Happy 2026 To Our CR Park Family!

Happy 2026 to our CR Park Family!

As the first few days of the Gregorian New Year settle in, there’s a distinct freshness in the air. 2026 has officially arrived, heralding new beginnings and that familiar sense of hope we all carry into January. To every reader of CR Park Speaks, we want to wish you a very Happy New Year! Whether you spent your countdown at a quiet family dinner or joined the bustling crowds at the Mandir, we hope your start to the year was filled with warmth.

The Turning of the Sun: The days have started getting longer and brighter. What does it signify? That we are going into Uttarayan from Dakshinayan.

So, what is Uttarayan? Uttarayan is a time of 6 months when the Sun God decides to move up north of the planet. The Gods who were asleep for the last 6 months during Dakshinayan are finally waking up. This is the time when warmth, life, sustenance, abundance, freshness start coming into our lives. The universe turns its face towards growth, expansion and clarity. What was lying weakened and shrivelled during Dakshinayan is waking up to victory of light over darkness, energy over inertia and warmth over cold.

New harvest is welcomed all over India during this time. The country wakes up to fragrant and pulsating new harvest of rice, fruits, and numerous other food products.

According to the Shastras, the dishes that are made during this time across the country, are extremely beneficial for the entire human body. Rice and jaggery provides immunity, warmth and regrowth of cells. Sesame, peanuts offer that much needed strength, resistance to cold and infection, skin and hair replenishment, fibre and good cholesterol. Milk with dates, dry fruits, ghee is simply irreplaceable for over all immunity, strong bones, teeth and joints.

So you see, how scientific our ancestors have been and how they have actually tried to study and understand the cycle of seasons and the possible harvest that our Mother Earth so caringly gives us every season!  Is this any less than magic? When our dear Mother Earth so beautifully produces the same harvest every year which protects all life forms with every changing season? How the Almighty has so carefully bestowed such beneficial bounty every season, which helps to grow life on this planet? How meticulously the clock functions on this planet and the universe where not a second lapse can happen, which can otherwise lead to total chaos.

Every year, the same fragrant rice comes out of the muddy, soft and life infusing soil. Every year, the same irresistible date palms give us the warm, gushy, sweet juice which are so lovingly cooked over wood fire by farmers in Bengal to churn out the stunning “nolen gur”, which brings the whole world on its knees with the endless varieties of sweets made from this wonder of nature.

Every home in India, warms up to the heady fragrances of new rice harvested fresh from the fields, cooked languorously with fresh jaggery, dry fruits, and endless love by the mothers and grandmothers. Warm peanuts and sesame tightly hug boiling jaggery to become yummy “chikkis” to be savoured around large bonfires in front of houses where everyone gathers with large cups of steaming milk tea.

Rice cakes dipped in jaggery flavoured milk, or even baked leisurely, and then served with gooey, warm flowing jaggery juice can give any chocolate sauce a run for their very existence!

This is India ladies and gentlemen! The world watches as India warms itself with its endless bounty, beauty and brotherhood. No other country celebrates the turn of seasons and harvest like India does.

Join us at the Poush Mela: Jan 9th – 11th

To experience this magic firsthand, we invite you all to the Poush Mela at the CR Park Mela Ground from January 9th to 11th, 2026.

It is the perfect place to witness this "victory of warmth." As we enjoy the Baul sangeet and the steaming cups of tea, let’s also take a moment to reflect. How can we not love this planet? How can we plunder nature so mindlessly when she gives us so much? This year, let’s think before we cut down a tree or waste a drop of water.

On this Uttarayan, let us pray that the Almighty and Mother Earth continue to bless all life here forever. See you at the Mela!

Team CR Park Speaks

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