00:00When comedian Sameer Rehna posted
00:01Hairat Poshte on his Instagram story,
00:04someone replied,
00:05Aaj Shivaratri bhi hai.
00:06That tiny interaction gave way to a much larger cultural conversation.
00:11Because for Kashmiri Pandits,
00:12Hairat is not just another name for Shivaratri.
00:14It carries history, memory, ritual and identity.
00:24Traditionally, the greeting was Hairat Mubarak,
00:26not Hairat Poshte.
00:27Hairat means wonder or astonishment.
00:30That moment of disbelief of saying,
00:32Ye kaise ho hiya.
00:33During the Afghan rule in Kashmir between 1752 to 1819 AD,
00:37a governor reportedly tried to shift the date of Shivaratri
00:40from winter to summer,
00:42dismissing the belief that it always snored or rained heavily on that day.
00:46But legend says that even after the date was forcibly changed,
00:51it still snored and rained, leaving people amazed.
00:54That sense of wonder or hairat stayed.
00:56And over time, the festival itself came to be known as Hairat.
01:01Okay, why Hairat Mubarak though?
01:03Mubarak came in because of Kashmir's long Persian and Islamic cultural influence.
01:08It simply became the common way people greeted each other.
01:11The Kashmiri word Poshte, meaning prosperity, well-being and new clothing,
01:15replaced it much later.
01:16But, beyond the name, Hairat is really about preparation.
01:20In Kashmiri Pandit homes, spring cleaning begins almost two weeks before the festival.
01:25Every corner is scrubbed, washed, purified.
01:27The idea is simple.
01:29When Shiva arrives, the home must be ready inside and out.
01:33And then comes the puja, which is very different from how Shivaratri is observed in many parts of India.
01:38Hairat puja happens at night.
01:40In Kashmiri Shaivite belief, night is when the senses are calm, the mind is quieter and focus is deeper.
01:47And food is central to Hairat.
01:49Traditional dishes include haak saag, nadru yakni, dam aloo, paneer, vegetable curries and in many households, fish and meat dishes
01:57as well.
01:58Apart from food, one offering features repeatedly during Hairat celebrations, and that is walnuts.
02:04A walnut has four distinct parts.
02:07The outer green husk, the hard shell, the thin skin and the kernel inside.
02:12In Kashmiri Shaivite philosophy, these four layers represent different levels of existence and consciousness
02:18from the physical world to the more metaphysical awareness state.
02:22Breaking the walnut symbolizes breaking through illusion to reach truth.
02:26At its core though, Hairat reflects the soul of Kashmiri Shaivism.
02:30It emphasizes night worship, meditation, mantra, yantra and deep symbolism.
02:36Hairat is not just about the marriage of Shiva and Parvati.
02:38It is about cosmic order, cleansing, devotion and continuity.
02:42Passed down generation after generation.
02:45I'm Manish Adhikari.
02:46Thank you for watching The Culture Project On More.
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