Sunday, August 31, 2014

Day 44: Ganapati Bappa Moraya!

I miss India.
I miss the colors and the food and the pace and the people.
Most of all, I miss the festivals.

It was Ganesh Chaturthi yesterday.
I woke up to find my social network feeds full of pictures of everybody dressed to the nines, preparing for the festival, lighting up their homes, decorating their homes in anticipation of the Lord's arrival.
And then there were the pictures of Ganesha himself, in all his glory, amassing such love and such respect from everybody, being cherished and adored.

I'm not particularly religious for me to miss the festival so much.
What I miss is the color, is the air of festivity, the love, the celebration in the air, the insane roadblocks, the crazy excitement, the palpable energy, the sense of community.
What I miss is the food, the delectable modaks prepared by my aunt, the pooris made by everybody in the household sitting together, the banana leaves used instead of the plates, the ice-golas and pav bhaji on Juhu beach.
What I miss are the people, the entire family coming and having lunch together, the aartis being sung with gusto and the little kids chiming in, the cousins pulling each other's legs and the annual visits to everyone we know in Mumbai.

Lord Ganesha does indeed get people together!






No comments:

Post a Comment