I touched the Feet of Ganesha! Read on....
Friends,
In Kaliyug ‘miracle’ is the most awaited word and I have been blessed once again by the Lord who has been kind to shower a miracle on me.
I wanted to meet Lord Ganesha at Lalbaugh, as usual work schedule was not letting me take a days off, I am aware that I need to wait in serpentine queues to have a darshan of the Lord and my turn would come after 18 to 20 hours. It clearly states, I need a day’s off and I am dead sure, it is next to impossible.
The dailies had his pictures flashed on the front page with celebrity guests seeking his blessings. “Ganesha, I am not a celebrity, does that mean, I will not see you in 2009”. What can I do to reach Lalbaugh and seek his blessings within a short period of time?
I recollected my friend ‘X’ who is a big man in the society and can help me seek his blessings. I also had him give me a surprise visit after Ganesh Chaturthi. When I was making a glass of juice for my friend, I questioned myself, “Is this a secret message from Ganesha? Is he asking me to put my wish of meeting Ganesha at Lalbaugh to ‘X’ my friend? I hate to use any influence for any purpose in my life. Good friends and mighty friends are like ‘ace’ cards, should be used carefully and only when it is very essential. I let this opportunity slip out of my hand. Ganesha looked at me and whispered, “I can only show you the well, I do not like to draw water from it for you to drink. You can do that for yourself, if you fail to do, I am not to be blamed”. Ganesha, what to do, Ganesha, I hate to ask for favours, you are aware of it.
The next day another good friend called me up, “How was Ganesh Puja?” They are all aware of how very close I am to Ganesha. “Great, I told him. I visited so many pandals this year too. Mumbai looks so beautiful during festivals”.
“Yeah, I have darshan of Lalbaughcha Raja the very day he is seated on the throne, we have special passes and get to see him from very close sector”.
My eyes went wide open with joy, should I ask him to take me with him when he visits the place. Should I ask for a favour? I have been very lucky during all my visits to Lalbaugh. I never had to wait in any long queues and always had darshan of the Lord in flat 15 to 30 mins. Well, nobody believes me when I tell them. Whose name did you take, whose influence letter was with you, was the probe? I must say, God has been kind.
It was on one of the evenings of last week, I was busy with my usual chores and we had a meeting of our society to be held at 8 p.m. My neighbor who is a very influential person in the society, walked in telling me, that the meeting may be cancelled as a few members are not able to make it. I gave a sigh of relief, it is easy for men to hold meetings as they have their woman busy doing the chores for them, when it comes to me, I have to balance everything, social commitments, household chores, office, shopping and giving time to my virtual friends too! As we sat chatting, he invited me to his place for dinner, which I am sure; his wife did not approve much. He kept on insisting that I join them for dinner and I told him, only if they let me carry all that I have cooked for my dinner. After giving his nod to my proposal, as he was about to leave my home, his mobile rang. After speaking for 3 minutes, he came running to my kitchen saying, “Mals, be quick, we need to go to Lalbaugh”.
His wife did not like this too!. I jumped a feet high from the floor, “Bhai, what are you saying, are you sure, we are going to Lalbaugh today?”
“Yes, my friend has asked me to quickly come down to seek darshan”. I did not argue with him, knowing how mighty he is, I knew his friend must have arranged for practical ways to seek the darshan of Lord Ganesha.
We hurried inside the car after a hearty dinner, kids were quiet excited. We had to face a bit of bumper to bumper traffic, his friend directed him to park the car in a particular lane. From there we had to walk a bit towards the pandal. The area is huge. My neighbor was in constant touch with his friend taking directions of where to meet him. He was finally located, a tall good looking man with ‘tilak’ on his forehead came forward saying, “Ganpathi Bappa” we said, “Morya”. He had some 5 men with him. From his looks and gait, I could make out he has ‘power’ in him.
