Welcoming Vignahartha- the remover of obstacles .
I came across this lovely picture of Welcoming Gauri Ganesha. Gauri is Ganesha’ s mother as per Indian mythology and it is believed that one day before Ganesha Chaturthi festival Gauri and Ganesha arrive .
We hope and pray Lord that you bless the world on your arrival and bestow your blessings on all the Earthlings . So be it.So be it. So be it.
This year when a certain virus started showing its head at the end of the first quarter of the current year 2020 , we got familiarized with a new name called
the ” Pandemic ” . We are now almost in the last lap of the third quarter of 2020 and
life has changed in some ways that we had never ever imagined before.
The festival season has started and ” Ganesha Chaturthi ” is one of the most favourite and most looked forward festival
especially for we Bombayites.
Well, this festival during the pandemic made me walk down the memory lane once again.
as good memories are what we hold onto with fondness.
When we were residing in Chedda Nagar in Chembur we would get up very early in the morning and make sure to visit the famous Tilak nagar Ganesha Pandal wherein every year a new structure depicting an important architectural wonder would be erected.
Visiting friends houses who bring in Lord Ganesha is also something I look forward to. Its also time to drape a sari , meet friends , savour the yummy Indian delicacies, visit the Ganesha temple closeby.
It is always sad to lose a loved relative from the family and especially if it happens on a festival day it’s all the more sad .
This pandemic has changed it all and the mantra to be followed is – stay home, stay safe.
The big day came and went quietly .Hoping against hope that Lord Vignahartha the remover of obstacles blesses the entire Universe and works HIS magic to bring the pandemic to an end maybe in the form of an effective vaccine.
Wishful thinking is something that we can expect from the superpower is what I firmly believe in!!
So Dearest Vignaharatha , for now all that I can pray is that we all survive this pandemic for now and welcome you next year with full zeal and enthusiasm as always.
“Ganapati Bappa Morya , pudachi varsha laukarya”.
My kolam journey during this Tamil month of Margazhyi ends today. I am thankful to the Almighty that He gave me the enthusiasm, time, energy , interest to discover this new form of art that I seem to have started liking more.
I am glad that I have graduated from a 3×3 dot grid to a larger dot grid since last year .
I seem to enjoy drawing the Sikku kolam most as the curved lines that make an intricate pattern around the dots makes it challenging to figure out where the design begins from and where it ends. Thanks to Google and YouTube to have such a vast Kolam bank which makes it easy for people like me who start learning and practicing it after crossing mid forties.
Posting my kolam on a daily basis in a way also made me stick to a deadline to honour the commitment I made to myself.
Today is Bhogi , wherein people light a bonfire and old things are discarded.
A new Hindu tamil month of ” Thai” commences tomorrow on Pongal. We offer Thanksgiving to the Sun God, the cattle , the Mother Earth for a good harvest crop.
Wishing everyone a very Happy Pongal, Happy MakarShankranthi, Happy, Bihu and a Happy Lohri too
Day 29: I am drawn more towards hanging lamps and Sikku kolams. These are a few of my favorite things and I have tried to put them in an art form today
There is so much depth in prayer. There is a prayer which is sung in”INFINITHEISM”. Its called the infini prayer
Feeling thy presence
Feeling thy grace
Feeling thy radiance
You are my source of faith and strength
You are my path and destination
And I am always connected to you
Nothing of me and everything of you
Lead me Higher…
Lead me Deeper…
Lead me Beyond…
Lead me to you.
I read somewhere these lines “Knowing about God is purely intellectual. God isn’t something to be understood. God is to be felt. God is a matter of the heart. Feelings are the doors to divine experiences.”
When prayers come from the depth of the heart , they are definitely answered
I have always associated the word journey with a “Train journey” since for me as a kid holidays meant visiting our native place and the journey to the native place down south meant travelling by train for 2 days.
