is a prayer to Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of learning. It is a tradition, to pray to Lord Ganesha at the beginning of any new and auspicious task and after that, to Goddess Saraswati to grant us knowledge, discretion, energy and logic to fulfil the task. She is the dispeller of all confusion and Giver of wisdom, our power of thought, speech and expression.

Few other names of Goddess Saraswati are Shaardaa, Braahmi, Bhaarati, Vaagdevi, Gaayatri, etc. She is depicted as a calm and composed, beautiful Goddess, clad in pristine white saree with a simple gold border, with pearl adornments, sitting on a swan or a white lotus holding a veena, a book, and a rosary in her hands. Her four hands symbolize her power on our mind, intellect, discretion and ego. She is the patron Goddess of all arts, music, literature and sciences and so, is worshipped by knowledge seekers from all fields. She manifested herself from the tongue of Lord Brahma, is his consort and aids him in all creation. She is the mother of Vedas, our holy scriptures.

Saraswati Pooja coincides with the forthcoming festival Vasant Panchami which falls this year on the 8th of Feb 2011. According to the Hindu calendar Vasant Panchami occurs on the 5th day after the new moon of the month Magh .This month marks the end of winter   and commencement of Spring ,which is characterized with new creation in nature, trees with new and tender foliage, delicate flower-buds and ripening fruits. The fields are full of yellow mustard plants. The singing of cuckoo sitting on a mango tree, is a symbol of welcome to this season.

Nature effuses with a variety of colors and shapes through different flowers and vegetation in spring and inspires artists, poets, writers, painters and sculptors for new creation. Their talent and creativity sparkles with fresh vigor and energy.

Saraswati, the Goddess of Speech (Literature), Music & Fine Arts is thus, the presiding diety for festival. People celebrate the fest wearing yellow clothes. They dance, sing songs, play music and offer worship to the Goddess and seek her blessings to grant them the knowledge and judgement to excel in their goals.

Although the festival is important for all Hindus, it is celebrated on a larger scale in North & Eastern India, especially in Bengal and surrounding areas, probably because this particular region has a large number of lovers of literature & arts.

The word originates from the Sanskrit root meaning ‘to bow down, to pay obeisance’. As such, is equivalent to ‘Prayer’ in English.

Similar to a , even a begins with describing the benevolent form of a deity, to create an imagery, to be able to concentrate on the deity and then seeks blessings for development and protection.

In the following verse, the poet describes the delightful form of Goddess Saraswati as she plays the Veena, requesting her to remove his ignorance and grant enlightenment and protection.