Dream Vs Reality
Days are nearing
for Ganesh Chathurdhi, people are flocking in for donations (Chanda’s). I
usually reject them without any
hesitation, and kids go away with great disappointment
. However I am
grown up man with few reasons and also
memories to share.
When I was in
childhood, I always had a fairy tales for
9 days of ganesh chathurdhi . Even three week before the ganesh
chathurdhi, youngsters in our gully use to discuss about the cost, decoration
and plans for ganesh mandap. We kids somehow use to hear some broken words and
unfilled sentences through some means and get excited about festival season.
The day before the festival we use to reach the place of mandap and assist elders in bringing small goods for construction of
mandap. Sometimes they use to ask us to get some tools from our home; we use to
feel proud like full air balloon. Soon after reaching home to grab the tool, scared look given by mothers punctures
everything. Somehow we use to make our presence felt and give our small hands
like squirrel helping lord rama to construct the bridge. Till the day of
festival they never use to allow us to watch the idol, however they used to
give a chance to glance the idol which was covered with dark cloth. Then we
calculate the length and breadth in terms of
our heights and have deep discussion as if we have seen a seventh
wonder. Strangely we gave less importance to beauty of the idol rather than
height.
Though there is
only one day off on the festival, but we always feel that we had 9 days off. Because all throughout the 9 days
we always discuss about the idols even in class rooms and plan our visit to
watch best idols in the town. Soon after coming back to home in the evening, we
scribble down home work briskly and then start our journey to watch idols in
the town which begins with small get-together. At each idol we pray god closing
eyes, but I don’t remember what I used to pray but I do remember that my next
step is doing situps.
I guess those
sit ups would surely have some medical reasoning. But people believe that those
were done to get rid of sins. Later our concentration shifts to prasadam and
theertham. Soon after crossing the street the discussion begins about the taste and will continue till
we reach next idol. After coming home our stomach could not accommodate any
more food and with utmost difficulty and to avoid strange looks of my mother I
used to adjust food like a grain in gunny bag. These fascinations has made us
to think beyond and developed interest to establish our own ganesh idol in 6th
standard. My parents are conservative and did not allow me to waste time,
but my strong will made them to give a nod partially. We got 50 rs from each
family and bought idol. The resources we had would be enough to have some
decoration. Then prasadam would be prepared by our mothers after requesting
them and doing homework within time. Out of curiosity we also used to go for
chandas or donations. Few people used to give scary look as if we have done a
crime. (Although now am giving the same look for the kids who are coming to my
home). Few people out of generosity use to give 5, 10, 20 Rs. We use to get a
coconut for 5 Rs or less than that at that time. So 5 Rs also a big money for
us, like that some how we established idol near to our home. We used to wake up
and spare some time near the idol before going to school and ask my friends
gradma to look after it. By the time we come from school we use to see the
ballons and other riboons were gone and the shelter we made out of leaves and
small sticks used to be blown away by the wind. Out of great difficulty we used
to construct them again. The sad day would be when the rain comes; as we made
shelter with small sticks and leaves the shelter would easily go off. Somehow
we had managed it for 5 days and then gave to the people who are organising
mandap in big way, after 9 days they used to dip our idols in the sacred water
along with theirs idol.
Then after I was
busy with other work, could not spare time for the ganesh pooja. Days has
changed and so as my ideologies. Now I like simple and modest festivals. I feel
ridiculous to have 100 ganesh idols in one small village. Festivals are made to
bring all the people together. Why cant all the villagers has single idol and
celebrate. It is very economical in all aspects. The most important thing is
all can dance once during the last day, Just imagine when all 10,000 people of
a village starts doing theen mar together, so thrilling isn’t it.
However apart
from philosophy there lies the reality. May be in the past I might have done
some sin during pooja, which made lord ganesh angry. Because of which the
vehicle of lord ganesh (Rat), is punishing me during my animal experiments. I
am so scared to handle them some how am managing these days. But still some
times rats jerks when I am handling, it makes my cool heart fiercefull. The
blood starts gushing into my arms and palm, forcefully making my hands to hold
the animal firmly, eventually the rats starts giving weird sounds (qeeek
qeeek). Crazy thing is that rats
deliberately do weird things like turning its back away from our palm , briskly
rotating its body when we hold the tail, sometimes rats will avoid handling by
standing with two hind legs and observe or give a look that am taller than you
people. But it does not know that no matter what gimmicks it (rat) do, we will
still handle them and finish the work irrespective of weird sounds.
May lord ganesha
does not keep this in mind and advise his vehicle (rat) to support me through
out of my work. It would be very cooperative that whenever I am holding an
injection, it has to lay down and turn its dorsal side towards me. It would be
really good that when I am measuring paw volume, it has to think that am
washing the legs in some sacred holy water. It will be more exiting when rat
opens its mouth watching the colour drug as if it is ready to drink fruit
juice. It will be even more exiting when the animals behave exactly like what
the master think. May be these are paranormal activities; it would surely
happen in films like avatar but not in the real materialistic world. Thinking
of reality always makes me feel depress, especially we day dreamers freelance
in dreams.. Any way thanks to the PhD for helping me to look back in the past
and recapturing some nostalgic moments. May be if my animal works gets
completed successfully, I would surely do sit-ups for Rattus novorgicus to show my gratitude..
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