Friday, September 3, 2010

Return


This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 14; the fourteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Here goes a few lines of Aerosmith's Tune….

I could stay lost in this moment forever
Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure
I just want to stay with you in this moment forever and ever
Don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
Cause I'd miss you
And I don't want to miss a thing....



                 There are quite a few occasions in my life, I have felt I can’t afford to miss even a fraction of a second without enjoying to fullest-the ecstatic moments to cherish in my entire life. Enchanting Ganapati Bappa Moraya in Pune’s splendid Ganesh Chaturti festival was an incredible experience two years back, although I missed celebration of the same back home. Those huge artistic beautiful idols, devotees in thousands, ten thousand watt speakers, dancing & celebrations all were such ecstatic moments that they can’t be described in words. I felt as though I was in another dimension of living where my mind went into some sort of a hibernation and the heart chanted prayers of Lord Ganesha. Somehow for the first time in my life, I appreciated the beauty of God & the need to be thankful to Him to whatever he has given me. A deep mystic sense of gratitude arouse in me. Everyday while leaving home, as the Lingayat tradition goes, I apply 3 horizontal lines of Vibhuti on my forehead, rapidly recite a prayer without knowing its meaning, more importantly without knowing it's significance in life & rush to live my daily life without even realizing what God meant to me. It's like, I give a power point presentation to god about my wishlist in life & erase the vibhuti as soon as I am out of mom's sight, thinking it had become a passe. 
      God is not essentially an incomprehensible form whom we blindly worship. God is a feeling, an Ehsaas, an emotion, a tribute to the creator & sustainer of life, a feeling of thankfulness etc. You can customize God to the form you like to worship, May it be in love towards your parents, profession, knowledge, possessions etc. You may see God in your beloved people, in  your family. Sounds rather bizzare- I find God in Astronomy- the subject I love the most. I find God in the love towards my family - my parents & grandparents who were freedom fighters. I have heard stories from my grandma about how Ganapati festival & processions happened in pre - independence days & hence have a sort of emotional attachment to all this. As a family tradition the idol we bring is from same shop made by the same person every year. 
         All great scientists who are logical thinkers throughout their lives are firm believers in God. This spirituality, devotion, is all beyond logic. We need a much higher level of thought process to understand & appreciate such things. Ordinary people like us who do not care much what mythology or history defines God to be, have an option to perceive & worship God in whatever form we like.
Ganesh Chaturthi, which was initiated for the purpose of national integration among Indians during days of freedom struggle, creates a wonderful atmosphere of joy, happiness celebration in home as well as in society.
I am waiting for the return of this splendid festive season, to re-live the Ganesha moments again (modaks included!).
Ganapati Bappa Morya, Purchya Varshi Laukariya !!


P.S : First job, new city, first time living away from home, no friends at all - I went to Pune & my uncle's friend picked me up & on way to his home, where I was supposed to be staying for a week, saw  Dagdusheth Ganapati  & exclaimed Whoa !  such a beautiful idol !  - first time I left saying the 'F' word for all exclamatory things, after 4 yrs of hostel life - my first dose of refinement I suppose. 
Unlike other Gods, probably the duration for which we keep Ganapati idol makes it so special, kind of missing feeling after festive season. Hope to catch up both this year - Pune's Ganapati celebrations & at my home too. For those of you who have not seen the Pune's Ganapati festival, do make a plan to be a part of the same this year.


You can get more info at : Ganesh_Chaturthi@Wiki
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.


23 comments:

Rachana Shakyawar said...

Ganpati Bappa Moriya!

Welldone..I could visulize everything...and instantly felt so connected with your story..!

I miss to see in real the tall yet innovative beautiful Ganpati Bappa's Idols we find mostly in Maharastra n Gujarat! Though I find equally enchating to see the tiny idol at my home!

Perhaps...your post brought all the best memories and mersmerizing moments..!

However..I love the P.S. part too...to real n honest!


~Keep the Spark ALive..

Amity said...

I love lines of your intro song...and I can sing that with much fervor...:P

Oh, we are different for that matter. My faith and belief is that it is not good to idolize!

However, I am no Indian and you are, hence the difference. My faith and your faith are two different things.

However, I admire you so much that you believe in the existence of God! You're no atheist, right?

This is a beautiful write-up though! Thanks for sharing your faith!

All the best!

Anonymous said...

The scenery portrayed is just wonderful and amazing :D Love your words! =P

Siddhesh Kabe said...

I can say only one thing.... welcome to Pune...:D

Cheers,
Sid

Dreamer said...

Vivid description made for interesting reading. All the best for BAT

Samadrita said...

I'm so glad to have come across a person who thinks God can be viewed in whatever form we choose to see him/her in- be it in love for one's work or a person or one's family.
Wonderful post.

May you have lots of fun at this year's Ganesh Chaturthi as well. :)
All the best for BAT!

astrosunilnomy said...

@Rachana, Thanks for the comments, ya the size of idols doesn't matter, it's the faith, perception of God in our mindset which matters, & i don't know almost all idols appear quite impressive only, Oh i didn't knew Gujarat also Ganapati festival is prominent festival. In my home town Hubli, Ganapati festival is very important one, & they apply all sort of innovation in making the theme apart from Ganapati idol alone.

