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 2nd 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 2nd 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.
