The 'Devotee-friendly' God

“Invoke His presence and your deal is done”- He is none other than our dear Lord Ganesha whose birthday is being celebrated all over India today. He stands first in the list of favourite Gods for almost all. He is being worshipped on all occasions. He is served first before offering the other Gods. Why is that? I honestly do not know but all I infer is that He is so cool and easy unlike the Others.

To me, His eyes look so compassionate. I feel He cries with me when I am in sorrow. I assume that he carries my burden sometimes and relieves me off pressure secretly. He appears so loving and kind that I can confess freely to Him. He lays no rules to me. He is not strict with me. He pardons me easily. But at the same time, He makes sure that I do not repeat it. He loves junkies just like me. He doesn’t advice me. What a pleasure to have such a lovely companion with me all the time!

It is not only to me. Most of the people in India take Him for granted. He is the only God who poses in different styles matching the latest trend. I was not surprised to see Him posing with a cricket bat and ball, sometimes with musical instruments, sometimes posing like sumo wrestlers, sometimes munching in front of the TV, sometimes listening to music from internet. He is such a adorable character whom everybody would love to meet.

I offered Lord Ganesha some prayers today. Kids enjoyed His procession in our compound this evening. Arrays of petitions would have reached his large ears today. Wondering how He captured the hearts of infinite number of devotees effortlessly!!

Random Musings

Heart Vs. Mind

Lured was I to taste those juicy fruits in the vineyard

Touch did I with the genuine appetite to devour them

Prevent did my mind that demanded a justification for my hunger

Struggle did I to distinguish between temptation and necessities

My mind repudiated my inclination to savour the alluring fruits

Isn’t life always like this?

Heart and mind can never get united. Mind always wins.

I still didn’t taste the tormenting fruit.


Eyes Vs. Words

Your eyes have never hurt me like what your words did.

Do you wonder why I still care for you even after those harsh words?

Keep assuming until I work out an answer for it.

But the truth is that I am not able to forget those moments I had with your eyes.

Powerful were your eyes. Haven’t I spoken enough about it?

The ruthless words turned insignificant when compared to the strength of your eyes.


Thought Transference

While together, I can easily pass my heart’s messages to you through my eyes.

I am wedged with only one option now - The fastest and the most inexpensive form of communicating - ‘telepathy’

But you don’t seem to reciprocate even after the volumes of messages that I sent to you!

Any technical problem? Or were you not in a position to acknowledge?


Mr. Unique?

Did you want to establish that you are different from the others?

How could you manage to escape with that mesmerizing smile and seducing glances?

Why didn’t you try to express and win?

Could you manage to touch only the heart?


The ‘J’ Factor

Can the river rejoice merrily that the sun is shining on it?

The flowers, oceans, fields, snow and butterflies are equally happy.

Doesn’t the river have the right to grow jealous over the others?

Do you still want to know who is the Sun and who is the river?


Who are you?

You are in every question that I ask myself

You are the answer to every question I think of.

You are the reason for my grief

And you are the remedy for my sorrows

You have a role every time I dream.

Though you are an integral part of my ideal life

It is sad to learn that you cannot be a part of my absolute life.


Hiatus

Did the period of lull speak anything at all to you?

Well, it conveyed lots to me.

It asked me “when is the revival?”

The Drama

She did not know how it commenced
But as it began, it ignited a steady flame of obsession within her.

She did not know how it sustained
But as it continued, it splashed a gush of cool waves all over her.

She did not know how it got severed
But as it got disconnected, it tossed her into an ocean of misery.

She did not know how it convalesced
But as it recovered, it made her descend into a bundle of philosophies.

She has no idea as to where it stands now.
She has no clue as to how she would react to it again.
But she seems to have enjoyed that little segment of play in her life.

What am I Crying About?

This trip to India has really been memorable so far. I call it ‘memorable’ for plenty of reasons. But the primary reason is that I began to realize that I have no problems as such and if I want I can make my life happier. I am blessed that way. This time, I met many people who instilled some strong thoughts in my mind that may not fade away at all. There were some incidents that imbibed some feelings onto me. I have penned down some of the incidents that shook me.



