with Sri Ganesh

O Sri Ganesh, Help clarify

These knots and obscurities When delight and awareness Are blinded…

Aum.

… In the evening, in Bitti’s presence, I give Sri Ganesh his ritual seven baths: milk, curd, ghee, honey, shikkai, rosewater and, later, fragrant oil, pouring water between each and singing mantras… This year, it is Parthy who helps me hauling the water in, while Anand and Manikandan help with other preparations. At dusk, we ride on two bikes to the crowded Pondy market to collect baskets of kusha grass and tulasi leaves and corn cobs and special fruits; we then arrange it all, till late…

- 03-09-08:

Chaturthy Day.

… I dressed Sri Ganesh in golden orange silk patterned with embroidered red flowers and green leaves and placed Your crown on his head and wrapped it in a single garland that fell over his left shoulder along his scarf and, later, added two bright red double hibiscuses on either side of the crown; Anand and I placed 12 oil lamps around him, among the grass and corn and flowers… … Suresh De and his wife came in time and sang through the morning… … The weather was threatening rain, but it only drizzled now and then; it may explain, though, why some people who usually come on that day didn’t, this year; and those who did come arrived rather late… Kamala, Uma and Bitti sang the Aarti and presented it to the people afterwards, and Srinivasmurthy’s wife, Chitra, volunteered to give the Tilakam to each one, while Manikandan distributed the laddus; all the little kids came and sat very quietly, towards the end… … I am concerned of course that it is perhaps due to my presence that people generally keep away from it all; or else, there may be a general loss of meaning, and the present threat on the very existence of this shrine is part of that loss…?

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