@ Amity, Thanks for the insightful comments this post was not about idol worship or selling faith, as my blog can be categorized as personal blog, it contains personal opinions, hence i go to say - that we can customize god to whatever we want. there is a hindi song- perhaps u may not know, SRK sings of seeing God in his lady love- soul mate concept. my faith & your faith are one & the same if you are expressing gratitude to someone called God if at all you believe in God. I am not atheist but have this view of worshiping- my love towards astronomy is my God. i find my peace in it. I find my strength & excellence in it. Its something which challenges me, pushes me to my boundaries to motivate me & keeps me rocking in my own small life.

@ riikainfinityy, thanks for the appreciation & good to know that you could connect to it. its real experience always impressive when expressed truly from heart.

@ Siddhesh, i really miss Pune, i had to move to Bangalore for better job prospects, but really mis the enthusiasm of people there when it comes to tradition & culture..perhaps one of the cities preserving it's theme of cultural city. thnx for the comments


@ Dreamer, thnx for the comment, good to know that it was interesting, this was a article about God & different people have just varied opinions on this topic.

@ Samadrita, Its really pleasure that seeing your comment on my blog, your blog was the first one which impressed me & i felt worth following, I had not seen many blogs that time though, Thanks for the comments as well as wished, & wish you too fun filled celebration in advance. It's absolutely correct isn't it, the concept of God or faith is all about freedom, so we individuals, being so different from each other should have freedom to choose the way to worship it.

Yamini Meduri said...

wow...i could feel Pune right infront of my eyes..!! Truly said Ganesh Chaturthi in Pune is one of the festivals best celebrated and am glad that i was a part of it once and this year am home..!!!

Dear friend...once visit Hyderabad for Ganesh festival...you sahll enjoy here...its celebrated like none other..!!!

Anonymous said...

Never witnessed any Ganpati festive in life.. Will do some day to know how it exactly feels.. :)

Nice post.. ATB for the BAT.. :)

Vikram Pyati said...

Good one Sunil....Ganesh Chaturhi is definitely my favorite festival. The fervor with which it is celebrated cannot be matched by any other festival which I celebrate. Kind of feeling sad that I will not be able to celebrate the festival this year.

About God... I absolutely agree that we can see God in anything we love. In fact, the interpretation of the phrase "seeing God" itself can be different for different people.

Anonymous said...

Well written. The details captured wonderfully give a great vision to the words !
Cheerz!

MuddassirShah said...

Nice views about God.
I Liked your writing style

Jaspreet said...

Good to read your views on God-its true that God is not just a blind faith-we can feel and worship it in whatever form we want to.
I have no idea about Ganesh Chaturthi-would love to witness it sometime though.
All the best!

Brijender Singh said...

The pangs of separation and loneliness are quite evident in your post !
But dont u still have the stars(YOUR stars) with you?? :)

Someone is Special said...

Wow, the faith in God and the rhyme at the intro or so so so good.. I loved it totally.. All the best for BAT..

Someone Is Special

Mahesh Aadhya Kalal said...

Am planning pune next week and am so excited to get msemerised by the God of creativity ...
You post made me more anxious :)

Kshitij KK Khurana said...

Ah! That's a refreshing post.

I enjoyed reading - there's a lot of things (especially about customizing) that I believe to be soooo true.

I am in Delhi and I have never participated in Ganpati celebrations. I hope to do so one day.

Good job astrosunil. Good luck.

Zainab Urooj said...

Good piece of reading :)

Baatein unkahi si said...

Pune is my favorite city in India and I too have memories of Ganpati celebrations there. Yours brought back all those memories right back. Loved your style of writing. And I hope you get to relive these festive momemts again.

astrosunilnomy said...

@Ms.Meduri, thanks for the comments, Oh really, i didn't knew in hyderabad also ganesh festial is celebrated that good,
sure will try visit hyd too ! all the best for BAT !

@Bedlam, thanks for comments, yes, you must be a part of ganapati festival sometime, it's just not about idol worship or believing or non beliving god etc, its just being a part of a feeling, the enthusiasm, the celebration of life. all the best for BAT !

@Vikram, thanks for your comments, this is my favourite festival too, in US also, indian communities may celebrate na? I once remember Techmahindra onsite colleagues celebrating it & calling 'onsite ganesha'. Yes truely said, we can see god in anything we prefer.

@kevin, thanks for your comments, the details are not spoilers, there are still many aspects you can appreciate witnessing the same, being amist the crowd !

@Md.Muddassir, thanks for your comments, my view about god is - customized god ! thats all

@jaspreet, thanks for your comments, good to know that so many people liked the idea that we can worship god in the form we like, yes, you must surely witness ganesh festival to know what's it like.

@brijender, thanks for your comments, ya i miss ganesh festival , but can always catch up every year, just have to wait !



@someone is special, thanks for your comments, kind of felt not to miss a thing when procesion of bringing the idol goes on !


@mahesh, thanks for your comments, good you can write a blog-post about your experience in pune after your trip !


@kshitij, thanks for your comments, yes you can plan a south india trip & catch up the same in mumbai, Bangalore, pune or hyderabad.

astrosunilnomy said...

@Zainab, thanks for the comments, keep reading if you liked this article, you will efinately like others as well.


@Dil se, probably pune is my favourite city too, just love the cluture & tradition it showcases not to miss the vada pav ofcourse, good to know that you liked the style of writing & thanks for the comments. ya me too planning a pune trip next weekend or so..Amen !

T F Carthick said...

Nice nostalgic post from the depth of your heart.

Shilpa Garg said...

This made for an interesting reading! Agree, how we do so many religious things without understanding/knowing their importance or reason in doing so.
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

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