Ixobrychus flavicollis...

...JATINGA DESIRES

मौत के बाद याद आ रहा है कोइ,
मेरि कब्र से मित्ति उथा रहा है कोइ,
एह खुदा दो पल कि ज़िंदगि और देदे,
मेरि कब्र से उदास जा रहा है कोइ...

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Prajatantra Puja

Hindustan is a land of celebrations and festivals. her people are colorful just as the Indian masalas are, predisposed with a joyous spirit, that's as bright as the sindoor of a suhagan.

we tend to share our smaller, among the smallest, exuberances by simply celebratin' it. with a dash of vermilion on the forehead and wearin' a mangalsutra, the wife celebrates her love by lookin' at the moon on Karwa Chawth thru a sieve, and then watchin' her consort to cease the fast - receivin' the first nibble of food and pani from his own hands.

it's just not 'bout mere rituals. it's 'bout bein' complete and to sync and vibe with the cosmos, resonatin' with the same energy oozin' from the womb of the universe, as the purush and prakriti are incomplete without each other. long long ago when the male and female energy cloud, fillin' up spaces in superstrings, when they fused with each other - the universe we see today was born. this celestial phenomenon has been described many a times in Indian myths as the Ardhanarishwar ie the union of lord Shiva and mata Parvati.

a rakhi's just not a piece of string tied to kalai on Rakshabandhan, it's the celebration of bro-sis love, a promise from her sibling that he'll protect him always. so also the chandan-tika on a bhai's forehead, the behen applies it on the auspicious day of Bhaidooj with all the affection and pyar, and prays for his long life.





previous saturday we celebrated Saraswati Puja. i offered an anjali to the goddess of knowledge and prayed for my cute lil' sister nishu.

almost a fortnight ago everybody rejoiced and made merry at the Prajatantra Puja aka Republic Day on 26-Jan.

the mood was truly festive, and the Tiranga, our Tricolor was floatin' like a free bird in the breeze.

the elderly guys of the neighborin' locality organized a sit-n-draw competition for the kids in the morning.

satisfyin' my taste-bud's insatiable lust with a half-duplex biryani lunch, now that's when you get a ravished alu with an impoverished leg-piece of chicken, coz there was hardly anything left in the cookin' handi due to plethora of orders - i decided to go for an evening stroll.





sippin' nimbu chai from the Earthen bhar, i looked around lazily.

a Ford Ikon came roarin'...kaise mujhe tum mil gayee...!

the young guy, more-or-less of my age, he turned off the CD player and slammed open the door.

mirchi zaida imli kum - fatafat.

the golgappa seller started preparin' the fast food accordin' to his clients preferences.

as i was 'bout to throw the bhar, a girl draped in a strawberry-red saree stepped down from the vehicle and asked impatiently, aur kitna time lagega?

where were they goin'? i wondered. may be to the Fame Cinemas coz that's the nearest multiplex. or may be to Barista.

but definitely not to the disk coz nobody wears a saree in a disco, and performin' severely suicidal acts of such genre calls for special guts, like those of Ms Mamata Banerjee - who believes in turnin' every fifth workin' day a holiday.

normally the college goin' teens jostle at Caffeine or Cafe Coffe Day and thirty plus professionals like me prefer the executive ambience of Barista.





with every footstep the iron rails transformed into a speedin' Shatabdi.

kids ran before the frisbee, chasin' a sparrow the shuttle cock landed on the banyan branch, and the parents discussed several systematic investment plans but failed to zero in on one - while their proud moms and dads planned a second honeymoon in Sentosa with the yield accumulated from the unit-linked pension schemes.

the not-so-modest chill present in the evening breeze of departin' Magh Navratri lured me to light up and burn away eleven minutes of my life.

a quick fondlin' of the Zippo prevented me from fallin' prey to that sinfully irresistable urge, however, i'm not rulin' out the possibility to introduce a chick in place of that Penn product - when i'm gonna mention this incident in my autobiography.

even before i asked, Timex told me 'twas six, almost.

suddenly the gate of the park revolved in full circle and a shadow emerged.

oh! it's a lad - now what on Earth he'd try to sell me?

kuch nahi chahiye, i uttered hastily.

he smiled in return and replied - Vande Mataram.





the world's largest democracy shone thru his dreamy eyes.





( 7th Feb-09 )

10 Comments:

At March 2, 2011 at 4:42 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I actually so impressed by Puja.I too want to know the difference between god's Puja and Prajatantra Puja.

 
At March 18, 2011 at 10:11 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is really a different and innovative post.

 
At March 18, 2011 at 5:24 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice blog..I am looking forward to read your next great article.

 
At April 6, 2011 at 11:57 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes a brilliant article I am pleased to have found it

 
At April 21, 2011 at 10:12 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

There are so many things to remember and they do slip your mind after a while. A post like this brings them back, thanks..

 
At April 21, 2011 at 12:03 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for this different kind of blog.

 
At April 22, 2011 at 4:52 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Im impressed and waiting for your new post about Indian culture..

 
At May 6, 2011 at 5:26 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Super Duper posting, whenever I come across a blog that really has some excellent unique content I always want to say thankyou, there are so many blogs nowadays that are full of copied content.

 
At May 21, 2011 at 2:04 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very informative post on India. You included a lot of good points too

 
At June 9, 2011 at 1:18 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

India always amazed me a lot and this post brings back the memories I have of my last trip there.

 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home