GANESHA UNDER THE STAIRCASE

 

“There is stardust in your veins.

We are, literally,  ultimately, children of the stars.”

Jocelyn Bell Burnell

 

One my dear friends, who is also the mother of one of my students, has a unique hobby: She sends to all her friends the Good-morning messages, every day, with an interesting ‘Did-you-know’ kind of fact. Well, for a person like me, invariably, each one of them is - ‘No, I did not know’!

So, each morning, I have this simple opportunity to know one more fact… Yes, at times, I do get fed up and frustrated with myself – or, should I say with ‘my life’? – and ask: ‘How much more is there to know?’!

Actually, it’s the distorted amplifier of my inner voice: “Baccha, how little do you know!”

This morning, my friend sent this one:

 

“It’s a lazy Saturday morning. See if you can find the 8 words hidden in the picture… Happy hunting… Good Morning.”

There was a post-script: “The answers will be provided in the evening!”

I tried scratching my head for quite some time; then, as typical of me – I gave up. An hour ago, came this answer:

My friend provided the answer:

Left to right, from top:

Computer. Grades. Welcome. Eraser. Laptop. Teacher. Book. Work.

I responded honestly, but my tongue firmly tucked inside my cheeks:

“Ma’am, I flunked!”

She teased: “That must be a rare feeling for a Professor!” 

I was equally quick: “Not for this Professor, ma’am. As a child, I was always a dumbo in riddles, puzzles and every brain-tickling games. As a grown-up, I have become a Master in ‘the game of pretense’… The dumbo in me refuses to leave, ma’am… So much for the ‘Professor’!

Then I added this post-scrip: “‘Please don’t ask for your daughter’s fee-refund. I am broke’!”

At noon, today, I had visited my dear friend Vivek’s residence. In all probability, that seems to be the only house I may end up visiting during this Ganesh festival. Vivek’s family has been inviting some of us for years… It’s a beautiful idol of Ganesha made of porcelain… Tastefully adorned without any clutter or cluster. It’s only the adorable Ganesha… looking such an innocent baccha… And no wonder, this Ganesha doesn’t go for His visarjan to any pond, lake, river or sea… Vivek’s family, devotedly keeps this Baby-God in their safe, till the pudhchya varshi comes!

While I was at Vivek’s place, today, his elderly mother narrated to me the story of how Vivek and some of his friends – as bacchas - would do it at under the staircase area of their old one-room house. Each house had just one-room which housed at least eight to ten members… While the grown-ups in the house were, always, concerned about the question: “How would we handle it?” – the innocent kids would simply celebrate Ganesh festival under their staircase… A little idol… one of them acting as a Pundit… some wild flowers to adorn the idol… some saved biscuits or sweets for prasad… and, finally, the visarjan at the local pond, to the drum-beats of someone else’s procession!

From those innocent days to this day – when he has two college-going kids of his own – Vivek has remained steadfast in his faith… No show… Pure devotion!

 

My mind goes back to the days in my village, when I was a child. In Mangalore, GSB community (Goud Saraswat Brahmins) celebrated Ganesh festival with grandeur. Mostly, the idol was housed in GSB households and only they did the visarjan. Our neighbour, a strict Catholic landlady, had a GSB tenant. The landlady would not allow her well for the visarjan. My parents had no issues… So, Ganesha ended up retiring in our well. Every time, we drank water from this well, we kept believing, that we had taken in the blessed water!

The landlady’s loss had been our gain!

I believe, that Ganesha, always, comes where there is a childlike faith…  Under a poor-man’s staircase or an earnest Catholic’s well… The lesser we own, and the lesser we know, the dearer and nearer Ganesha would be to all of us!

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: 1. pixabay 2, 3 & 4 unknown source

Video: SonyMusicIndiaVEVO