Saturday Aug 22nd
Ganapati pooja is a whole different festival for Maharastraians. Actually every state in India has its own special celebration. Right away Durga Pooja in Bengal and Gujrat comes to mind.
During Covid even Ganapati Bappa had to follow social distancing. So when the invite came in the form of a sign up sheet, it was a sign - the world is changing and the beautiful weather yesterday showed Bappa was OK with a modified version of the celebration.
A dear friend who hosts Ganesh, had to cut short her guest list and invited only abfew of us. I didn’t want to take up a slot so someone who needed darshan (viewing) and Aarti ( prayers) more than me could join but I knew I didn’t want to miss the chance to see her and a few more friends. I was happy that families are being creative in this difficult time. The invite was very clear, to respect the time, call before coming to make sure no-one was there, to put the mask on and use the sanitizer. The baby of the house was the greeter and was ready with a mask (in case you forgot one)and sanitizer. When I reached there the guest from the previous slot had left and the next one were on the way. So I could get a quick look and pray for the well being of everyone.
A big backyard helps, so a few of us could sit outside and enjoy while the host was running around making sure everything was going smoothly . The food was in containers to take home so we had fun time chatting instead of eating, short but perfect, it was a much needed break for all of us.
One thing I learnt - even in the darkest of time we need to find something to keep us going and hold on to that. The saree group was filled with happy pictures yesterday evening. I am so glad we all made an effort to get something out of our closet. The 6 yrds really are magical. We all loved being together, even 6 ft apart. Funny no one complained about Covid but talked about sarees, memories and off course pictures .
A beautiful Geecha, a friend bought this when I was buying mine but when the saree came she wasn’t thrilled with the feel of the saree. Lucky for me - she very generously gave it to me. The saree didn’t speak to her but was singing for me. I loved everything about it - the colors, the combination, the feel and how comfortable I was in it.
The Saree has a story of tradition, faith, creativity and finding a way to accommodate the challenges.
The Royal Bappa - he had time to talk to us one on one
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