Today is Mahalaya
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Today is Mahalaya. It is a special day in the Hindu calendar.
On this day, people do a ritual called Tarpan. Tarpan means giving water to remember family members who died.
People give the water for their ancestors. Ancestors are family members from the past.
Many people ask about the right time for Tarpan. There is a good time to do this ritual.
Mahalaya comes before a big festival called Durga Puja. Durga Puja is a very important festival in West Bengal.
People also listen to a special reading called Chandi Path on this day. It is part of the Mahalaya tradition.
Vocabulary15 words
- Mahalaya
- a special day before a big Hindu festival
- Tarpan
- a ritual; giving water to remember dead family
- ancestors
- family members who lived before you
- Chandi Path
- a special reading done on Mahalaya
- ritual
- a traditional action people do for religion
- Hindu
- a religion from India
- Durga Puja
- a big festival in West Bengal
- festival
- a special time of celebration
- calendar
- a list of days and dates
- tradition
- something people do for a long time
- special
- not normal; important
- water
- the clear liquid we drink
- family
- people related to you
- important
- having big meaning
- remember
- to think about the past
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Quiz
Answer key
1. A special day before Durga Puja 2. A ritual of giving water for ancestors 3. Durga Puja
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Today is _____. It is a special day in the Hindu calendar.
On this day, people do a ritual called _____.
Tarpan means giving water to remember family members who _____.
People give the water for their _____.
Many people ask about the right _____ for Tarpan.
Mahalaya comes before a big festival called _____.
Durga Puja is a very important festival in _____.
People also listen to a special reading called _____ on this day.
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