In Hindi, “maha” means “big,” “Shiva” is the god, and “ratri” means night. February 23, 2009 was Shiva’s Big Night. I went to Traveler’s Chai Shop to celebrate, as Allen and Leon (the proprietors) often host Indian cultural events. This night they were also showing some locally-made ceramic shivlings. They were not particularly Indian but I like the idea that local people are incorporating foreign themes into their art, and I enjoyed seeing them there.
Allen had an adaptation of some of the traditional chants performed at this ritual, along with translations. Here is a copy of the ritual program. In summary, the verses call all present to acknowledge God, then name various gods, then ask forgiveness for sins, then list 101 (a lucky number) names of Shivji. I like that Allen has arranged line-for-line Sanskrit, with transliteration, with translation. I would like to collect more religious ritual descriptions like this one.
I took some pictures of the place to show interested people in India. The subject matter includes the temple in the chai shop and various views of the inventory in the Indian goods section of the store.
Traveler's Chai Shop
Modern Shivling from Seattle
Lane playing with Benarasi silk
altar at Traveler's Chai Shop
Allen, pandit of Traveler's Chai Shop