As I was walking out of the restaurant one evening, I saw a young boy approaching me with plenty of agarbathis (incense sticks) in his hands. He looked smart, bright and energetic, tidy and much presentable. I presume he must be around 13 years of age. He marketed pretty well to sell at least one of those packets to me. I was simply stunned at his selling abilities. I felt sorry for the kind of situation he was in, where he had to sell and make money at an age when most of the other boys of the same age would be enjoying their school days with their friends. Boys of this age in the west would have initiated their dating deals with young girls. What kind of pressure is this boy in! How will I feel if my daughter is in such a position? I just couldn't imagine such a scenario. I immediately opened my purse, pulled out a note and gave it to the boy. He was very happy. He asked me which one I wanted. I did not have an answer. After a moment of silence, I told him, “Give me the one that gives the best fragrance”. He picked up one and handed it over to me and searched for change. Unwilling to get the balance, I asked him to keep the change with him. Probably that would help him take care of a meal.



In my neighbourhood, there is a family who has an 18 year old mentally challenged daughter. I get to see her almost everyday at the park when I take my daughters there. She merrily plays in the swing along with my daughters. I often fancied the happiness in her smile when she swings. She derives some unique joy perhaps, when she swings like a small child. I was troubled to learn that she is not like any of the others. She talks to herself sometimes and also laughs heartily for no reason. I was simply wondering what would be going through her mind. In one way, I feel they are free from the hardships that a common man goes through. But the other aspect is the difficulty for the people taking care of such a child. Her parents are very loving to her and they treat her like a 5 year old child. To me she looked very beautiful. One day in the park, as I saw her swinging merrily, I just thought for a moment, “How nice it would be if she had been a normal kid. She would have been one of the most beautiful girls in the college that every guy would love to date with!” As I thought about her, she beckoned to me and said, “Aunty! You look too beautiful.” I was shocked for a moment. I softly said, “Thank you. You too look very beautiful.” She smiled and walked away. What does beauty mean to her? What did she find in me? I feel I am in no way close to the beautiful features that she had. Did she find out that I was thinking about her or was it purely co-incidental that she too opened the same subject that I thought about? I don’t know.



One evening, I had been to shopping with my daughters when I met one of my old bus friends. We traveled by the same bus everyday. The last time I met her was probably 13 years back. She was the first to recognize me. There were lots of changes in our appearances. She remarked that I had accumulated enough weight. She too had put on weight, but the most significant change in her was her hair cut. She had a boy cut. She had lovely hair. I was curious to know the reason for this kind of a hair cut. She said that once when her daughter suffered from accidental burns, she was in a critical condition and was admitted in a hospital. She had, at that time prayed to God that she would sacrifice her hair if her daughter recovers. Fortunately, her daughter recovered completely from the burns. As promised, she sacrificed her hair to the Lord. Her hair had just begun to grow and that is why it looked like she had a boy cut. I am of the belief that God, the Giver, doesnt' expect or require anything from us. Sacrificing animals, hair and jewellery are part of the culture that I am in. I personally do not beleive in bribing God that way but her audacity to compromise with her looks for the sake of her daughter was amazing to me. Will I be willing to shave my head off like her at any point of time for anybody in my life? I had felt that my love towards people had been silent and deep but now I see people revealing profound love and not at all making big fuss about it. I began to wonder if there is any meaning at all for the love I claim to carry for the people around me. What will I be willing to do for them if they end up in a crisis?



I had been on a short trip to Bangalore along with my husband. As we were driving into the outskirts of the IT hub of south India, I noticed many people leading their families on one corner of the road. They had constructed a small tent to protect them from rain and heat. That is all. There were no bedrooms or drawings rooms or kitchen. In a world where technology is highly advanced and in a place that is getting highly sophisticated, these people are living in ignorance. What a contrast! They do menial jobs and earn their living. They let their children to work too. Some beg and earn money. They are not aware of the IT boom or about computers or about the latest inventions or about the corruption going around or about the sale going on or about the beautiful landscapes around their city. They are probably happy in their own world. Is ignorance bliss?

