A small but beautiful gesture of gratitude towards the gods or the spirits of Nature who make your life comfortable, bountiful; for all the blessings you receive in life. It was quite fascinating to know about the daily offerings called ‘Canang Sari, so well woven into the lives of the people of Bali. Balinese people never fail to make these offerings at the start of the day, I got to know during our recent trip to this enchanted land.
Canang saris are meticulously crafted beautiful trays, made of young leaves of coconut trees or palm trees, full of vibrant flowers, rice crackers, biscuits, incense sticks and so on. It’s hard to miss these colourful, unique leaf trays in front of houses, in shrines, temple premises, on pavements and even on the beaches of Bali! They’re seen everywhere.
While walking on the streets of Bali, you have to take extra care not to step on these beautiful leaf trays with offerings on them. I was quite impressed that Balinese people find time to thank the spirits by making these simple offerings in their busy mornings. I’m not sure if these trays are readily available in the market with the offerings, still the effort taken in the morning is praiseworthy. I did read somewhere that each colour symbolises a god; red symbolises Brahma, yellow Mahadeva, blue or green Vishnu and white Eswara. The word gratitude is fading away into nonexistence and it is indeed great to nurture this trait in our children by practising small daily gestures like these.
House Sparrow 