Soft furnishings in Pushti Marg Seva

One of the most wonderful aspects of Pushti Marg is the visual impact of ‘darshan’ it offers vaishnavs.   Eight times a day, doors of the inner sanctum are opened for the public to have a ‘darshan’ of the main Svaroops in the haveli.  To enhance the effect of the darshan, the inner sanctum is beautifully decked out in simple, yet tasteful way.  Soft furnishings are used to enhance the look of regal simplicity.

This article looks at the use of soft furnishings, often called ‘saj’, in Pushti Marg’s seva.  Ofcourse, music, food and jewels (raag, bhog, shringar) play a big role in this too.  These items are covered in other articles on this site.       

Gadi

One of the most important aspects of sevya svaroops (mool vigraha / Thakorji / presiding deity) in Pushti Marg is that most of these are fairly small.  To make the small svaroops stand out, they are set on a gadi (cushions) and surrounded by bolsters that are covered in white.  During important festivals, they are covered in red and during a ‘ghata’, they are covered in specific colours of the ghata. 

White background of the gadi helps bring out the colours of the clothes and jewels offered to the svaroop.  Bolsters around Thakorji are usually bound with ribbons embroidered with pearls.  The gadi Thakorji sits on is usually bound by a thick, embroidered ribbon.  In wealthy havelis, front of the gadi is covered with a faceplate made of embossed gold (at Kakroli) or intricate designs created by jewels (at Nathdwara).

While the gadi itself is covered in white, the throne is usually covered in a cloth with a colourful border.  These borders often reflect the colour of Thakorji’s clothes or the colours in the pichoi used that day.

In vaishnav’s homes, the gadi is often covered in colourful velvet and the front is embroidered with sequences, mirror and metallic lace to evoke the jewelled front pieces of havelis.  Usually the upper part of the gadi is covered with white cloth or material to match the saj of the day.

Thada-vastra

Svaroops like ShriNathji, Mathuradhishji, Dwarkadhishji, Kalyanraiji, have a stele behind them to support the icon.  The stele is usually covered in a cloth of contrasting colour to the pichoi and clothes worn by Thakorji.  That way Thakorji can stand-out and not merge with the background. Apart from a day when 'ghata' scheme is celebrated, the inner sanctum is rarely covered in a singular colour scheme.  

Jewels

Usually the jewels worn on the day ‘stand out’ and complement the colour of Thakorji's clothes and other soft furnishings.  Most Hindu sects use jewellery predominantly made of gold and silver in their shringar.   Set in gold & silver, gems and enamel provide ‘colour’ in the shringar.  Having evolved amidst Mughal and Rajput royals, in Pushri Marg, shringar is predominantly composed of pearls.  Gems, gold and silver usually provide a dash of colour amidst a sea of white.  Main idea is to make sure the colours used in the shringar do not jar and flow smoothly from ‘saj to shringar’ in an effortless flow.

Pichoi

In a haveli, the svaroop and the throne they sit on (gadi) are relatively small compared to the size of the room.  A plain pichoi (backdrop) is hung behind the gadi to highlight it and  it’s occupant.  This was particularly helpful in an era before the electric lights and the inner sanctums were lit only by lamps.  Pichois often matches the colour and design of the clothes the svaroop is wearing.  As Thakorji usually sits on white cushions, the pichoi and his clothes create a harmonious picture within a framework of white. 

During festivals, such as Divali, pichois can be very elaborate.  Sometimes they are painted, printed, woven or embroidered to look extremely regal.  Sometimes the importance of a festival can be gauged by the splendour of the pichoi and saj used on the day.    

In vaishnav’s houses, pichois are by necessity small and sometimes only slightly bigger than the gadi in front of them.

Seasonal change in soft furnishings

One of the wonderful aspects of Pushti Marg is the ever changing nature of seva.  It follows the seasons and Thakorji is offered food, clothes, jewels, perfumes that are in keeping with the season.  Soft furnishings also change with the seasons to provide the most comfortable environment in our seva.  Almost all soft furnishings have a ‘border’ applied to them.  Mostly this is jari – gold or silver lace – but during summer and monsoon this can be silk or cotton lace to match the rest of the saj.  

During the spring and ‘khel’ season, pichoi and other soft furnishings in the haveli are almost always white.  During the gval darshan (3rd darshan of the day), Thakorji plays with colours and the pichoi and clothes are completely covered in colour.  As colour is used in perfusion, gold and enameled-gold jewels are worn rather than pearls.  This is mainly for the practical reason of being able to clean gold jewellery more easily than pearls.  During the khel season, soft furnishings spoil a lot and need thorough cleaning.  In a haveli is sufficient funds, they are simply ‘replaced’ at the end of the season.  

In vaishnav’s homes, a white cloth is usually spread over the clothes and jewels so when Thakorji plays with colour, it does not spoil the saj or shringar.

During the summer, pichois are usually translucent and have simple pastel shades.  Occasionally they are block printed with saffron and sandal wood.  Sometimes they are made of ‘net’ with designs of trees, gopis and cattle.  As it is the hot season, thada-vastra is not used to cover the stele and the darkness of the stele contrasts nicely with the pastel colours of the pichoi and white of the cushions and gadi.  Pearls, diamonds and silver necklaces predominate in the summer, making the whole scene rather cool, soft and serene.

During the monsoon and autumn seasons, colours and materials used are usually bright and vibrant.  Colourful jewels are worn on equally colourful clothes.  On occasions, the walls and ceilings are covered in diwal-giris and chandarvos.  During the rainy season, these are usually painted or embroidered to match the theme of the festival. They usually complement Thakorji’s clothes and jewels.

Ghata

Colours of the ghata represent different bhavas (emotions) and are assigned to different sakhas and sakhis (friends) of the Thakorji.  For example, red colour represents the bhav of anurag – love – and it represents Shri Swaminiji. 

Vaishnavs can use ghata in their home at any time, whereas the havelis have days set aside for celebrating the ghatas. e ghatas.

Painted soft furnishings

Painted pichois are a popular subject for books and research scholars.  Design, theme, style and even colours used in a painted pichoi can tell us a lot about the period they were created in.  Analysing old pichois is a serious branch of spiritual and artistic anthropology.  Due to the time it takes to create painted pichois, they are not used as often as most people think.