I was constantly praying to Ganesha, “Let me have a good darshan Ganesha, like always, please be with me Ganesha”. They made us stand near a fire engine. We had to wait there for around 20 mins. As the door of the engine opened we had to throw ourselves inside the engine. There were few other devotees who had come with mighty names to back them, while few had ‘quietly’ joined the crowd! As the door opened, the men pushed their way towards it, we could not push them out at all, we tried out best, my neighbor managed to hop inside the engine and he quickly turned and said, “Give your hand”. One by one he pulled us inside, it was no joke, with constant hush and push of the men around, it was difficult to maintain our balance, the step of the engine was around 3 feet above the ground and to raise our leg to that height with crowd pushing from behind was absolutely a mammoth task. I was petrified for the kids, they were yelling with fear. I was constantly encouraging them to hold themselves and not to fall. The five men of the “mighty” man, started pushing us inside so that we get the grip of the entrance door of the fire engine. Thank Ganesha for letting us all safely inside the engine. There was a man standing inside, “Common do not wait in here, jump out from the other side” I looked down, we had to jump down 3 feet now! I glided down quietly, did not take the risk of jumping and twisting my ankle. Kids too followed the act, my neighbor and his better half did the same.
As we all landed on the ground safely after that jump, we saw a big muddy puddle! Gosh, how are we going to cross this! Luckily there was a small stone on the other side and I quickly noticed it. I put one foot on it and said “Jai Ganesha” and landed safely on the other side of the puddle. Men who did not notice the puddle splashed it all over and the sight was quiet disgusting!
My heart was filled with joy, for every hurdle we crossed, the darshan was getting closer. I could see tall white pandals, with Ganesha songs playing in the background. We were judging where is the Raja, the famous ‘mannat’ Ganpathi of Mumbai. As we started throwing quick steps, we reached another small gate, where one policeman was standing with his walkie talkie. He stopped me and rolling his eyes with a stern voice said, “Minimum three to four hours, madam, after going inside, do not tell, I am feeling, giddy, uneasy, not prepared for the wait, decide now and walk in, or just return”. It was at this time the fact had dawned on us. The darshan is not going to be easy, this time. My neighbor was having a half baked look as his kids were small and may be they may throw tantrums and above all, being affluent, they do not have the habit of waiting in queues ever! It was no big deal for me; I have waited many times at Siddi Vinayak for 6 hours at a stretch chanting “Jai Ganesha”. I got myself mentally prepared, I told him, I will not complain and walked in. My neighbors followed suit.
My neighbor vouched, “he is just frightening us, it should not take more than an hour, Raja is very close”. With my experience, I told him, “The policeman is right, it will take around 3 hours minimum”. My only hitch was that I did not carry water to wet my lips. I drink lots of water! I left all the doubts behind and stood there; we got talking and joking all the way. My neighbor that moment got a call from his ‘mighty’ friend. “Are you in the pandal with your family? Sorry friend, I cannot do much beyond this. Mumbai Police have undertaken strict vigilance this year, the trust has handed over the complete area to them who is not only responsible for the security but also for queue maintenance and peace”. We can understand that, with terrorist attack and other severe threats to the city, we as citizens have to cooperate with police.
The wait had slowly started killing my accomplice and they squatted all over the place. I was determined to stand and not rest till I have the darshan of Lord. The queue moved very slowly as predicted by me. The distance from where we were standing to the place where ‘Raja’ was seated was very less. We could have managed it in 30 minutes. But, it did not happen that way. After around 2hrs 30 minutes, we were at the feet of the Lord. Yes, my dear friends, we were standing just next to him on the dais, a couple of devotees pushed me to have neater darshan. I was about to fall from the dais but Lords’ blessings prevailed. I stood there adoring and admiring my Ganesha, who looked rich and happy seated on a throne with heavy gold ‘kangan’ on each of his hands, gold amulets, gold feet, rubies, emeralds, heavy neck pieces. Remember, he is called ‘Mannat’ (wish fulfilling) Ganpathi and devotees do not hesitate to drop their valuables in the Hundi. I quickly ran towards the idol to touch his feet. Here, too it was a ‘task’ by itself, devotees from behind was pushing us so badly. I held his feet and said, “Thank you, Ganesha, Miracles Happen!” I saw him smiling at me, with twinkle in his eyes. “Ganpathi Bappa Morya” “Mangal Moorthi Morya” “Undir (Mouse) Mama Morya” echoed in the air.
The moment I touched his feet, all weariness flew from my body, I felt a kind of energy dose springing in to my nerves and felt ‘just born’. I quickly dropped my “Mannat Money” in to the hundi. My neighbor who is a very big shot in the society dropped a very paltry sum, which made me wonder! After booking a house worth Rupees 80 lacs just last month, he should be thrilled to thank the Lord. May be some men out there feel, ‘if you have it in you, you will get it, the Lord has nothing to do with it’.
As we were walking out of the pandal totally rejuvenated and happy, my neighbor proudly asked me, “How was the darshan?”
