Rajasthani Teej Sattu Decoration Ideas

The Marwari festival of Chhoti Teej just went by yesterday and Badi Teej is coming up on 4th August 2012.  Lots of preparations begin early, starting from teej saatu decoration planning to Teej dinner menu planning.  I know hundreds of people out there must have started searching ideas for teej pinda decoration and decorations of teej ka sattu.

Two weeks back one of my sisters-in-law surprised me with her e-mail sending me all Teej sattu designs she made in the past.  Since there's still time for me to make my saatu for this Teej 2012 (my saatu decorations for teej 2011 are here), today I thought of sharing her photos here so that those who are going to make saatu and celebrate Teej get a headstart.

Satu, saatu, sattu, peenda, pinda are names of the same thing.  Teej saatu is usually made of dalia (aka phutani dal), chawal ka aata, besan, or gehun ka aata, depending on preferences.  I personally like the taste of dalia saatu and chawal ke aate ka saatu.

In the pictures below, you will be able to tell which saatu is made out of what - this is how:  Chawal saatu is white, the fairest.  Dalia saatu is kinda light yellow in color.  Aate ka saatu is a light brown.  Besan ka saatu is the darkest.  See how to make dalia ka saatu here.  If you are interested in other saatu recipes, tell me and I will try to post.  [Click here if you want to learn more about the Marwari Badi Teej Festival.]

Let's go through these saatu decorations below.  Each one of these amazed me.  All my life so far I had seen only one color of saatu made for us; my mom never thought of putting a lighter colored saatu decoration over a darker colored saatu.  And she always used dry fruits to design, never used food colors to paint over them.  Women in India are very creative, especially with all the contests going on.  Also, bride's side of family has to decorate and send sattu for Teej to groom's side of family, so they try to make it creative and beautiful as well (that's what these pictures below were for).

 

Sattu Design Idea 1.  You can make the design on sattu plain and simple, add a little shading and blending if you have an artistic side.

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Saatu Decoration Idea 2.  Coconut pieces carved to represent hut.  Chawal saatu designs over besan saatu.  Use cookie cutters to make shapes or trace designs on paper and then on your saatu, then color them.  Possibilities are limitless.

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Pinda Decoration Idea 3.  A big dry coconut is placed in the center of saatu for elder/married couples.  The husband breaks the coconut and gives 7 small pieces to wife when she breaks her fasting.  Here the flower petals surrounding the coconut is a great idea.  If not coconut, a silver coin is placed in the center.  For singles and kids, any other currency is put in center.  I used to be very happy with my 5 Baht back then.  How times have changed!  In the picture also notice sattus of cherry and almond/cashew with silver balls in the back.

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Teej Sattu Design Idea 4.  Use whole pistachios to represent tulips, and use okra dipped in paint to make the flower design.  Nice and simple.

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Badi Teej Pinda Decoration Idea 5.  Use grated/shredded coconut, coat it in color.  That's how the tree is done here.  The wood/branch is made out of anjeer (figs).  Chawal ke aate ka saatu molded into duck shapes.  Use laung (clove) as eyes.  Fantastic.

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Decoration of Teej ka Saatu Idea 6.  Make flowers out of different saatu's, then paint them.  I swear I haven't seen such creative Teej pinda decorations my entire life.

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Marwari Teej Sattu Design Idea 7.  Kids usually like to have Gems (M&M's) on their sattu.  Here used them to represent peacock feathers.  Ask kids for ideas, they have plenty.  I remember last Teej I met someone who made a ladybug saatu for her daughter because the kid wanted it, and a boy with eyeglasses saatu for her son because the kid had recently started wearing glasses.  I should have clicked a picture, but I was too amazed observing her artistic saatu's.

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Rajasthani Teej Pinda Decoration Idea 8.  Once you get the flow of making different shapes out of your warm sattu, you can let your imagination flow along with it.  When I was a kid, the red paint on teej saatu was done with kuku / roli / kum kum (the vermillion or red powder used in puja) mixed in a little water, then using toothpick or matchstick to draw on saatu.  These days I hear the powder isn't safe for consumption with the quality going low.  Guess it's better to use edible food colors and paint away.  Here polo mint used for shehnai and tabla base.

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Teej Festival Sattu Decoration Idea 9.  I liked this one so much.  Super artistic.  I asked my mom if it was okay to use edible food colors that have chemicals to paint on saatu since the saatu is for (vrat) fasting and there are certain things you don't eat when you fast.  Do you have the same doubt?  My mom said these days the sweets/barfis, etc we buy from the stores and eat during fasting also have food colors in them, so if we can eat those, we can probably consume them on teej saatu also.  I think she has a point, but please do as you deem right for yourself.

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Teej ka Pinda Design Idea 10.  If you don't want to use food coloring and want to have natural colors here are my suggestions: use kum kum for red, saffron (kesar) for yellow/orange, use brown part of almonds, make shapes with cashew nut and sliced almonds (the way I made Ganeshji & his mouse using cashews and flowers using almonds), use pistachios for green, make a cashew nut paste for cream color, anjeer (fig) for dark brown, shredded/dessicated coconut for white, use cardamom powder for blackish color, or use cloves.  I would have suggested spinach for green, beets for magenta, and carrot for orange - but I don't think you can use vegetables and salt on your saatu during fasting.

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Teej Sattu Idea 11.  Do you remember the art projects in your early schooling days where you'd dip okra or another vegetable in color and make patterns on paper?  Same concept dip square shaped in food color and create pattern, such as here is a curved line, a four petal flower, a kalash along with almond representing coconut and a swastik.  Super simple.

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Sattu Decoration Idea 12.  Cherries used as grapes, chawal ka sattu on top of dalia ka sattu, brushed with green color.

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Rajasthani Pinda Decoration Idea 13.  Almonds and cashew nuts placed as flowers, silver edible balls in center, the rest food color brushed around.

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Badi Teej Saatu Design Idea 14.  This entire set up on the sattu is amazing.  Coconut carved (like the Idea # 2) then brushed with green color, dried khajur as the tree trunk, and raisins as coconuts.  Wafers cut to look like a hut, cashew nut placed to look like a butterfly, pistachios as flowers, I don't know what the two yellow balls in the center represent, all surrounded by colored desiccated coconut.

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Teej Sattu Decoration Idea 15.  And this last one's my favorite.  Beautiful, bright, and brilliant.  Totally love it!  Silver edible balls used as jewelry (earring, nose pin), on man's turban and as sari border design.  Sugar coated fennel seeds (saunf) used to add pattern on sari.  So pretty and so neat.

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I hope these pictures will help you have more ideas for decoration of Rajasthani pindas for teej.  If you liked something I wrote, tell me.  If you have any questions, ask me.  If the pictures inspired you, tell me.  If you make a creative saatu for badi teej, show me.  Unnecessary comments like 'nice ideas' and 'interesting post' are going to do no good.  So if you have something valuable to say, leave a comment.

I will post my teej sattu decoration after I make it on July 31.  My mom said I could make it 5 days in advance, but not 3 days.  I swear I won't be able to make it half as creative and beautiful as the ones in picture above, but I'll show you how I decorate.

Disclaimer: The pictures above were not clicked by me and the pindas were not made by me.  They belong to my sister-in-law Rashmi, however are now a property of ©Spusht.

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