Today is a grey wet day in a normally sunny Mumbai. However, rain at this time of the year is not unusual though, since this is the festival of the elephant god , when the people of Maharashtra in particular, welcome Lord Ganesh to their homes at this time of the year. And with him he brings the last few days of rain when all the skies literally pour out in a flourish of thunder and lightening as we celebrate his coming into our homes with modaks, the sweet that he loves and prayers of gratitude and praise.
Despite the rains and the grey and the wet, the presence of Ganesh makes me feel happy and I’d like to share some photos of a Mumbai sky that was not grey just last week.
sunset from my balconyThe clouds above mePeeping out from the western skysaying goodbye till tomorrow
Do join me and other Skywatchers at Skywatch Friday from around the world today!
On the fourth day of Bhadrapad , which happens to be tomorrow ,Lord Ganesh will visit our homes. I love this pot bellied God, the younger son of Shiva and Parvati who travels the world on his little mouse. Lord Ganesh is the God of Auspicious Beginnings and all rituals begin after invoking His name.
The whole of last month craftsmen have been busy making clay idols of this God in different sizes to be worshipped in private homes and public pandals. And today Bhaji Gulley had small stalls selling special stuff for the Pooja that is performed the day before His visit – the festival of Hartalika – where women fast in the tradition of Parvati for the long life of their husbands but more importantly to ensure getting the same husband in the next birth.
I was thrilled to see the market a buzz with activity: people milling around getting ready for the festival, the produce looking specially fresh and inviting .
Aren’t these berries, dried custard apples , little clay dolls and packets of Areca nuts, turmeric and nuts used in worship fascinating and intriguing?
Content – Good content – regular updates : these are the ways to maintain a good blog. SO keeping this in mind, I try and think up content all the time. I mean, it’s easy enough to think of things while you are whirring up the eggs to make an omelet, or huffing up the slope during your morning walk, ironing out the creases in your shirt, hanging out your clothes to dry and believe it or not, even while having a conversation with a friend at the other end of the phone.
Write them down advise all those bloggers who are experts in blogging so I quickly write down these points in the lovely fat diary I got at the beginning of the year. (It helps to write down things daily I thought and grabbed the diary that came home before someone else did). If I come across a good quote somewhere, I make a note of it. If I find a good blog entry that has inspired me, I write down the topic. But more often than not, when I sit in front of the PC, I can’t seem to remember what I wrote where especially as I try balancing the diary on my lap and typing away on the key board……
Read, read and read as reading gives you ideas. Reading not only stimulates your also relaxes you so that you get more ideas when you are relaxed. So I pile my bedside table with books that have to be read….magazines that are great to browse through, newspaper cuttings that are collecting dust and am still reading for ideas and more ideas.
But strangely, when I sit in front of the PC,
all those ideas that kept clamouring in my brain,
waiting to come out and be shared with the world,
suddenly seem to have taken an about turn and
marched back into oblivion.
So where are all those ideas now? Those brilliant thoughts that were meant to dazzle?
Those life changing words that no one has heard?
Will they remain in my diary, in scribbles and squiggles
Or will they break free and see light of day?
Are you one of those bloggers whose thoughts flow effortlessly? Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? And above all, can you recall those ideas you’ve so carefully thought of and make a blog post that’s worthy of applause?
These are my #MondayMusings which I’m posting on Vidya’s blog. Do visit this to read her scary but thought provoking personal experience.
Twenty- five Seven 