Dawaat Puja

A puja specially done by the Kayastha community who are supposedly the descendants of Chitragupta- the Celestial Accountant. As Chitragupta was wont to enjoy life, merry-make and have lots of "non -veg", we specifically eat mutton, take Somras (a mix of ginger, jaggery etc) and generally do a lot of merry making that day. I recall that we used to have live gana-bajaana performance in our days organised by the Kayastha community- this being the first of the few live shows I have attended- sidetracking alert- another being the Gopi Kishen dance performance wherein he had whacked the tape off from a person who was unauthorisedly recording the performance - end of sidetracking.
So the actual Dawaat pujas was done by men in the olden days but now since women are also studying and having a career, they too participate- sensible and logical I must say. Akin to Saraswati puja or Vishwakarma Puja or Ayudha puja the instruments of writing are honoured and given a break on this day.
The Kalam- dawaat (pen and ink) are reverred- with a teeka of roli and aepen (haldi + water).
The puja begins with the drawing of a swastik sign and writing the names of 5/7 Gods starting with 'Om Ganeshaye Nama' on a sheet of paper, Thereafter a statement of accounts is given- Income in Rs and Expenses for the next year (presenting the budget) in Rs which is presented in excess of the current year Income, followed by the name, address and date- all of which is presented to Chitraguptaji for His blessings.
The Chitragupta Katha is recited.
Incidentally this is the day the ladies perform the Bhai Dooj pooja- for the long life of their brothers .