I told him, “Great, I touched the feet of the Lord.”
“I think for the first time, you got to see the Lord in such a short time”.
“No, bhai, every time I come here, a miracle happens, someone takes me so close to the lord that my wait is just 15 to 30 minutes”.
He looked at me with a shock.
“Yes, this is the first time, I am waiting in such a long queue. Yet, I do not use the advantage that God showers on me and land up here. I could have come here, waiting for a miracle to happen again, but it only means, I am taking advantage of my Ganesha”
“Oh! How is that possible?” he shot back.
“It is possible, if you come with a pure heart, prepared to bear the heat/ sun and rain and get ‘connected’ to him not for worldly pleasures but for keeping you fit and healthy. May be one of us were not worth that ‘quick darshan’ “.
I was trying to solve his puzzled look.
Friends, nothing matters, who we are to be judgmental, the Lord has his last words and it meant that Malspie touches his feet once again and he saw to it that it HAPPENS.
You girls must have read my blog on “Meet my Friend”. After reading this, you too will sing joyfully, “Ganesha, Ganesha, Mangalam Ganesha”.
We reached home at 3.30 in the morning totally refreshed! I had to wake up at 6 to start my chore for the next day, I have to rush to office to tell the tale!
In Kaliyug ‘miracle’ is the most awaited word and I have been blessed once again by the Lord who has been kind to shower a miracle on me.
I wanted to meet Lord Ganesha at Lalbaugh, as usual work schedule was not letting me take a days off, I am aware that I need to wait in serpentine queues to have a darshan of the Lord and my turn would come after 18 to 20 hours. It clearly states, I need a day’s off and I am dead sure, it is next to impossible.
The dailies had his pictures flashed on the front page with celebrity guests seeking his blessings. “Ganesha, I am not a celebrity, does that mean, I will not see you in 2009”. What can I do to reach Lalbaugh and seek his blessings within a short period of time?
I recollected my friend ‘X’ who is a big man in the society and can help me seek his blessings. I also had him give me a surprise visit after Ganesh Chaturthi. When I was making a glass of juice for my friend, I questioned myself, “Is this a secret message from Ganesha? Is he asking me to put my wish of meeting Ganesha at Lalbaugh to ‘X’ my friend? I hate to use any influence for any purpose in my life. Good friends and mighty friends are like ‘ace’ cards, should be used carefully and only when it is very essential. I let this opportunity slip out of my hand. Ganesha looked at me and whispered, “I can only show you the well, I do not like to draw water from it for you to drink. You can do that for yourself, if you fail to do, I am not to be blamed”. Ganesha, what to do, Ganesha, I hate to ask for favours, you are aware of it.
The next day another good friend called me up, “How was Ganesh Puja?” They are all aware of how very close I am to Ganesha. “Great, I told him. I visited so many pandals this year too. Mumbai looks so beautiful during festivals”.
“Yeah, I have darshan of Lalbaughcha Raja the very day he is seated on the throne, we have special passes and get to see him from very close sector”.
My eyes went wide open with joy, should I ask him to take me with him when he visits the place. Should I ask for a favour? I have been very lucky during all my visits to Lalbaugh. I never had to wait in any long queues and always had darshan of the Lord in flat 15 to 30 mins. Well, nobody believes me when I tell them. Whose name did you take, whose influence letter was with you, was the probe? I must say, God has been kind.
It was on one of the evenings of last week, I was busy with my usual chores and we had a meeting of our society to be held at 8 p.m. My neighbor who is a very influential person in the society, walked in telling me, that the meeting may be cancelled as a few members are not able to make it. I gave a sigh of relief, it is easy for men to hold meetings as they have their woman busy doing the chores for them, when it comes to me, I have to balance everything, social commitments, household chores, office, shopping and giving time to my virtual friends too! As we sat chatting, he invited me to his place for dinner, which I am sure; his wife did not approve much. He kept on insisting that I join them for dinner and I told him, only if they let me carry all that I have cooked for my dinner. After giving his nod to my proposal, as he was about to leave my home, his mobile rang. After speaking for 3 minutes, he came running to my kitchen saying, “Mals, be quick, we need to go to Lalbaugh”.
His wife did not like this too!. I jumped a feet high from the floor, “Bhai, what are you saying, are you sure, we are going to Lalbaugh today?”
