On one of the most beautiful treelined roads of Mumbai, this magnificent tree seems to cast a protective umbrella over the stalls that have proliferated under its shade.
I’m participating in Parul’s #ThursdayTreeLove . an initiative where every Thursday, tree lovers are invited to share their pictures of trees.
I’m taking my Alexa Rank to the next level with Blogchatter and #MyFriendAlexa.
Today it is 10 days since we welcomed the elephant headed God Lord Ganesh into our homes. The tradition of a community Ganesh celebration began 125 years ago when Bal Gangadhar Tilak began this practice to enable people to get together and spread the message of freedom from colonial rule.
Today Keshavji Naik Chawl where the Community Ganpati was first celebrated still keeps a low key celebration . This year though, the crowd went crazy with the visit of Sachin Tendulkar the Master Blaster who remains a Mumbaikar despite his International celebrity.
My own Ganpati celebration is a quiet, family affair where we bring out our idol from the cupboard and install him in pride of place. We worship him for a day and a half with aarti sung in faith and fervour and modak eaten with even greater passion. Then we immerse him in a bucket of water to diffuse the energy that is awakened in the idol by the worship and then keep him away till the next year.
Even though we know He is coming back next year, there is a tinge of sadness in the air as Lord Ganesh goes back to his Kingdom.
Today the bigger idols are going to be immersed amidst song, dance and a lot of noise. Soon after lunch the smaller idols that are largely family owned will make their way to the sea and by tea time the bigger ones start their parade down the streets of Mumbai.
The largest one known as Lalbaug cha Raja steps into the water only in the early hours of tomorrow morning ! Millions of people visit this Ganpati, often spending hours in the queue with some devotees coming from out of town for His blessings.
This year despite the heavy downpour ( which meant that 2 days were a washout) there were over 5,14,00,000 devotees who have visited him.
So today to wish Him goodbye and to make the parting more sweet, I ordered myself a special icecream made only for these 10 days from Havmor , the icecream maker from Ahmedabad.
This divine concoction is truly worth waiting for the whole year. It is actually a coconut icecream with saffron and pistachio slivers encased in a white chocolate cover and served on a bed of whipped fresh cream with more pistachio and coconut shavings.
Now isn’t that a sweet way to wish a beloved God goodbye?
‘I’m taking my Alexa Rank to the next level with #MyFriend Alexa and Blogchatter’
“Leave something in your plate ” we were advised while growing up .”For Miss Manners”.
Similarly we were advised to give up a chair for an older person. We were encouraged to help someone carry a heavy load and wait your turn patiently in a queue.
We girls had it easy with Miss Manners. The Rules may have been restrictive :
But it was harder for the boys-
We were told that we should never ask a lady her age and a person his wage .
Miss Manners considered it rude to speak out of turn and ask personal questions about one’s weight , age and salary.
According to Miss Manners a guest had an obligation too! He should be polite and talk to all present. He shouldn’t criticise any food on the table and worse still ask for something that is not served.
Equally as a gentleman, you were expected to make sure that no lady at the ball remained a wall flower just as it was obligatory for a lady not to refuse a dance.
Miss Manners expected ladies to talk in whispers, sit with her legs crossed at the ankles and not use vulgar language or whistle.
And Miss Manners existed in the Indian context too. It was considered rude to start eating until everyone at the table was served.
Wasting food was a crime.
One had to take off one’s footwear while entering a home and the first thing we had to do was wash one’s hands and feet.
All these dos and don’ts of acceptable behaviour were considered signs of a well brought up person. As children we often found them anachronistic but as I grow older, I begin to appreciate the need for etiquette to guide social behaviour.
When I see the
it makes me wonder where Miss Manners has gone.
Do you wonder too?
These are the thoughts I’m sharing with Corinne of Everydaygyaan at #MondayMusings.
‘I am taking my Alexa rank to the next level with Blogchatter and #MyFriendAlexa’
Today my Alexa Rank is
1,845,201
120,337
