The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Before I get ready to bid goodbye to the lord who has kept us occupied for the last 10 days, here are a couple of Ganeshas I saw yesterday – a bonus, so to speak…. These are actually the first I should have seen, but as it turned out, they were the last I managed to photograph….
The first one is the Ganesha right next to Samhith’s school in Garodia Nagar.
Can you guess what the Ganesha is decorated with? Shells!!! Samhith was delighted! He now has grand ideas about what to do with all the shells we have collected!
Last but not the least, this one is our colony Ganesha – this is the Ganesha we all make our contributions for, every year, and religiously visit as often as possible. To give them credit, they try and make something interesting every year, mainly for the kids who run off there every time we pass by the mandal, which is several times a day!
This year, the theme was a railway line, all for Chedda Nagar, and this has gone a long way in making Samhith decide that our theme for the Navaratri has to be his railway line too…… and of course, he wants all the other things there too – mountains, rivers, lakes, temples…. The whole set, in fact! Wonder what I am going to do!
Meanwhile, the roads are all lit up and bright, adding to the festive atmosphere…..Thank God, we don’t have those loudspeakers!!
Well, that seems to be all for now, unless I manage to see some interesting idols on their way to immersion. Doesn’t look likely, but then, you never know……
The first one is the Ganesha right next to Samhith’s school in Garodia Nagar.
Can you guess what the Ganesha is decorated with? Shells!!! Samhith was delighted! He now has grand ideas about what to do with all the shells we have collected!
Last but not the least, this one is our colony Ganesha – this is the Ganesha we all make our contributions for, every year, and religiously visit as often as possible. To give them credit, they try and make something interesting every year, mainly for the kids who run off there every time we pass by the mandal, which is several times a day!
This year, the theme was a railway line, all for Chedda Nagar, and this has gone a long way in making Samhith decide that our theme for the Navaratri has to be his railway line too…… and of course, he wants all the other things there too – mountains, rivers, lakes, temples…. The whole set, in fact! Wonder what I am going to do!
Meanwhile, the roads are all lit up and bright, adding to the festive atmosphere…..Thank God, we don’t have those loudspeakers!!
Well, that seems to be all for now, unless I manage to see some interesting idols on their way to immersion. Doesn’t look likely, but then, you never know……
Your posts are treat to eyes!
ReplyDeleteI am gonna call them eye candy :)
hehe
Samhith inspires me very much, I was like him during my days and its great to see his imagination unfolding in a unique way , waiting for your navratri specials :) all ready ?
I put the shells I collect in the flower pots! The shell Ganesha is spectacular!
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