“Yes, my friend has asked me to quickly come down to seek darshan”. I did not argue with him, knowing how mighty he is, I knew his friend must have arranged for practical ways to seek the darshan of Lord Ganesha.
We hurried inside the car after a hearty dinner, kids were quiet excited. We had to face a bit of bumper to bumper traffic, his friend directed him to park the car in a particular lane. From there we had to walk a bit towards the pandal. The area is huge. My neighbor was in constant touch with his friend taking directions of where to meet him. He was finally located, a tall good looking man with ‘tilak’ on his forehead came forward saying, “Ganpathi Bappa” we said, “Morya”. He had some 5 men with him. From his looks and gait, I could make out he has ‘power’ in him.
I was constantly praying to Ganesha, “Let me have a good darshan Ganesha, like always, please be with me Ganesha”. They made us stand near a fire engine. We had to wait there for around 20 mins. As the door of the engine opened we had to throw ourselves inside the engine. There were few other devotees who had come with mighty names to back them, while few had ‘quietly’ joined the crowd! As the door opened, the men pushed their way towards it, we could not push them out at all, we tried out best, my neighbor managed to hop inside the engine and he quickly turned and said, “Give your hand”. One by one he pulled us inside, it was no joke, with constant hush and push of the men around, it was difficult to maintain our balance, the step of the engine was around 3 feet above the ground and to raise our leg to that height with crowd pushing from behind was absolutely a mammoth task. I was petrified for the kids, they were yelling with fear. I was constantly encouraging them to hold themselves and not to fall. The five men of the “mighty” man, started pushing us inside so that we get the grip of the entrance door of the fire engine. Thank Ganesha for letting us all safely inside the engine. There was a man standing inside, “Common do not wait in here, jump out from the other side” I looked down, we had to jump down 3 feet now! I glided down quietly, did not take the risk of jumping and twisting my ankle. Kids too followed the act, my neighbor and his better half did the same.
As we all landed on the ground safely after that jump, we saw a big muddy puddle! Gosh, how are we going to cross this! Luckily there was a small stone on the other side and I quickly noticed it. I put one foot on it and said “Jai Ganesha” and landed safely on the other side of the puddle. Men who did not notice the puddle splashed it all over and the sight was quiet disgusting!
My heart was filled with joy, for every hurdle we crossed, the darshan was getting closer. I could see tall white pandals, with Ganesha songs playing in the background. We were judging where is the Raja, the famous ‘mannat’ Ganpathi of Mumbai. As we started throwing quick steps, we reached another small gate, where one policeman was standing with his walkie talkie. He stopped me and rolling his eyes with a stern voice said, “Minimum three to four hours, madam, after going inside, do not tell, I am feeling, giddy, uneasy, not prepared for the wait, decide now and walk in, or just return”. It was at this time the fact had dawned on us. The darshan is not going to be easy, this time. My neighbor was having a half baked look as his kids were small and may be they may throw tantrums and above all, being affluent, they do not have the habit of waiting in queues ever! It was no big deal for me; I have waited many times at Siddi Vinayak for 6 hours at a stretch chanting “Jai Ganesha”. I got myself mentally prepared, I told him, I will not complain and walked in. My neighbors followed suit.
My neighbor vouched, “he is just frightening us, it should not take more than an hour, Raja is very close”. With my experience, I told him, “The policeman is right, it will take around 3 hours minimum”. My only hitch was that I did not carry water to wet my lips. I drink lots of water! I left all the doubts behind and stood there; we got talking and joking all the way. My neighbor that moment got a call from his ‘mighty’ friend. “Are you in the pandal with your family? Sorry friend, I cannot do much beyond this. Mumbai Police have undertaken strict vigilance this year, the trust has handed over the complete area to them who is not only responsible for the security but also for queue maintenance and peace”. We can understand that, with terrorist attack and other severe threats to the city, we as citizens have to cooperate with police.
