The Elephant God we all love

    Ganesh Chaturthi has always been special to me right from childhood. As everyone knows Lokmanya Tilak   started the Ganesh Chaturthi as a means to unite people in the pre-independence period. Today the 11 day festival is celebrated with full gusto by people of all ages. Ganesha is the God who removes all obstacles hence he is known as Vignaharta. Before starting any new task his name is taken. He is the lord of all the Ganas. Hence he is known as 'Ganapati'

     I find the form of Ganesha very endearing. His large ears symbolizes that one should be a good listener. Veda Vyasa went to Lord Shiva and asked him to help him find a suitable person to write the Mahabharata; Shiva appointed Ganesha to perform this task. Ganesha however put a condition to Vyasa saying that he would do so only if Vyasa narrated the story without pause. To which Vyasa made a counter condition that Ganesha must understand each verse before he transcribed it. There is a village in Uttarakhand called Mana village which is the last Indian village before the Indo Tibetean border. I visited this place with some of my friends last year. At this place you can see the Vyasa Gufa. It is said that Vyasa narrated to Ganesha sitting at this cave.

    The large belly of Ganesha symbolizes that a perfect individual should be prepared to face the pleasant and unpleasant experiences of the world. He has two tusks with the left tusk broken. The two tusks denote the two aspects of the human personality, wisdom and emotion. The right tusk represents wisdom and the left tusk represents emotion. The broken left tusk conveys the idea that one must conquer emotions with wisdom to attain perfection. Ganapati's vahana 'mooshaka' also has lot of significance. The mouse signifies that one must control ego inorder for wisdom to shine forth. Thus one can imbibe and learn a lot just by looking at the form of Ganesha. Ganeshotsav is celebrated with lot of pomp and gaiety every year especially in Mumbai and Pune.
   
    I particularly look forward to Ganeshotsav with lot of anticipation every year. I love visiting the various Ganesh pandals across the city and get darshan of the various 'Roop' of the Lord. Lalbaugcha Raja is one of my favourites and I have been paying a visit to Raja from last 5 years. This pandal is the most visited pandal in Mumbai. This year I also had gone to see 'Andhericha Raja' A unique feature of this pandal is that the idol here is not immersed on the 11th day like other idols. The visarjan is carried out on the next sankashti that falls after Anant Chaturdashi. This year a beautiful sand sculpture of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple greets the devotees at the entrance. If you want to see large sized Ganapatis Khetwadi is the place for you.
Here in every lane there is a Ganesh Pandal. In some pandals there is some theme which they show either as sculptures or as a tableau or drama.

 I am glad to see that this year lots of Ganesh pandals and people have gone for eco-friendly Ganeshas. The idols made from plaster of paris is not only non degradable but most of them dont get immersed completely. During the visarjan the chants of 'Ganapati Bappa Morya Pudchya varshi lavkar ya' reverbate the air.
I pray to Lord Ganesha to bring peace,prosperity and lots of happiness in everyone's lives.




 

 

We Are The Champions

The World Cup is over but I am still to recover from the euphoria.....I am still over the moon and this World Cup winning moment will always be close to my heart. 25th June 1983 and 2nd April 2011 will be etched in memory of each and every cricket fan. If the first is remembered for the glorious achievement of Kapil's Devils then 2nd April will hold a special place in every Indian's heart as Dhoni's Boys brought the Cup back home.

The long 28 year wait is over and seeing the celebrations across the country you understand how much it meant to each Indian.

That cricket is religion and Sachin is God is a fact known to all...It was a complete team effort by Team India in the finals. Each and every decision that Dhoni made( except that of playing Sreesanth in finals :) ) paid rich dividends. Dhoni has the Midas touch. The way he lead the team speaks volumes of his captaincy. With him at the helm India has won the T20 World Cup; are No.1 in Test rankings and now the ODI World Cup.

The immediate thought that came to my mind after the World Cup win was 'Agar Priyanka ko 7 khoon maaf tha toh Dhoni tujhe 100 khoon maaf' hehehehe.....

I was extremely happy for Sachin. This man has given so much to Indian cricket and has almost every record that can be imagined. The only thing missing from his resume was a World Cup win.....The whole team wanted to present him with the World Cup....This shows the great camaraderie in the team...The way Sachin was carried for a lap of honour was so touching....Even the big man got emotional....To see Yuvi,Bhajji,Viru in tears after the match showed how much this World Cup meant to each one of them.

Yuvi was declared the Man of the Tournament. Here was a man who was criticised for his attitude,form,being overweight,etc. His place in the team was questioned by many experts but he has shut their mouths in the best possible way by letting his bat do the talking.....

Gary Kirsten is also a chief architect of this great win. When he had joined the Indian team as coach Indian team was in turmoil caused by a certain Greg Chappell. The way he has shaped talented individuals into a World cup winning team is simply remarkable. The best part about him he is always in the background doing his job quietly and letting the players hog the limelight. Its sad that he will no longer be coaching us.
Gary the whole country is indebted to you.

Lastly the celebrations witnessed all over the country was just unbelievable. It is a proud moment for all of us. We should take a leaf out of this WC win by Indian team and strive to be the best in every field be it sports,arts,commerce,industry,etc. Three Cheers to Dhoni and his team for presenting us with the 'Cup That Counts'. Jai Hind!!!