गणपति बाप्पा............चला नाचुया.........

Come August and the great Hindu diaspora gets into a celebration mood. It is said (atleast in my family) that Holi marks the end of the festive season whereas Raksha-bandhan and Janmashtami mark the beginning. So after a dry spell of nearly five months, the Indian diaspora finally has a chance in August/September to deck-up and demonstrate (read: exaggerate) their love for festivals.

Ganeshotsav - celebration of the birth of the elephant headed son of the Hindu deities Shiv andParvati - is one of the most prominent festivals in the western parts of India. It is said that one of India's more famous freedom-fighters, Lokmanya Tilak, popularised the festival as a grand public event (prior to his efforts, the celebrations were private and within the family). The idea was to facilitate community participation and provide a common meeting ground for people of all castes and sects in a time when social gatherings were prohibited by the British rule (somwhere in 1893). The celebrations included learned discourses, dance dramas, poetry recital, musical concerts, debates, etc. so as to spread the messgae of unity and evoke nationalist feelings.

Lokmanya Tilak was a great visionary. But even this great visionary would not have envisioned the future of the practice started with a noble thought. While the festival, even after more than 100 years, is celebrated as (or maybe more) grandly as (than) it was celebrated then, the essence of the celebrations has undergone a lot of change. Instead of promoting unity and oneness, patrons are often seen drunk out of senses, eve-teasing, abusing and fighting. Bhajans and devotional songs have been replaced by the whacky filmy numbers. The traditional dhol and lezim have been replaced by the mordern DJs, flash lights and cheap dances. Not that I am not a fan of the new age hindi music and dance, but its just that your love for those songs and dances can take a back seat sometimes...specially when the ocassion is an auspicious one.



Maybe someone fore-saw this day and therefore the ritual includes submerging the Lord's statue in the waters. Because the way things are today, I am sure that the Lord himself would be wanting to drown himself in water out of shame looking at his 'modern' devotees. Going by he way we are influenced by movies and music, it is quite possible that one day we see the deity's statue in the following avataar:

Videos of the dances i spoke about

Yaari Dosti aur phir Zindagi.....

Humans are one of most social animals on this planet. Whatever we do, wherever we go, we seek company. The innate desire to have someone witness each moment of our life - be it happiness, sorrow, triumph or failure - leads us to coexistence. Right from preschool to the hospital bed, we never fail to identify with like-minds and create that 'special' bond. Sadly, not all that is 'special' lasts long.

School friends...by the time you graduate, half of them are lost. Some because you cant connect to them, and some coz they are growing their mustache in some other nation. People you meet while you are finishing college (graduation/post-graduation), hmm , well you hang on to them for a while. But then, theres work that keeps you occupied and ofcourse there soon is a family to build and look after. So best friends soon become people whom you party with on birthdays and anniversaries, or have a drink with each time you have fought with your spouse. With time, most of them are also lost in transit, only a few remain (with whose spouse your spouse can manage to have a conversation).

And ofcourse, there are some we find at work. But then, either you or they change their jobs..and shoowsh..the names are tucked away slowly into memory. Really sad, we spend so much time building relationships that we would care so little about in the future. Wouldnt it be better to have a few and hold on to them for a lifetime....or is it that you play safe by having many so that even if you lose some on the way, you dont find yourself walking alone??

Dunno whats the public opinion on this, but I surely would love to have a few good and long lasting relationships (friends i mean). And I wouldnt say I have been hundred percent successful with that formula of mine; there are a few that I wish would have stayed till date.....for them...this is something I found on the web..

WE ONCE WERE ONE by Manda

The day that we first met,
in my mind I still see,
you sitting in the lunch room, looking for some company.
I alone myself, sat down with you that day,
neither of us knowing what the hell to say.
But we got through the awkward times, and quickly came to be,
the best of friends to eachother, we could ever be.
The closer we grew, the more we left, the other world behind,
just me and you we jumped into a new place totally blind.
We prayed together our friendship forever, and always would stay the same,
but time has passed, only memories last, and little friendship remains.
WE ONCE WERE ONE! I screamed at you, I want my best friend back!
But we both realized at once it was that bond we lacked.
You think it doesn't hurt me, to see us back to two, looking to my left and right to see there is no you.
But we both are moving on now, lets do it gracefully, I hope our friendship still lives on in you memory.

Stairway to heaven..a photographic narrative..

Times have changed (and they have been changing ever since). Economies are opening up and globalisation has become the latest economic buzz-word. Level of education has gone up and so has earning power. The consequences: longer working hours, stressful lifestyles and therefore an increased need to 'unwind' frequently. Since I belong to this fast moving globalised economy, I cannot really stay away from the need to unwind - and so I have taken up to traveling.

Keeping in mind the shortage of time and money (there are other ways of unwinding which also need attention and money), a lot of my unwinding excursions have been to a place called Sanjay Gandhi National Park, also known as Borivali National Park (BNP). While from the outside the place might look like just another picnic spot, the deeper you venture into this stretch of green land extending from Borivali to Thane, the more you'll find yourself falling in love with the place.

About a three-four kilometer drive into the park would bring you to the staircase (pictured above) leading to Canheri caves. About a 100 odd ancient caves greet you at the entrance of this natural abode. Beautiful carvings, lush green valley, monkeys with red face (and bottom) and a huge waterfall add to the beauty of the place. And as you move past these semi-natural::semi-man made structures, what you experience is an absolute treat for any nature lover. Colorful wild flowers, thick rain-forests, a huge lake, variety of bees, spiders & crabs, huge rocks and the dwarfed city at the horizon add to the beauty of the place. Further eep

into the jungle are hidden huge waterfalls, not so difficult to trace if you have sharp ears and strong feet. Other attracions of the place include a Lion and Tiger safari ride and a plethora of cliffs for rock climbing and rappelling.

All in all it’s a wonderful getaway for the adventurous as well as the nature enthusiasts. Truly a small little heaven within the claustrophobic city of Bombay.








P.S. For more photos on the place check out my picasa albums placed on the right-hand panel.