The wait had slowly started killing my accomplice and they squatted all over the place. I was determined to stand and not rest till I have the darshan of Lord. The queue moved very slowly as predicted by me. The distance from where we were standing to the place where ‘Raja’ was seated was very less. We could have managed it in 30 minutes. But, it did not happen that way. After around 2hrs 30 minutes, we were at the feet of the Lord. Yes, my dear friends, we were standing just next to him on the dais, a couple of devotees pushed me to have neater darshan. I was about to fall from the dais but Lords’ blessings prevailed. I stood there adoring and admiring my Ganesha, who looked rich and happy seated on a throne with heavy gold ‘kangan’ on each of his hands, gold amulets, gold feet, rubies, emeralds, heavy neck pieces. Remember, he is called ‘Mannat’ (wish fulfilling) Ganpathi and devotees do not hesitate to drop their valuables in the Hundi. I quickly ran towards the idol to touch his feet. Here, too it was a ‘task’ by itself, devotees from behind was pushing us so badly. I held his feet and said, “Thank you, Ganesha, Miracles Happen!” I saw him smiling at me, with twinkle in his eyes. “Ganpathi Bappa Morya” “Mangal Moorthi Morya” “Undir (Mouse) Mama Morya” echoed in the air.
The moment I touched his feet, all weariness flew from my body, I felt a kind of energy dose springing in to my nerves and felt ‘just born’. I quickly dropped my “Mannat Money” in to the hundi. My neighbor who is a very big shot in the society dropped a very paltry sum, which made me wonder! After booking a house worth Rupees 80 lacs just last month, he should be thrilled to thank the Lord. May be some men out there feel, ‘if you have it in you, you will get it, the Lord has nothing to do with it’.
As we were walking out of the pandal totally rejuvenated and happy, my neighbor proudly asked me, “How was the darshan?”
I told him, “Great, I touched the feet of the Lord.”
“I think for the first time, you got to see the Lord in such a short time”.
“No, bhai, every time I come here, a miracle happens, someone takes me so close to the lord that my wait is just 15 to 30 minutes”.
He looked at me with a shock.
“Yes, this is the first time, I am waiting in such a long queue. Yet, I do not use the advantage that God showers on me and land up here. I could have come here, waiting for a miracle to happen again, but it only means, I am taking advantage of my Ganesha”
“Oh! How is that possible?” he shot back.
“It is possible, if you come with a pure heart, prepared to bear the heat/ sun and rain and get ‘connected’ to him not for worldly pleasures but for keeping you fit and healthy. May be one of us were not worth that ‘quick darshan’ “.
I was trying to solve his puzzled look.
Friends, nothing matters, who we are to be judgmental, the Lord has his last words and it meant that Malspie touches his feet once again and he saw to it that it HAPPENS.
You girls must have read my blog on “Meet my Friend”. After reading this, you too will sing joyfully, “Ganesha, Ganesha, Mangalam Ganesha”.
We reached home at 3.30 in the morning totally refreshed! I had to wake up at 6 to start my chore for the next day, I have to rush to office to tell the tale!
Total Comments 18
Comments
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Dear,
Thanks for giving us darshan just by your words. Ganesh ji is really majestic and he takes care of everybody as it shd be.
I almost felt jostled by the crowd while reading the post and longing to see Ganesh ji and it was worth the effort.
JayaPosted 3rd September 2009 at 09:37 PM by Jpatma
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Mals,
Because of you we once again got the darshan of Lalbagh Raja..
Thank you for the same and to tell you the truth, Ganesha helped you in not asking a favour from your friend and one in the crowd pushed you to the feet of our Lord.
Blessed are you!
sriniketanPosted 4th September 2009 at 09:33 PM by Sriniketan 
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My dear mals,
So what if I could not have the darshan of this beloved Raja?.You took me there and I had my darshan through this wondeful post.
My daughter Sangheetha,mother of quadruplets moves no stone unturned to have hid darshan.Last year she sttod in the queue for more than 15 hours to have his darsha.
This year also she went stood in the queue for sometime,my sil this time used his influence,he refused to do this last year and had HIS darshan.
I feel happy for you and I feel happy for my daughter whose remendousfaith is making miracles happen,.
May Ganesha bless you!
love
mithiePosted 4th September 2009 at 10:02 PM by mithila kannan
Updated 4th September 2009 at 10:04 PM by mithila kannan -
Thank you Malspie for the Ganesha darshan ! As good as having had one in person. The pictures of Lalbaugh Raja are truely awesome. He looks so powerful and majestic.Posted 5th September 2009 at 03:19 AM by knot2share -
Mumbaikars are used to crowd
Hi Jaya,
Thanks for being here.
We Mumbaikars are used to crowd, over crowded locals, over crowded buses, over crowded markets, over crowded streets is quiet normal.
We see less crowd only during bandh!
Happy to know you enjoyed reading the blog and having a virtual darshan of Parvathi Putra.Posted 5th September 2009 at 04:04 AM by malspie
