiri New Year decided in the pages of Jantri or Nachipatir, Almanack, Vijeshwar Panchang, which is based on the movement of the moon, the Lunar calendar.
- Rice – paddy was used in the older days
- Tcho’vor – a small roti made of rice flour or bread
- Pen – the pen is supposed to be standing, to do so, a pend stand was placed in the thal in older days
- Inkpot
- Currency notes
- Milk or Curd
- Dooyn (walnut) – in odd numbers
- Salt – actually meant to be rock salt from Pakistan
- Flowers – narcissus flower would be ideal
- Small mirror
In older days, they used to place some newly sprouted grass and a weed known as Wye (it is supposed to be good for sharpening the memory functions of the brain). The speciality of Navreh Thaal is the new year’s Nachipatir – the one with the great image of ‘Vishnu in Space’.
The Thaal is prepared on a preceding night, then covered with a piece of cloth and kept overnight at the centre of the house i.e. kitchen, chowk’e or may be the thokur kuth, prayer room right next to chowk’e.
In the early hours of the morning, the eldest woman of the house, grandmother or mother, with the thaal in her hand and blessings on her lips, wakes everyone up, one by one, and asks each one to look at the thaal, look one’s face in the mirror, take up the pen and write something in the Jantri.
In the afternoon, using the rice from the thaal, yellow rice taher is prepared.
Navreh Mubarak everyone!
An article by Vinayak Razdan on ‘Thal Barun’
Kindly explain why walnuts in odd numbers.
Regards