Happy Vasanta Panchami. This is a day of Saraswati (सरस्वती) Puja.
A rare Saraswati temple exists in Koothanoor, Tamizh Nadu. Many Bhaktas have reported personal experiences of improvements in education after her blessings. This was the deity worshipped by court poet Ottakoothar, a contemporary of Kambar. While Kambar had composed the Ramayana in Tamil, it was Ottakoothar who composed the Uttara Kanda portion in Tamil.
Ottakoothar was the dumb (unable to speak) son of Kumbakonam Sarangapani Dikshidar. He spoke on Vijayadashami with Saraswati's blessings. In Tamil, she is called Then Kani vakadevi or Kalaimagal. Ottakoothar's early composition was the Saraswati Andathi. Andathi comes from the Samskritam Antha-Adi; a poetic form where the end of a verse is linked to the beginning of the next one.
Raja Raja Chozhan would donate a village to Ottakoothar, hence the name Koothanur to the village. This temple was built by Ottakoothar.
Ottakoothar's samadhi is in Veerabhadra temple, Darasuram, behind the Iravatheewar temple. The temple is poorly managed as expected by the government.
Kambar was also a Saraswati Bhakta. She got him out of a fix many times. Here is one famous episode.
The West celebrates the tragic romance of Romeo & Juliet. Bollywood repeatedly references Laila & Majnu. For Tamils, until at least the previous generation, it was Ambikapathi & Amaravathi, the princess (Rajakumari). Ambikapathi was Kambar's dashing son, a poet, composer, musician & a warrior.
Once when Amaravathi walked in the palace on flower petals, Ambikapathi praised her with the phrase: Veitha kaal noga, edutha kaal koppalikka. Meaning the flower petals are so hard that they hurt your feet, the petals are so hot that they burn your feet. The problem: he says this in full public view of the king's session, incensing the king. Kambar lies that there was a granny selling food in the hot sun & that his son was referring to her. The king sends soldiers to check & there is Sarawati, actually taking the form of a granny, making his words come true.
In Hindu Sampradaya, the divine will ensure that any words uttered by a saint comes true. Hence, Hindus seek out saints & their blessings. The blessing of a saint can thus override Karma.
The Chera king requests Kambar for his Saraswati vigraha & installs it in his capital at Padmanabhapuram. Later, Maharaja Karthika Thirunal moved the capital to Thiruvananthapuram. Every Navaratri from then, she is taken in a royal procession from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram & returned. Nowadays, she even has police gun salutes. However, apart from Navaratri, Kambar's Padmanabhapuram's Saraswati surprisingly gets only a fraction of the visits of Koothanur.
Kites are flown in Vasantha Panchami celebrations.
During India's dark ages, a young saint, Haqeeqat Rai, was killed on Vasantha Panchami after his refusal to convert. The colonial British had imposed restrictions on the festival celebration. In 2007, the government of Pakistan banned the festival.
The Hindu civilization, with the loss of half the territory and loss of generational wealth, faces immense existential challenges. A toxic academia, media & entertainment push misinformation & disinformation in the guise of neutrality, much like Putana. With her blessings & knowledge, all hurdles can be overcome.
