Om Ganeshaya Namaha!

Happy Gauri-Ganesh to all my blog friends. The tornado never came afterall. The dark skies did scare me. It was around the time the schools were closing too. I was afraid for the kids. Luckily, the storm passed. So, Saifeena are finally tying the knot. This marriage might work. This is my gut feeling. Bachchan's still hiding their baby from public. Paparazzi is not giving up. Saw some pictures of Ash leaving for Chicago with the baby to join Abhishek where he is shooting for Dhoom 3. Now, I aslo saw some pictures on Facebook. Not sure if this is the real Bachchan grandbaby. See below and you decide. Looks a little bit like Ash.

Looking forward for some productive days ahead. Actually, I was supposed to perform the Gauri pooja today. Unfortunately, did not get around to go shopping for the 5 coconuts that are absolutely required for this pooja. Plan to do so tomorrow. Missing the yummy home made modaks folks. It's during these times that I miss India a lot. Family coming together to celebrate different festivals was a devine experience. Nothing like that happening here in the US. Today's Song of the day is about my favorite deity. Lord Ganesha. Sung by Shankara Mahadevan.

Ekadantaya Vakratundaya Gauri tanahaya yadhi mahi
Gajeshanaya Bhalchandraya shree ganeshaya dhimahi

  The simple bharthanatyam steps in the choreography adds to the divinity of the song.  

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Ganesh is the ever-blissful, elephant-headed god who is lovingly worshipped by millions of people worldwide. I grew up in a house filled with different idols of Lord Ganesha. I think he is the cutest God. "Golu Molu" baby like. That's why he is adorable. My parents believed that Lord Ganesha in the house would bring luck and keep the family blessed. People in India are conscious of this and mostly give Ganesh Idols as gifts. Since my Dad was a teacher, most of his students would gift him the Lord Ganesha idol when they passed the subject. I have seen many forms of this idol. Even then, I come across a new one every year during this time. This year I was fascinated by the picture below.



What creativity! Love the message. Eco friendly Ganesha is the big thing this year. As far as Ganesha temples are concerned, the Mumbai Siddhi Vinayak temple is the most famous one. This one is on my "to go" list.  But for me, the one in Manipal is the most auspicious one. If you remember, I had made a note of this in my post about Manipal. The Ganesh temple is built on the same pond that I once fell and almost died when I was 6 years old.  Alright folks, plan a trip to Manipal soon! You will love it. You don't know what you are missing.Wishing you all a pious Ganesh Chaturthi.  May Lord Ganesh remove all the obstacles in your way and always shower his blessings upon you and your family. Shub Raatri.