The 4th Saraswati Puja (3rd - 4th Feb 2006) - a
huge success!
(pics will follow as soon as we get them)
Indeed! About 59 families participated in the 4th community puja orgnized
by Parivesh Suraksha Committee. The honorable local Member of Legislative
Assembly, and both the honorable Councillors were our guests at the community
lunch. Councillor from ward no. 93 was out of the city on the 3rd, so
he came on the 4th. There was also a representative from the local Police
station. All this, despite the fact that 3rd was an auspicious day for
Hindu marriages, and a large number of families couldnt make it on that
account.
I wouldn't lapse into a rolling account of whom we must thank for this
success, since there had been simply too many contributors helping us
in many different ways. But thank we must the residents of Ushakiran,
the apartment building where this puja has been held since the beginning.
On the morning of the 3rd, we had a crucial deadline of 9.23 am in which
to begin the puja, otherwise, according to the Hindu time-table, the most
auspicious period will pass. However our anxieties were relieved when
the priest arrived just in time, at 9.16 am. Apparently, he was coming
from another puja and hence the late arrival.
The anjali ceremony, in which worshippers periodically put flowers at
the idol's feet to the chant of mantras, was so well attended that we
ran out of flowers. An alternative arrangement was quickly made. The day
passed uneventfully, with residents streaming in, staying for awhile,
exchanging greetings, offering their prayers, having prasad (fruits and
sweets offered to the Devi, and hence believed to have been blessed though
her benevolence). It was a lovely and happy gathering, with everyone showing
off their best dresses! This is a far, far cry from the days of dark isolation,
when a beseiged community of people did not know each other.
In the evening, we had an impromptu session of performances - recitations,
songs, dances. The stress was on participation, it didn't matter if the
participant was out of practice or wasn't a universally acclaimed singer
or dancer. In our community of people, we are all equals as regards our
common goals and aspirations. Anybody and everybody contributing to the
cause in whatever little way he or she can is welcome.
We immersed the idol on the evening of the 4th in a nearby pond. Even
though this was not an ideal situation, and we would support any move
to ban such immersions in ponds, we were careful to throw only the biodegradable
objects, like mud idol, and flowers into the pond. We even asked another
group of people who had come to immerse their own idol not to throw plastics
into the pond. Lets face it, we are not comfortable about this, but under
the given circumstances, and since immersion is part of the puja ritual
and puja's are a very effective way of engaging a disparate community
for a long period, we had to take into account the pros and cons of the
situation. In the future, hopefully, the idol makers will device a way
to make totally environment friendly idols which dissolve completely on
immersion and leave no harmful residue.
-end-
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