"We wash gold or silver coins in un-boiled milk and water first of all. And, during Laksmi puja, we offer the sweet of Chikki made of jaggery and peanuts to the Goddess as a tradition. This is followed by Lakshmi aarti. Thereafter, we carry out the custom of picking one washed coin from the lot and gently hitting the teeth with it and speak 'Laksmi aayi, Danat vaai'," said a Shindi celebrant.
He explained, "The meaning of the phrase speak 'Laksmi aayi, Danat vaai' is that the Goddess Laksmi has arrived and poverty has gone away."
He elaborated that the subtle message conveyed by the phrase was that one cannot eat the wealth and it was needed to be used for noble cause.
"Earlier, we used to keep our house open throughout night to welcome Goddess Lakshmi, but this tradition has almost disappeared because of safety reasons. However, the tradition keeping a big diya that can last the whole nights along with keeping the festival lights on are the new norms," he concluded.
Here are some proverbs about wealth in Sindhi: "Uho sone hi ghoryo Jo kana chhiney," which implies that, those golden earrings are not worthy of possession if they are too heavy and tear your ears; "Naarey binaa nar vegaano," which means that without money man feels alone and dejected; "Vandey viraayey sukh paaye," which means that sharing what one has with others, gives happiness.