Today as I am keying in , once again my mind is flooded with the beautiful memories of travelling by the great Indian Railways. I loved to watch the changing landscape as the train chugged from one state to another. The dry arid regions, the lush green forests, the changing terrain, rivers flowing with current,the dry river beds, farms with crops swaying in the breeze , the night sky with millions of twinkling lights from the houses all visible in a single journey of 2 days!!.Isn’t this someway similar to the changes that occur in this “journey of life”?
As a young girl I would love to watch from the window the view after the sun went down and the night set in . As the train would speed ahead , no change in terrain would be visible except for the tiny innumerable lights that dotted the land ( light bulbs from houses) with cool air touching my cheeks. I would wish for the view to continue without a change. But that is not possible. Similarly only the good times cannot continue in life too I guess.
I cherish my journeys that I had with my parents when I was a young school going girl as life was carefree, studies and board exams were yet to show their face. Travelling as a family was so much fun.
Not that travelling now is not fun with my family, kid . But there is a difference- I am a parent now with a kid. The role reversal is definitely very different I believe.
In this journey of life I do intend to undertake more fun filled journeys with my loved ones .I can definitely be a kid at heart if not by age to relive those moments of childhood once again!!
Advice is something like a medicine. Nobody likes it but at times it does influence a person.It also depends upon the source from where /whom the advice comes.
As a kid and during the growing up years plenty of advice are given to guide ,teach, learn the ways of life . They really help in setting up values which form the foundation of a person’s character.
An advice that I will always remember was once given by my uncle. He said that when one faces a situation in life where you have to take a decision and its a “fork” type situation. God will always choose the best path that is meant for us.
what he meant was –Maybe we decide to choose path A but if God wanted Path B for us. We will choose path A , travel it, realize its not working and we would come back to the intersection and decide to follow path B . Sometimes what we think is best for us may not be the case always, as God has his plans already chalked out for us which HE knows is best for us.
This advice I liked and often I remember my uncle for this piece of advice.
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Express Yourself!.”
Expressing oneself in today’s world is essential. People bestowed with the gift of the gab ( interesting type and not the type that irritates people ) are indeed very lucky. Although hard skills are required but it is the soft skills that makes one get noticed, takes one ahead in life.
Apart from the gift of the gab there are some other art forms that people dabble in successfully to express themselves like art, craft, sculpting, painting, music, dance, poetry, story writing etc. For me drawing comes naturally I guess, I am fond of sketches which depict three dimensional figures. Even a layman can understand such three dimensional sketches. I enjoy visualizing things in space maybe that is why spatial arrangement puzzles and questions attract me.
Writing is something which I find interesting, but my style of writing is very simple .Not everyone will find it interesting. Its again a matter of individual liking/preference.
Finally what matters is to be with people who encourage you to 
express yourself
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Our House.
The term ” Our House” brings memories of our Ancestral house in our native place and also all the houses where I have grown up since we moved to many cities during my growing up years.
We used to visit our grandparents during the summer vacations. My grandparents used to live in our Ancestral house in our native place in a village . It was a huge house . The place where the houses were located in that village was called an “Agraharam”. It had a huge portico in the front, huge two halls where everyone would spend time together, have meals, sleep . There were four smaller rooms adjoining the big halls.
At the backyard was a well, a makeshift bathroom. There was a separate room near the kitchen where firewood would be stocked for lighting the fire for the hot water . The staircase to the terrace was very narrow. On the terrace floor at a place above the hall was an opening. The idea was after the grains were kept in the sun for some time, instead of carrying the grains down, it was pushed through the hole on the ceiling of the hall ( floor of terrace) to avoid carrying the sacks down. At the backyard some vegetables were grown.
There was greenery all around. A canal used to flow close by to the house. Evening time there would be lots of mosquitoes. A plastic sheet smeared with oil would be hung ( just in case the mosquitoes sat on the sheet, they would get stuck). We used to have food on banana leaves. There was no ceiling fan, Only one table fan used to be there and we would as kids take turns to be near it . The table fan would always be placed near to Grandpa.
