Time to Go Vegetarian!

The Kew Ong Yeah Festival is in full swing and the vegetarian restaurants here are doing good business.  So are the makeshift stalls by the roadside.  I was not surprised to learn that a stall selling kueh at the market had switched to selling vegetarian food - more profitable obviously!

This Chinese festival coincides practically every year with Navratri, one of the most celebrated festivals in the Hindu calendar. So it is very convenient for those who follow a vegetarian diet as veg food is freely available almost everywhere.  Mum usually goes vegetarian only during the last three days of the festival, something which many people also do.

Being a devotee of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, I have become quite familiar with Hindu customs and traditions and Navratri is one festival which I usually follow.  Friends find it strange, if not amusing, that an old fashioned Chinese like me should observe a Hindu festival!

Navratri began on 16th October - "Nav" means "nine" and "ratri" means "night".  These nine nights are devoted to the worship of Goddess Durga (Maa Durga) who exists in many forms.  Navratri is divided into sets of three days to adore different aspects of the Goddess.  The first three days are dedicated to Goddess Durga (Warrior Goddess), the next three days to Goddess Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity) and the last three days are dedicated to Goddess Saraswati (Goddess of Knowledge).  Many temples hold nightly prayers to observe the occasion.  But the inner significance of this festival goes much deeper and it is regarded as a celebration of the triumph of good over evil, i.e. the vanquishing of the ‘six demons’ of lust, anger, attachment, greed, pride and jealously within us.

I went down to my usual veg outlet to buy lunch this morning and not surprisingly, the place was already packed with hungry people, even though it was just touching 11.  Also not surprised to see that prices have gone up by a ringgit or two - when else to make good money than this time??  There was a good variety of food with hawker delights like "Hokkien Mee" and "Sar Hor Fan".  Also in plentiful supply were Nonya kueh like "kueh talam", "ang koo", "kueh beng kar" and "chung" (glutinous rice dumplings).  This year they had in addition veg muffins and organic buns.

The crowd happily eating away.  Some veg outlets close for
at least five days to "rest" (and count their money) after the festival!

Hawker delights

A variety of  "kueh" to choose from

Hot "pows" for sale

The Kew Ong Yeah festival will end next Tuesday.  Meantime I think I shall cook my own veg food and avoid fighting with the crowds!