Ganesha
comes home.
1/9/2014
I still remember
the winter of 1996 when I was shopping medicines for my ailing mother. The
street was buzzing with Ganpati bappa mor
ya and on an impulse I said if my mother survives the dark night, if I
don’t take her to the hospital again I will celebrate this festival as long as
I can. My mother was not confident of my undertaking this massive
responsibility and advised I experiment with the existing idols at home for a
few years before making commitments to the elephant God.
For the coming
three years I spotted a specific idol allotted a specific space and worshiped
him with regular puja morning and
night for 10 days after which my driver, Pramod, a veteran with Ganesh God
would immerse the idol into the sea.
In 1999 I had
exhausted all the idols at home and immersed them into the sea and in 2000 my
mother passed away in her sleep. In 2001 I had changed job and was returning
late evening from work when I found a man holding a small stall of Ganesha
idols.
Next morning was
Ganesh Chaturti, without thinking I stopped the car and picked a small idol.
My mother had gone
but God had arrived home to bless me and has been coming ever since.
Bhawana
Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya
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