Happy Dasara

Welcome

It’s the 10^th day after Navaratri celebrating Vijayadashmi also called Dasara. Leaving aside the mythological meaning of end of the demon and evil…blah blah… I vividly remember how we celebrated this day in my childhood.

It’s the day you wash your automobile. J Back then, each one of us in the society would have a cycle…a bicycle! We’d wash them like whose cycle is the cleanest…wash and scrub all the corners….the little bell, the handle, spokes and the metal rim of the wheels. Now if I think, there isn’t really much to wash in a cycle. But as a child, it’s your Kawasaki or Harley Davidson or a red sports car!

It would be more like a group event with all the kids washing their cycles! And later around 11am my mom would bring the plate with a oil lamp & incent sticks & the holy colored powders..we’d worship the cycle as a gesture of THANK YOU. And not just bicycles. We’d wash my dad’s scooter too. Every vehicle in the parking lot, on the streets, in the city would have marigold garland. J We’d have a garland of mango leaves at the entrance of the door. Indian traditions!

Worshipped all of them. Thank you Technology :)

We were taught to worship inanimate things like a vehicle! It’s a gesture of gratitude towards things that help you in your life. My mom would keep a book from me & my brother as a gesture of worship to Goddess Saraswati – Goddess of Knowledge & wisdom.

Today, I for almost the first time did all of these activities. I worshipped my Gas stove, TV, washing machine, fridge, Car & our bike. I was thinking as the technology increases we should be thankful to so many appliances say phone, microwave, blender etc. Right?

It’s my inner feeling of success when I worshipped to all these objects. I know it’s all material success and it’s no measure of an individual’s growth as a person. But still it makes us happy and peaceful to see how we’ve managed to grow up decently. When I washed my cycle, I probably didn’t care as much as I do today when I wash my car or clean my TV. There is a sense of responsibility. They represent little milestones in our journey. It’s always a big thing to have your first car or TV or a washing machine! There is certain belongingness….for now!

Happy Dasara to all J.