Lord Shiva Descends on Club House

Yes, tomorrow is Pradosham, and Lord Shiva will be busy performing his thandava to appease Parvathi with the entire Deva Loka watching it (if my understanding is correct). So, He decided to descend on SFV Club House a day in advance to see how His devotees are faring vis a vis their promised Shatha Rudrabhisheka ceremony. I have no doubt that He would only be happy to have witnessed such devotion and dedication of His devotees to the job at hand, and decided to spend the whole day in Club House rather than just grace the occasion for a while.

I would guess the credit primarily should go to Panindra, Naveen, Sudharshan, Vasuki, and Vinay. But no less are those who stand and wait, as they say – the behind the scene activities of Vaidya, Ishwar, and ever so many others. All this is aside the equally strong female force in action. 

The day started with Ganesh Puja and Ganga Puja. Meanwhile the Rithvikas, or japa-ganam, trickled into the Club House to register their attendance and to receive new Dhoti and Uttareeyam along with fruits in a packet. To maintain uniformity, the organizers requested  them to sport the new set of dhotis in panchagacham/uttareeyam format, which they did – some seeking others’ help to do it at short notice. Gulping a hot cup of coffee or tea, the Rithivikas barged into the Club House to take up position – most on the floor and some on chair. 

It was nice to observe that the in-house talent was reinforced with some learned amateur pandits from outside – friends of SFVians. Naveen and one gentleman from outside took turns to explain the significance of the function, the nuances of certain slokas, such as Tryambakam yejamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanam… We felt delighted that one doesn’t need the likes of Dhushyanth Sridhar, or Nochur Venkataraman to explain the various concepts, but we have them aplenty in-house  – amateurs, but no less than professionals.

With various chants preceding the Rudra japam, Panindra took a count of the Rithvikas and pronounced that we should repeat Rudram chant thrice to exceed Shatha Rudhabhisheka. And so it was done with the Club House resonating and reverberating with Rudra mantram as though the entire celestial world was all set to descend. Occasionally I raised my head from my book to see every nook and corner if this was happening. Probably the celestial world has its own way of gracing such occasions, unseen but felt by the devotees.

Neivedya offering and mangala aarti followed with much fanfare, with the lights switched off and the conches blowing in unison while others gave a rhythmic beat to the metallic instrument elevating the mood of one and all to a world of their own. Soon followed prasada viniyogam – very well organized.

At sharp 5 in the evening, people gathered once again, this time to hear the bhajan of SFV ladies. Needless to say, they gave a good account of themselves. Soon followed Carnatic music. Be it Malini, Uma or Lakshmi Nagaraj it was like listening to some professionals singing and nothing less whatsoever. Simply enchanting. At this point we felt this had made our day. No, not yet. It was followed by classical dance performance by Vaishnavi and finally by Vidya Vinod. Since the dances of both were on Shiva thandava style it was rhythmic foot-tapping beats all the way – a fitting finale to the ceremony. 

Many wondered as they left for home: why not they organize one of these at least once a month for an hour or two so that in-house talents get the recognition they very much deserve, and the SFV residents get an opportunity to pass a pleasant evening.

A day well spent, regardless. STOP PRESS. This doesn’t end here. The community is all set for yet another event – mega sports featuring nearly 20 events ranging from cricket, tennis, swimming, volleyball, carrom to track events. Get set – ready, steady, go.