Om Ganeshaya Namaha

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I adore the spirit behind Ganesh Chathurti, an eleven day celebration of Lord Ganesh, his life and his teachings.

Lord Ganesh is the God of wisdom, knowledge and new beginnings. He has many names and faces but whichever incarnation, his life – his devotion to his mother and friends, his obedience and his intelligence sets an example and tells us that living a righteous life has its rewards. After all, which other God has Gods and Goddesses seeking his blessings before starting a new endeavor.

I grew up listening to stories about Ganpati Bappa and I adore the spirit of this eleven day celebration but even before Ganesh Chathurti became a big community affair, Ganpati Bappa was a part of our lives. The size of the celebration may have changed but the significance hasn’t.

Every year, during Ganesh Chathurti, we bring Ganpati Bappa into our homes and bow our heads in pray. We seek his blessings to fulfill our objectives in life. By these actions, we profess our faith in his teachings – of obedience, of devotion.

Our world is full of people who are intolerant and manipulative, who think nothing of using another’s weakness to gain the upper hand. As devotees of Ganpati Bappa, we should endeavor not to do harm and stay away from evil be in thoughts or deeds. We should look at this time as a period of self reflection, a time to embrace our faith and a time to start anew. After all, it is our faith in Ganpati Bappa that gives us the strength to fulfill our objectives in life. We should also spend time – shaping a better world not only for ourselves but also for our family and society at large.

During this festival of Ganesh Chathurti, I hope that each and every one of us gains enough wisdom to believe in our own strength and dutifully fulfill our objective of life.

Happy Ganesh Chathurthi

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Places I’ve lived, who I “were” and how it made me, the person I am today

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Growth and Change are synonymous. Everything changes even non living things. Places and things appreciate in value or depreciate. Some turn into priceless antiques while others become obsolete. Human beings, in particular, change as we grow – we learn from our failures and successes, we gain priceless experience with each gray hair and wrinkle.

Looking Back

The person I am today is vastly different from the small town bhopali girl of yesterday. That girl was sheltered, over protected, sweet and naïve.

I traveled away from Bhopal to the city of Pune to the bustling metropolis of Mumbai. Each move, each experience and each person added new dimensions to who I am.

Bhopal, my childhood home forms the foundation of ‘who I am’ but it was Pune that taught me to be independent and self sufficient.

Pune, a transient city, is full of individuals who have come there to study or work. Surrounded by strangers, it is easy to feel lost and alone. Making friends and socializing helps but not enough. I often found myself asking, ‘How do you cope?’ No answer filled the gap of family and a steady support system. It was the gradual change from dependent to independent that brought the awareness – friends help but you have to live for yourself first.

Pune taught me independence, Mumbai taught me trust.

Mumbai, the mecca of marketing churns out professionals of every level but it wasn’t my dream. I have always been a small town girl and I was sure this fast paced metropolis would kick me out. I owe my survival to my friend Vandu. I love her for her support and guidance. She let me stay with her during that terrifying month and guided me on the do’s and don’ts of living in Mumbai.

Mumbai was worth it!

A decade has passed since my foray into independence, that girl who once was so dependent on others has transformed. She has grown confident and is capable of extending a helping hand, like Vandu extended hers, to help those in need, those still trying to find their footing.

Looking forward

They say ‘Time teaches and you learn, sometimes the lesson is easy but mostly, lessons are hard earned’. Luckily for me, I had a balance of easy and hard but I have just completed my first decade of independent living, I still have a lot of living to do. I look forward to the changes and growth, life will bring. I hope when I am old and gray with deep wrinkles, that the person I have become is someone that gives back to society, an instrument of growth.

 

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On India’s 68th Independence Day, Let’s strive to be truly free.

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“Aye mere vatan ke logon
zara aankh mein bhar lo paani
jo shaheed hue hain unki
zara yaad karo qurbaani…”

Every time I hear these words, I cannot help but follow the command. I pause and remember those who struggled and fought for our freedom; I stop and appreciate those who guard us, today, from harm.

