The 21st century torchbearers will revolt at any such suggestion of God appearing in person, but I did experience it last evening in Club House. Lord Ganesha, setting aside the lavish celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi all over the city, predominantly in Maharashtra, descended in SFV Clubhouse. That is the feeling one got, at least from the large hole that appeared in the ceiling right above the deity installed.
“No, we didn’t see any hole,” some of the discerning SFVian observers might argue. “Nor did I,” I would say. But definitely there is no restriction on my imagination running riot for a while, given the divine atmosphere that pervaded the hall. Raghu looked his best attired in a dark blue panchagachham (Mysore silk?). I would urge Mrs Raghu to do a Chashme Baddoor (drishti) if she has not done one.
A group of young mothers sporting, by arrangement, red sarees, enthralled the audience for full half an hour with well-rehearsed devotional songs. “Couldn’t they have obliged us for a little more time?” whispered the man next to me into my ears. “I can’t agree with you more, sir,” I replied. “What exactly do you mean? You agree with me or you don’t? Be categoric,” he asked me, his voice now raising beyond the realms of a whisper. “I do agree, I do agree with you totally, sir.” “Then better say that. Okay?”
Not in passing, but on a firm note, everybody congratulated Dileep for his vocal rendering which fell short of professional heights only for the absence of a mridangam. And the best compliments go to …. guess, well, none other than his son, for giving able support to his Dad in violin. Keep it up, young boy.
On second thought, I shall take back that ‘dent in the ceiling’ remark. I know no SFVian would like, even remotely, to be reminded of a hole, crack, or leak, what with the building warranty having just lapsed. Already the list has swollen into pages in Hike, if not the talk of the town. And I wouldn’t like to add one, be it imaginary. I shall thus reword it. The Lord made no crash landing. He made the customary super smooth landing to witness in person the devoutness of the gathering in large numbers. The ladies did a tremendous job in adhering to the ‘traditional’ dress code prescribed - a majority of them were dressed so. The menfolk? A handful donned a dhoti and a shoulder towel, most a pair of trousers and shirts, and a few skin-fit jeans and T-shirts. Well, viewed from a positive context, it could as well be interpreted as unity in diversity.
The best dressed, however, were the children who were probably enthusiastic since morning waiting for it to strike 6 pm to be the first to arrive at the scene. Most of them - sorry all of them - were in their best. Watching them playful, talking, whispering and giggle was in itself a feast for the eyes.
A few, standing at the far end used the occasion for an update session on Modi, Rahul, Olympics or Mungaru Male 2. Thankfully, the solver lining was that they lent their ears in between to the songs being rendered. Well, you can’t expect rapt attention anywhere for anything and everything that goes on.
A variety of prasadams, enough to fill a plate, was offered to one and all to the absence of no now-or-never rush. Everybody waited for his/her turn - no one pretended to be busy talking to someone on the line and quietly joined the mainstream. If the corridor news is correct, the prasadam order was given to the young couple in the SLV restaurant across the road. They proved equal to the occasion. We wish them a good future.
The visarjan event stole the show, if I may say so. At least I liked it very much. The deity was taken around all buildings. Each person got a turn to carry the deity for a distance. I was offered too, but I was not sure of the weight of the idol. The chants of Ganapathi Bappa Moria, by ladies and children was the best part of this procession. And, with concluding mantras and final Deepa Aaradhana, Raghu held the deity high above for everyone to bid farewell before immersing the Lord in the cauldron, bringing the Ganesh Chathurti 2016 celebrations to a happy conclusion.
An enjoyable evening, no doubt.
V V Sundarm
Maple 3195
11 Sept 2016
No comments:
Post a Comment