For us, it probably began with my father who brought Ganpati home as a child for the first time. Of course, the religious rites and puja was being done for generations, but the festive version was my father's doing. In typical childish stubbornness, he decided that his house should have the same decorative 'murti' as the nearby 'mandal' - why should he miss out? And since then, Ganesh Chaturthi has been a big occasion in our household, eagerly anticipated and thoroughly celebrated. It even got the competitive zeal of the mandals (the most creatively decorated mandal gets prizes) into our house - to this day, my brother and I slave over the decorations around the Ganesh murti to get more compliments that each other. Picking out the idol is accorded the utmost importance. We mull endlessly over the hand of this murti and the trunk of that, the seat of one and the eyes of the other (the stall owner knows us very well, no doubt as the Finicky Four). Then there is the puja itself - with all the kids giggling behind my father's back over the strange sounding mantras.
This year, though, things were slightly different. It was upon me (and by extension, A) to recreate that ambiance in faraway UK (where in some places it is difficult to know when Christmas comes and goes). Obstacles - no good sized idol, no puja- cassette to guide, no Aai to cook endless batches of modaks for us to devour. Don't ask me how, but we overcame all that. And talk about how God helps you - we made a small murti at home with moudable clay, and it actually turned out good!!! Not to take credit away from A, but me, the One with the Cursed Fingers, I actually made parts of the murti! What else but a miracle!! (Aai and the others can stop nodding their heads now).
So we did have a murti, as it turns out, A and I read the Sanskrit puja out of a book, did the necessary rites, made the modaks - which I can proudly say turned out well, and I gloat not - and hogged, as is custom. Aaaaah, festive food! Thus was welcomed the Mangalmurti into our house!
And now, it's already time for Him to go back to His mother (my mother used to console me saying he was going back to his mother would be back from there next year - he also missed his mother na? somehow that made him more human, and more loveable). The decorated corner is going to be so empty, all of a sudden. Evenings will seem so aimless without the long 'aarti'.
But fear not! There is another festivity around the corner! Diwali will soon be here. Too bad I can't show off my bravery with firecrackers here - health and safety, you know!