Hearing Lata Mangeskwar sing ‘Aye mere watan ke logo’ resonates within my heart, like I am sure it resonates with yours, reminding us, that the freedom that we enjoy came at a cost – blood was spilt and lives were lost. It serves as a reminder that ‘We are free because they fought and we should treasure our hard earned freedom.’

And we do!

We show our appreciation for this precious gift of ‘freedom’ with our words and actions. We stand straight and tall when the national anthem is sung. We display our deep love for our country by calling our country our motherland and our language as our mother tongue, which is significant because while our fathers are the head of the family but it is our mothers that command the most respect. We also take pride in our heritage structures, knowing they now house our own government.

Unfortunately, despite how much we love our country and appreciate our freedom, how far our country has come in the past 60 years but we still have miles to go.

Our forefathers won our freedom from foreign oppressors but we sadly lost a battle to internal corruption.

Today, our country is a hot bed for corruption and we the common masses perpetuate it further by offering bribes to quicken work processes. We are the root cause of corruption and if we want India to grow, to become an economic and political power, we as citizens must fight to eradicate the corruption from the root.

How?

They say the war of independence gets the right direction only when the educated come together.

Today, we stand at the cusp of a new war, a war against corruption. We as proud Indians need to prove ourselves worthy of the gift of freedom our forefathers bestowed on us. We must look beyond the rosy picture offered, be aware of how the taxes we pay are utilized and raise our voices against injustice, discrimination and corruption.

So, that one day, in the near future, we can look at our National Flag and know that we deserve the freedom for which the freedom fighters fought.

On India’s 68^th Independence Day, I urge each and every one of you to take the first step against the fight corruption by taking this pledge with me

‘I pledge to neither give nor take bribes’.

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Dedicated to My Brothers and Sisters

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If you have a sibling, rejoice as you will never be alone, unloved or unsupported’.

I am grateful to my Mum and Papa for all they have done but most of all I am grateful that they have given me my most precious gifts ‘My Siblings’.

My life wouldn’t be the same without them. I picture my life without ‘my siblings’ and my childhood seems bleak. No masti, no fun, no joy, no mobile phone from your first salary. 🙂

So, on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, I would to say ‘Thank You’ mum and papa.

Raksha Bandhan has always been a day of celebration at my house. As a young child, I remember waiting anxiously for Raksha Bandhan as it was the day my five sisters and two brothers would gather. We would run around, have fun, tie rachis, receive gifts and celebrate our bond as siblings.

As we grew older and moved away from home, gathering for Raksha Bandhan became difficult. Work commitments meant rakhis were sent by mail not tied in person. Though, we do still try and meet and celebrate because as my Papa used to say, ‘Beta you are blessed and you should respect that’.

Raksha Bandhan unlike Mother’s Day or Father’s Day is not meant for any specific person. It is day of celebration for any person who is fortunate enough to have a sibling, be it biological or of the heart.

My mum has a brother and even after decades of marriage, she still tries to visits my Mamaji every year to tie a rakhi and my Mamaji eagerly awaits her presence, such is the love of a sibling.

My papa on the other hand has a family of the heart – Madan chacha, his best friend and his entire family from his mother to his brothers – Ammaji, Pappu bua, Sadan chacha, Raju chacha and Sanju chahca.

Some of my most memorable memories are at Ammaji home. Ammaji has always said that Papa is her 5^th son despite having 4 sons and 3 daughters.

Every year on Raksha Bandhan we gather so that Madan chacha, Pappu bua, Sadan chacha, Raju chacha and Sanju chahca and Papa can tie that ‘resham ki dori’ to symbolize and cement their feelings for each other. They may not be biological family but they are the family.

The beauty of being Indian and celebrating Raksha Bandhan is that it allows you to celebrate not only your biological siblings but also the siblings of your heart ‘your rakhi brothers and sisters’.