There was a temple close by and we would sometimes go there. Going out meant travelling either in a bullock cart or bus. Since we would be there only for a few days, we would be pampered so much by all the neighbours and by my grandparents.
Looking back staying in a village had its charm. Life there for us as kids was carefree, so different from the life in the city where we were staying with our parents. Maybe as kids it was fun time for us. And the generation of my mother would be always busy at the kitchen . Grinding the batter for some food varieties, pounding grains etc was done by the ladies manually. I realize it would have been tough for them. Today I am in that age bracket where I am supposed to be in the cooking department and I would certainly not enjoy being in a village ( if it was a time without gadgets like those days)
Now , that house has been sold. No one from the family stays in that village. My desire is that someday I would like to go and visit the place during this lifetime.
My other houses have been in cities in northern and western India. Normally we would move to the new city after the academic session came to an end , and my daddy would have already joined work and would have fixed a suitable house. He would draw the layout (plan) of the house in an Inland letter for us and post it .
All the houses were good and I have beautiful memories of them but what was best is when in college I had to make a layout of a residential/ public building in exam or had to submit an assignment the layout of the various houses, schools, market e
tc then the places that I got to see in the different cities helped me in my thinking process!
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall.”
Writing about oneself is the most difficult part I have realized during the assignments in’ Writing 101′ and ‘Blogging 101’ .
Every mind sees the same thing but perceives it differently and interprets it even more differently. I guess this is what makes every person unique , a little different from the rest .
I am supposed to answer few questions here in this daily prompt
My blog name- Pink blossom. I love the sight of the Jacaranda tree when in full bloom, laden with her pink blossoms . I find this tree very beautiful. For me she stands like a queen on the stretch of road.
My Tag line : Liking what I do is happiness. I strongly believe in ” Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness”
My Theme choice : Nature . I love being in the lap of nature.
Posts: I key in what ever comes to my mind whenever I am penning down my thoughts. I followed one rule during the ” writing 101″ and ” blogging 101″ assignments. I read others posts on a particular topic only after I am done with writing mine as I wanted my posts not to be influenced by others posts in any way.
Images: The images that I try to choose reflect my thoughts too.
My profile pic: 
Mirror images are either magnified or diminished , virtual or real, upright or inverted in nature depending on the type of mirror used and the distance of the object from the reflecting surface.
Similarly, my views change with the nature of topic, my experiences, exposure to situations in life , circumstances but my views will never be contradicting.
This is in response to Day 20 on Writing 101: THE FUTURE
The Future
The term ” Future” always connects me to a popular song by Doris Day whose lyrics I just love. The lyrics of the song :
When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, “What will I be?
Will I be pretty, will I be rich?”
Here’s what she said to me
“Que Sera, Sera, Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours to see Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be”When I grew up, and fell in love
I asked my sweetheart, “What lies ahead?
Will we have rainbows, day after day?”
Here’s what my sweetheart said“Que Sera, Sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be”Now I have children of my own
They ask their father, “What will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich?”
I tell them tenderly“Que Sera, Sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be”
Future has a certain element of mystery attached to it
. Nobody knows what lies ahead in one’s life.
There have been occasions when I have visited a place, a locality, a city, an institution – not knowing that in future these areas will become an integral part of my life in the years to follow!!
It has happened with people too in my case. One keeps coming across faces, people – strangers at first for many days eventually become very good friends whom we cherish for a lifetime!
It has happened with profession too in my case. People find themselves in an occupation that they never ever thought of .
Even a month back I had never thought I would meet bloggers or I would hop into this blog wagon. One fine day I was surfing for something and came across ” Daily post” and I got to know about this forum.
Today is the last day on “Writing 101” . I am glad I joined it and got the opportunity to read innumerable posts. Every post is interesting and so different !
Its been a nice journey , and I look forward to join more writing events in the future too as and when time permits.
The prompts have definitely encouraged me to brainstorm and write in new ways and introduced me to new tools and resources.
Pink Blossom 