Bringing Home Ganesha

One more Ganesh Chathurthi has come and gone. My earliest recollections of Ganesh puja was when I was about 8-10 years. Awoken by 5:30 a.m we used to accompany dad to mwm market to bring home our very own Ganesha idol. It used to be a ritual by itself with me & my sister enjoying every minute of it.

Since Malleswaram market used to be a stone's throw away my Appa used to make us take a brisk walk and we used to prance behind him in our pattu pavadai's holding the brass thattu (plate) in which  will bring home our coveted idol. I recollect vividly how the colorful marketplace with glittering idols, the paper crowns swishing in the cool morning breeze and the smell of fresh roses & jasmine in the air would usher in the festive mood.

My sister & I would always have this major grouse as Appa used to always insist on purchasing a clay idol of Ganesha against the colourful Plaster of Paris (PoP) ones in different sizes and poses. We used to secretly think Appa was stingy and used to try a number of tricks to veer him towards the stalls stacked with the painted idols only to be nonchallantly sidelined by him. Once with all earnestness that a 11 year old could muster, I asked him "Appa, can't we afford a color Ganesha for once?" 

My dad laughed out aloud and said that it was our tradition to buy only clay Ganesh as the coloured models are burnt in a kiln before getting painted and that is unacceptable as a murti while the clay models are deemed to resonate the divine. Possibly it was his simplified explaination of eco-friendliness to us nagging children. Of course, we didn't buy his theory and still longed for the colored ones. The only consolation was that we got to chose the paper crowns and we usually made the seller mad by the time we chose one. Ah, those were the days!

Those were the days when we used to wait impatiently for appa to complete his puja. The aarti used to signal the end of the puja and we used to be in a hurry to place flowers at the Lord's feet and rush to tuck in the goodies on the dining table. Mom in her kancheevaram used to sprightly go about serving us large helpings of payasam & modakams and we used to fight to see who had the maximum share.

This year I drove my kiddo to the market and I was delighted to see the same sparkle in his eyes seeing the buzzing market. He looked with awe at the colorful idols and clapped his little hands on seeing the different hues of strung flowers adorning the stalls.

We bought the traditional clay Ganesha while his little fingers tried to reach out at a painted idol kept nearby. 

What's in an ID?

We as a country don't think too much of identity proofs and information security, as is known for a fact, but I did not think these things were treated with so much alacrity out here. Someone I know who is quite a well-educated professional discarded her passport just because she never used it and it had expired!

Another lady who is a teacher in a reputed school in Bangalore tore away her SSLC marks sheet as it had gotten worn out, and yet another acquaintance claims to have two Electoral cards - one was issued in his popular nickname by how he was addressed by his friends, and then he got another issued in his official legal name. These are real people who are well-educated and are holding respected positions in society. Wonder how much worse things could get if we go further into towns and villages.

There are so many who hardly feel the need to apply & get a PAN card or even understand the importance of these legal identity proofs. And to prove my point, this was taken from one of the suburbs in Bangalore

Looks like Nandan Nilekani's Unique ID project is getting to be a herculean task for a country of our proportions!   

Feeding Tales: A Harried Mother's Rant

Every time someone talks about babies and the tough parenting involved, they are quick to talk about changing umpteen nappies and sleepless nights. But what is actually more excruciatingly tough and which nobody seems to talk about is feeding them.

Almost right from the time they are born, be it breastfeeding or formula, and then progressing to the next stage of baby food and then slowly graduating them to adult food is no small matter at all. Believe me. Each stage comes with its own set of problems that one would hardly have ever foreseen.

You thought babies would cry when they are hungry? Yes, they will, apart from wailing for a host of other things. You'll be forgiven if you thought they would open their cute little mouths and ask to be fed? A big no!

Babies love to test your patience. Stock it well. As they grow, their feeding habits get to be even more adventurous.

Most parenting books say - strap them on to their high chairs and give them finger food to play around and slowly spoonfeed them. This is what happens in an ideal situation, but seldom in reality. Most of the time, toddlers want to run around, or try to get out of the chair or throw food around, and firmly refuse to open their mouth. Then you've got to have different tricks up your sleeve, like making funny faces or showing colorful toys. Brace yourself for another bitter truth - children's attention span is as much as probably the gap between teeth, and they don't like to play with the same toys. At least not my son. This ritual happens three to four times in a day.

Now, if you thought this was it, then the bigger ordeal is planning their daily diet. He would love bread and cheese today and throw up the same thing tomorrow. One day he likes mixed vegetable puree and the same thing with a little extra carrot bits will make him shun it. If they don't want it, they will gag even on semi-solids!

Despite facing all these odds in your stride, just when you think that a routine is getting set, lo! there comes a viral or cold/cough and throws everything to the wind. They sleep for about four hours late in the evening and wake up fresh for dinner time, just when you want to rest those tired limbs. When your precious is in a mood to play with mega blocks & choo-choo train at 10:00 p.m its time to bid adieu to sleep. Yawn!

IMHO, mothers need to be tax-exempt all their lives.