Raksha Bandhan allows you to express feelings and emotions that is hard to verbalize. We tie this ‘resham ki dori’ to express everything which words cant, actions can’t and gifts can’t.

I like to dedicate this day to all my brothers and sisters, whether we meet or not, always know that you hold a very very special place in my life. 

A Travel Bug’s Tale

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I got bit by a travel bug when I was very young. Since then, I have made it my mission to see all the wonders the world has to offer. I have climbed up mountains and gazed at the clear blue sky. I have traveled deep into the jungle and glimpsed the hidden wildlife. Each trip has deepened my passion, brought new adventures and created wonderful memories.

One unforgettable journey took place in 2006. We had organized a trip to the jungle for school students. The trip was fantastic, the students really enjoyed themselves but on our last day our junglegetaway turned into a jungle adventure.

After an exciting day of sightseeing, we were heading back to the dorms when we realized that one of the jeeps had a puncture and there was no spare. We were in the middle of the jungle, over two hours away from the dorms and there was no way to call for another jeep or a mechanic. The kids began to panic, partly scared and partly excited about spending the night in the jungle. As if, that would ever happen!

It was past 4 pm and the light was quickly fading, so we squeezed all the kids with two coordinators into the jeeps, while five of us armed ourselves with weapons and lights and began our long trek home.

The minute the jeep left, gone were the responsible adults. We felt like teenagers on a forbidden adventure. We kept ourselves entertained by kicking pebbles, chasing dogs and joking around. We even pulled out a bottle of rum to share. Not smart or safe but definitely exciting.

It got darker, we grew weary, the moon rose, the stars twinkled and we jokingly saluted the moon and requested it to ‘show us the path’ as we continued to trudge along.

Then, a sound broke the silence.

Creeeaaaak!

What was that?

Who was it?

Shivers ran down our spines. All sorts of thoughts crossed our minds.

Dacoits?

Wild animals?

Black Magicians?

No, that was a growl, someone was cutting something.

In the middle of a jungle? In the middle of the night?

We tried to think. We tried to see. The buzz faded away. We stood in a circle, bags on our back, clutching our weapons and lights, hoping to banish the danger.

The sound came again.

Creeeaaaak!

We looked up. We flashed our lights. We saw… an Aghori Baba!

The ‘Aghori Baba’ was cutting a branch above our heads.

Imagine its pitch black, there are five of us yelling at the top of our voices and flashing our lights but we couldn’t get his attention. But it was as if, he was blind and deaf. There was no other path. We had to go straight but we couldn’t move forward safely until he stopped. We kept yelling. We flashed the torches from his face to our faces to alert him of our presence. Luckily, we managed to get his attention before the branch fell.

We were safe!

Exciting, nerve wrecking and surprisingly not over!

If the sight of an Aghori Baba cutting a tree in the jungle, in the middle of the night wasn’t strange enough, our night got stranger. He slipped down the tree like a monkey and fell to our feet, claiming that he had spent the last eleven years waiting for us. He told us that a flood had destroyed his village and he was left alone and homeless. He wandered aimlessly for a while until a ‘Baba’ advised him to do tapasya in this jungle until he met five lost pandaavs. By guiding the lost pandaavs home, he could end his struggles.

We looked at him in bewilderment, he was crazy but since it was dark, we were exhausted and he seemed relatively harmless, we took the aid offered. We spend the night at his hut, took the offered map and surprisingly, we reached the dorm safely.

Strange, scary but memorable!

Two years later, we headed back to the same jungle. Our curiosity got the best of us and we went back to the same spot to see if the Aghori Baba was still there or if that had been a very strange dream. He wasn’t but another ‘Aghori Baba’ had taken his spot.

So, I guess his tapasaya was over. 🙂

When you travel you meet unusual people, add excitement to your life and create unforgettable memories. This journey was strange, even scary at times but I do not regret even a moment.

So, pack a bag and head out for an adventure, you will not regret it!