Ganesh Chaturthi

Today, we welcome in our midst Lord Ganapati – the god of good beginnings, the destroyer of obstacles, the harbinger of every success... For the next eleven days or so, the elephant-headed deity will dominate our consciousness, one way or the other. Let us all bow our heads in prayer and seek his blessings for everybody -- our family, friends and loved ones.
Harish Wadhwa is celebrating with a puja at his house and came to the Garden to invite (left) everybody. Santosh Tyagi too has installed a small idol at her son’s workplace. Others are also celebrating in their homes, which, in a way, explained the low turnout for the exercises. After Eid yesterday, this is proving to be a ‘double delight’ for students and office-goers who are having holidays extending into the week-end.
The morning however, belonged to cricket as Bapu Rane came in to announce that India had lost to England in the Twenty-20 Internationals at Manchester last night. He was probably the only one among us to have stayed awake in front of the TV till 1:30 a.m., only to see how successfully “Indians had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory”. Utterly disgusted, Rane has vowed not to watch the remaining matches.
Kishor Babani too came with a spot of disappointing news. He had gone to watch the latest Salman Khan-starrer, Bodyguard yesterday (first-day second-show) and came out thoroughly chastened. He says it was the “worst movie” he remembers seeing. Disheartened but wiser now, he warned everybody from going anywhere close to Bodyguard – even if tickets were offered for free.
Renu Babani:
Eid and Ganapati are being celebrated one day after the other. How wonderful to see
everyone in such good spirits. The atmosphere at the Garden was cheerful and light-hearted while the exercises were conducted. We may have been few in number but that didn't stop us from continuing with our regular chatter and small banter. The women, as usual, made their voices heard. The holiday mood is definitely present.
Mr Arora, I am sure you must be enjoying your time with the family and making the most of it. I guess you are being updated via this blog.
Srichand Arora (from Singapore):
Renu-ji, I am delighted to see your note and for remembering us both. Yes, we reached here on Tuesday night and met my children and grand-children. Went to shop for Ganapati Puja and decoration material. In the night, our daughter-in-law's many friends came over and with their help, we did the decoration and sthapna of Lord Ganesh. Were busy till 2 a.m. and next morning, by 6 a.m., we were ready to offer prayers. Thereafter, got busy with my children and grand-children.
On Saturday, we will be joined by 100-125 people for a grand puja, followed by dinner. We are all with the Lord till Sunday morning and then, with slogans like "Ganapati Bappa Moriya, Purcha Warshi Lokariya" and "Ganapati Chale Gaonwa Laa Chain Pade Na Amaala" we will go to the beach for the immersion. Shall try to send some photos in a couple of days. Bye, till then.
Harish Wadhwa:
Each one of you is welcome at our home for Ganapati. We are grateful to the Almighty for coming home to bless us all with good health and prosperity.
Dilip Babani:
Ganapati Bappa Morya! Ganapati is the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Those who worship Ganapati will get the blessings of all the gods. After all, God is one, but the avatars are different. Even we are of God. But we have to depend on God for maya -- the money to live lavishly. In this suffering world, we need plenty of money. That is why we pray to God. But some spiritual people don't ask money from God for themselves. They ask for blessings so that they are able to carry forth the message of God. God bless everybody!