Bitz

Power – Why should I look at the sun to obtain light when I can get it right from your eyes? Heights of insomnia – Cobwebs in my eyes. Seasons – Just containing the temperature of all seasons in just 5’5’’. Storage capacity - My wishlist is very short that it requires not even 0.5 KB of your mind’s memory space. Killer – Music, dreams and imaginations can revive a person and also ruin a person. Call centre - Is there a toll free number for trouble shooting of my mind? At least one phone number in this world where one will be heard not advised or instructed. Communication – Both silence and speech couldn’t fetch me the answer. Water Therapy – When hard rocks can be softened to soft pebbles with the passage of river, is it difficult to soften your heart with my tears? Special offer - Where on earth will I get that “something more” upon no additional clause? Magic of time – Deafening uproar reduced to silence in my room and my heart.

East or West, Home is Best

As the wheels of the plane touched the ground, I felt that my home country shed tears of joy and happiness as a welcome gesture. Yes, it was raining heavily as I landed in India few days back. What a sense of relief it would be for us who have escaped from the scorching heat of Middle East just to take refuge for few days in the land of wet soil! The nostalgic smell of the wet sand, the dew drops from the green leaves, the fertile grass lands, the unruly traffic system, the sting of mosquitoes, the sound of temple bells, the traditionally dressed men and women were some of the few things that I had missed for a long time.

My last visit to India was nearly 2 years back and my daughters were hardly 4 years old then. They had very little memory about their last visit. So this visit is almost a wonder to them. They are identifying and learning everything with astonishment. It was so nice to watch my kids enjoy the rain and the wet sand after it stopped. I made the least effort to stop them from dancing with their bare feet outside the house. They were delighted over the newly obtained freedom. How bad of me for having denied them a close association with nature for a purpose of pursuing a career! Can money compensate the relief they will gain by playing outside uninterruptedly almost on all seasons of the year? Is it possible anywhere outside India to play outside the house throughout all seasons? I doubt though.

I was shocked when my daughters failed to identify a cow just because it was black in colour. It was because they had always seen cows on books and TV that were brown and white. They were very happy to see a real butterfly fluttering its colourful little wings merrily. They term mosquito, ant and related insects as “cockroach” since that is the only insect that they have seen. I was constantly worried about the mosquito bites that would attack on fresh blood and how my daughters who are finicky about every small injury would handle it. But they seem to be less bothered about such stuff than adults. I am glad that they have accepted everything about this place.

But one thing that is troubling me is that my daughters keep repeating that they miss Bahrain. Just like how I miss everything about India, they are missing something about Bahrain (though I feel that Bahrain is only a sophisticated prison for children). As children, they tend to forget things quicker. I only hope that we come back and settle down in this fertile country for good.

My Deep Dark Secrets

Impulsively Me http://impulsive-outpourings.blogspot.com had tagged me and hence am revealing few of my dark secrets.

I had failed in Maths and History when I was in class 3. I was not ashamed at all since I knew that it was because I missed classes for almost a month and a half due to typhoid.

I had flopped few elocution and dance competitions at school because of stage fear.

I was a very poor and slow eater.

I was interested in space science since childhood.

I had sacrificed my lunches that my Mother packed for school to birds and dogs that passed by.

I always wanted to learn playing guitar.

I was never interested in studies during my early childhood and had been angry over my elder sister who used to outperform everybody in her class.

I never knew how to handle kids until I had mine. In fact, I used to hate kids.

I get influenced easily but I will not easily get cheated.

I can be venomous to people whom I don’t like for reasons known only to me.

I don’t forget things easily.

Nobody can compete with me when it comes to determination. I am indeed strong willed and can overcome anything that I want.

I wish to tag Mohan Krishnamurthy http://leomohan.blogspot.com