Pichhale kuchh dino se main soch raha tha ki apna blog likhana start karoon…..koi specific reason nahi tha, lekin phir bhi, ye thought mind me aa raha tha. Aaj, iski shuruaat ho gayi …matlab mere blog ka “Om Ganeshay Namah” ho
We all know, what it means to start something and how it is done in
Vaise, is blog ka Ganesh ji ke saath kafi gahra talluk hai….sabse pahle to ye, ki mere jaisa aalsi aadmi ne, jo itne samay se blog likhane ki soch raha tha, aaj achanak se kaise actually start kar diya? Credit goes to FM Radio!!! Now, how these are connected – My blog, Ganesh ji and radio FM!!! Sounds crazy na!
This year, somehow I have listened to songs on FM Radio a lot, especially due to “Dhan-te-Nan” from Kaminey. As a side effect, I have been constantly listening to what is happening in Mumbai during Ganesh-Utsav. What appeared very “odd” (to say) to me was constant referring to Him as “Ganesha” and not “Ganesh”. No matter what, weather the RJ was talking in english, hindi (most of the time!) or Marathi, but they always pronounced “Ganesha”…….and listening it so many times, even in hindi (at least in English, we have been referring “Ram” as “Rama” and so now it does not sound so “odd”), made me thinking. Over the fast few years, I have noticed a change even within the friend circle ..they now use “Rama”, “Hanumana”, “Krishnaa” (not Krishn), “Ganesha”, whereas they know it very well that this last “a” is neither required nor correct! Not at least as per Hindi literature or grammer! We have been listening to all these lords' names since childhood and these have been so ingrained in our minds that now listening to their deformed names/pronunciations feels like someone is calling name of your family members wrongly! Its like, you wont even notice change in name for not so close person, but say the name of your brother is “Ratish” and then you suddenly feel like everyone else is calling him “Ratisha”!!!
Is this my feeling only and all others are comfortable? Or is it so that there are many others who feel like me? So, what should I do? Should I just keep my uncomfortable feeling with me, or discuss with few friends? I thought, this is the best way to put my thoughts out. Not only blogs are meant for that, but also, being Ganesh Puja time, this is also the right time to do “Om Ganeshay Namah” of my blog J as well as perhaps this is the right time to discuss about Ganesh ji :-) So here it is – my first blog!
There are some other points too, which I would like my friends and readers to give a thought to……
Point no 1
Everyone in Mumbai says “Ganpati Bappa Morya”…but I sincerely don’t know what Morya means!! And I decided to find out….when I asked some others…no one was able to answer! They just thought its like a slogan! Do you know the meaning? Take a guess what it means and let me know! Though by now I have come to know what it means!
Point no 2
Aaj kal, Mumbai me kahin bhi dekho, Ganpati jaroor dikhate hain. Lekin, broadly ek type of difference notice kiya ja sakta hai. Kuchh cases me log Ganpati ko apni car me le kar ja rahe hote hain (mostly in high profile areas), following traffic rules, without any gana-bajana. Doosre type me – log rickshaw se le kar truck tak pe le kar ja rahe hote hain, poori toil (ya family and society) saath me naachate gaate dhoom machete, traffic jam lagate ja rahe hote hain :-) to me, both shows 2 sides of Mumbai! First shows the intellect and respect for others convenience, while the second shows the true enjoying spirit of comoon mumbaikar! In fact, the 2nd type also shows that constantly diminishing society values of living and enjoying life together …….that strong community bonding that is vanishing in modern life style slowly.
Point no 3
Is baar Ganapati me main eek aur cheej notice ki hai. Kuchh clubs/societies ke liye ye complete commercialization and status symbol ho gaya hai ……lakhs are spent which could have been much better utilized for the betterment of many needy ppl…..stars are paid and invited….kahin vidya balan to kahin sunil shetty aate hain….and it is rumoured that all those are paid heavily because once a star visits a mandal, then it’s a hit as it gets visibility! So mych so that some of the mandals have given exclusive rights to some particular radio channels! Think of it, you can not know more about or listen the aarti from any other channel except one! Why? Listeners of other channels are not true devotees? Some of the pandals are reportedly using more than 50 kg of Gold and more than 200 Kg of silver ornaments! And then police is forced to provide security to the mandal rather than focussing on common man who is bearing the brunt of ever increasing crime in Mumbai (recently Maharastra ranked no 1 in crime)
Point No 4
Ganesh puja is truely celebrated with so much enthusiasm in Mumbai that it is unmatchable by any standard. So much so that the all prevailing "panic-demic" swine - flu fear and precautions have also been put to back burner completely.
With all the thoughts roaming in my mind, it was bound to come out and so finally on Ganesh Puja day, my blog is out, with point of discussion being the almightily elephant god “Ganesh” ! All said and done, no other god is worshipped in Mumbai as much as Ganesh is. Today, on the roads, everywhere you would find children, girls, women, men, everyone, dancing and pouring their hearts out in passion, devotion, joy…! I found Muslims, Sikhs, Christens, Jains, Marathi, Bihari, UPites, South Indians …..everyone in the Ganesh Puja being equally active and enjoying! If you want to see Mumbai spirit, this is it – to enjoy, against all odds, with all religions. Let people like Raj Thakare and Parties like Shiv Sena learn from common public of Mumbai!! Jai Ganesh!
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