Visarjan Over; But Ganeshji intact in Our Hearts

It was a Sunday. Not yet another Sunday with no alarm to wake you up; no ritualistic shoulder-, neck- or knee-exercises to keep stiffness at bay. No hasty finish to be with your senior friends for the morning walk -  circumambulation of Pine and Maple towers. Yes, it was SFV Ganesh Puja 2024, a day-long programme from 7 am to 7 pm. 

The gathering at Club House headed to Gate 1 for the Agamana procession of the beautifully decorated Ganesha idol from Gate 1 via all towers to Oak playground for Homa and then to Club House to the accompaniment of nadaswaram and dolu - and saxophone as bonus. Yes, ever since Kadri Gopalnath added this instrument to Carnatic music, this has become a welcome trend in all nadaswaram programmes. They played some really hummable tunes, to the foot-tapping beats of dolu. 

I got a call from Aunty. “I say, join us at Cedar. Your friends V…., K….., M…., and have all come. You better hurry.” And so I did picking the shirt that was handy and not the one I had reserved for the occasion. Too late for Cedar. The procession had already reached Oak. Better late than never. 

The idol was installed and after homa, it was taken in procession to Club House where it was placed with a ‘live’ forest serving as a backdrop. ‘But what is the significance of peacocks in front of Ganesha?” I asked my friend sitting next. “I couldn’t guess. Maybe the forest at the background is Turahalli, and we have several peacocks dancing around every morning.”   

A short break for breakfast followed – not a dish more, not a dish less. Excellent. Hats off to the organizers.

The purohits for the function were specially ‘flown’ from Mangalore. Their decibel level hardly needed any public address system. The house was full by then. The atmosphere was charged. After puja it was time for Mangala aarati. The nadaswaram troupe which was till then subjected to stop and start signals, was given a free hand. With a liberated feeling they played their instruments in full blast. The acoustics of the auditorium being what they are, capable of producing three times echo effect, some of my friends seated near the troupe, moved to a place where they could enjoy the performance in the required decibel. On my part as a duty-bound resident, I looked up at the ceiling now and then to check for any hairline crack. None, luckily.

Managala aarati was followed by a small cultural programme, proving the point Small is Beautiful. This was followed by prasadam distribution. I wondered if MPH2 was the right venue for such a huge gathering. But the arrangements were so perfect that in less than 10 minutes everyone was seen carrying a sumptuous plate in hand – and delicious too. Yes, prasadams have a knack to be so.

The evening session included taking the idol around all towers accompanied by Dhol Tashe for everyone to dance and raise the merriment level, which they did. At one time, I too felt like indulging in that pleasure. “No way,’ protested my friends.  “What if we sprain ourselves of fall?” they quipped. “No worry, Dr Vijay Chandra, our bone and joint specialist is right behind us. He will fix it.”

After an elaborate closing puja the beautiful idol was all set for visarjana. The crowd thronged, some with their kids on their shoulders to their own delight and not so much to those behind. The idol was brought up and down the immersion tank probably three times as required, much to the suspense of the gathering. And then Lord Ganesha condescended to be immersed. The spectators reacted with mixed feelings. Some felt overjoyed, others shed tears. The crowd applauded spontaneously partly to bid farewell to Lord Ganesha, and very much to thank the Managing Committee of SFV Association for a wonderful day they had organized for them - the highlight of which was doing everything with clockwork precision. Kudos.

Yes, the idol might have been immersed but Ganesha-ji stays very much in our hearts.

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