#21 Ganesh Chaturthi Special...

   Ganesh Chaturthi unleashes a thread of memories

   Ganesh Chaturthi unleashes a thread of memories

Vakra-Tunndda Maha-Kaaya Surya-Kotti Samaprabha
Nirvighnam Kuru Me Deva Sarva-Kaaryessu Sarvadaa

Meaning:
1: O Lord Ganesha, of Curved Trunk, Large Body, and with the Brilliance of a Million Suns,
2: Please Make All my Works Free of Obstacles, Always.

     

    Before strolling down my memory lane, I would first like to wish every reader of this article “A very happy Ganesh Chaturthi”. May Lord Ganesha Shower all mercy upon you and act as a guiding light towards helping you to reach your destination. Now, I would like to mention some of the motivating factors behind this post.

First, Lord Ganesha himself for providing me a medium of vocabulary to my feelings without which any expression is ever possible. So, all credit goes to him.

Second, My family. After many years I’m with my Grandma to rejuvenate uncountable memories of my childhood days.

Third (interesting!!), one of the tempting advertisements of TOI (under the title “VIGHNAHARTA RETURNS”)which invites readers to send entries on the description of celebration of this festival in their respective cities. I’ve chosen to write for my blog instead of sending entries to TOI because of the length of the article and I feel that the city, of which I’m a part, begins with my home. [Note: Personal Views]

  

 Let me begin the process in a chronological manner (recent-to-old):

1-   Organisation of Ganesh Chaturthi(2k12) at Rohini Bhawan

I had a mix of experiences during organising Ganesh Puja at Rohini Bhawan. Organising a function at a grand level (for 550 hostel borderers and near about 300 guests) by 2^nd year B.Tech girls was not at all a child’s play and none of us were that experienced in the field. With the cooperation of the organising committee (all 2^nd year B.Tech girls), seniors, ward boys of the hostel, this mammoth task was accomplished in the best possible way. All of us took a lot a lot of pain in its preparation which included listing of the required items, budget making, shopping, inviting teachers and of course seniors, preparing Bhoga (Chuda Ghasa as Prasad), decoration for which we were applauded by everyone. By God’s grace, everything was at its best and not to forget, the decoration was simply superb. It was the first time I witnessed a different idol of Ganesha which I’d not seen before. The slightest glimpse of the idol of Lord Jagannatha disguised in Lord Ganesha was mesmerizing enough to attract the spectators in large numbers to the pandal. The incident of Priest’s way of inviting caretaker sir’s wrath was extremely rib-tickling! The effect of funniness of that moment still prompts me to laugh till the aching of my stomach. Priest’s inaccuracy in reciting the holy hymns and managing the process of Puja prompted caretaker sir to rectify his mistakes publicly as he completed the process of Puja without uncovering the mask of Ganesha’s vehicle –mushak (a rat). For a moment, that hilarious event lightened the stressful environment. When I recall those days, I hear my inner voice yelling out in joy “yes, we did and we all did together”.

2-   My first appearance on stage

It was on this day; I landed on the stage and appeared before the crowd for the first time. Elaborating it further, I was in first standard and a devotional evening was organised inside the premise of my school .I was one of the participants of that function. There was a very grand arrangement of orchestra band but I had not practiced with the orchestra band prior to my performance as the band arrived quite late. I’d to perform directly (but I’d made a lot of practice before hand at home under the guidance of my teacher). I’d no fear rather I was filled with immense excitement and I also had nothing related to written lyrics in my hand. The words of my song- “Payoji maine” floated in the air (the memory of that day is still refreshing in my mind) .After I finished my song, the thing that I heard first was the appreciation from the orchestra band followed by a huge round of applause. That incident rendered me recognition of a singer and never let me to develop “STAGE FEAR” in any form.

3-   Childhood memories

I have an unending series of childhood memories associated with the festivals. On the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, all members of the family used to get up as early as 5a.m and engage themselves in the preparation of the grand event at home. For us, children, it used to be a day different from all other days, a day full of activities, enjoyment, delicious dishes, new clothes, no studies but a lot of new study materials. The exciting part of the event was to showcase the talent of memorizing and reciting the holy hymns dedicated to Lord as asked by Grandpa during Pushpanjali.  There used to be competition among the children of the family to get appreciated for accurate recitation of hymns from the Head of the Family (HOF), Grandpa. There after we were dropped at our respective schools where we could enjoy with our friends and teachers. We were fascinated to see each other in new, colourful and unique get-ups. The function at school used to end with a grand feast – a never ending chain of children squatting over the mats spread all over the ground. I remember to have argued with Grandpa on the reason of performing the rituals on various festivals and used to be upset for not finding satisfactory answers to my questions.

      These are few memories from an infinite source of memories of bygone days. Sigh!! Gone are those days!! These memories keep getting renewed each year during such special occasions to transform the atmosphere livelier, divine and making me feel nostalgic of their transient passage....

Gajaananam Bhoota Ganaadhi Sevitam
Kapitta Jamboophaala Saara Bhakshitam
Umaasutam Shoka Vinaasha Kaaranam
Namaami Vighneswara Paada Pankajam

Meaning: The Lord with the elephant face, served by all the Ganas, One who takes as His food, the essence of Kapitta and Jamboophala (these are two favorite fruits of Ganesh), son of Uma (Mother Parvati), destroyer of misery of the devotees, controller of obstacles, we worship Your Lotus Feet.