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Ganesh and Parvati

It is raining outside as I write ,and my thoughts are rushing out just like the rain .

Ganesh Chaturthi , and Navratri and Dassera  is over . The loud noises,the crowds ,the gaudy decorations ,the traffic is all over .My ‘Garba’ the mud pot that was decorated and lit every day rests under the Prijat tree below my house ,it;s purpose is served .Next year I will have a new one .

The wheat and juwar and other grains that I planted in small basket is still with me , actually that should also be under the tree , but I have forgotton to take it down .

Just in nine days the sprouts sprang out from the mud and shoots let out the happy leaves .What a wonderful feeling it is to see this simple miracle of life . a seed coming alive.

It is all about the story of the daughter ,Shailaja , the daughter of mountain , Himalaya .

There is story in WArli tribe where Shailaja or Parvati ,gathers all the seeds saved by ants and squirrals and other tiny creachers , she then sets out planting the seeds on the barren mountain .

The soil is dry , and as the rain comes in the earth swells with water and the seed swells up and the barren mountain has all different plants coming up .

Parvati ,is mad with delight , she dances in the rain soaks her body with water , rolls in the soft mud .she is full of joy , it is joy of life springing up in nature , the grain is taking shape the buds are out .Parvati , comes across a stream , she has to take a bath , yet , the mud clinging to her body is her own self , part of her how can she just wash it off?? It is part of her it is her essence ,  it has all her power in it , it has all her knoledge of unknown in it .

She gathers all the mud and makes it into a small image of a child , she is the mother and he is her son , Ganesha .The story of Ganesha after this you know how he got his elephant head .

But how wonderful that this thought was instilled in our ancesters and they continued to make Ganesh murti out of mud every year .

Story has not ended here , Parvati , is in full form now as the Nature takes grows into abundance ,the red hibuscus , the regrant , chameli , jasmine are all intoxicating her , she is a Goddess and she wants the adornments , she wants all the beauty she can have , and we have Navratri where all the women are ready to share Parvati’s joy and they dance and swing around the Garba lamp as they sing the songs in praise of Devi .

Her Nine images , her moods ,her shakti ,she is the mother she is gentle she is all giving , and she can also be  angry if any evil comes her way . ,she has the power to slay the demon , she has the power to destroy evil , she is the one who will bring Peace to this world.

To me, Ganesh and Parvati ,the story of  SON AND MOTHER worshipped each other is joy which comes up through the Nature .

And I am happy to sit at my window listening to the dripping rain drops on my little basket. with it’s

green shoots and leaves swinging in the wind.

TO me this is divine , no aarti , no drums , no prasad , no decoration .

I bow to divine mother , and divine Ganesh , year after year.

 

 

Posted in Religion.

13 comments

By Noanee Kapadia – September 30, 2009


well there is HOPE

Well, there is Hope ….. that is how I  look forward to make life worth living .and I THANK MY ILANDER FRIENDS FOR SHOWING ME THE WAY

One thing is decided that my friend , Anuradha Gore is writing History of Indian Army from 1947 to 2009,for children ,bec in our schools history stops at Independance ,and we never know what happened after that!!!

So we have not heard of our own heroes .This will be written in Marathi and translated in Gujrati and English.

Now today I heard of Anutai Prabhudesai , who has been visiting Kargil since 2004 , she takes people ,to be with jawans who serve in Ladakh .and in Mumbai and in Pune she shows her slides and talks about jawans .She calls up their family and tells them about their son’s well being .

On her 50th birthday she invited 60 parents of those whose sons were Shaheed and celebrated her birthday with them.

These are the people who bring Hope to Our India , I wish to you all to connect with them and help them in their efforts .  

Posted in INDIAN ARMY.

10 comments

By Noanee Kapadia – September 27, 2009


Life GOES ON

Same news repeat again and again , loss of jawan , loss of our officers , loss of our police men ,

Life goes on in the city …….so also life is blown out in valley …

there is no end to sorrow , families traumatised ,, and in grief for ever , so many lives lost ,when will this stop …… I pray for PEACE but also ask will it ever COME .

Posted in Personal.

11 comments

By Noanee Kapadia – September 24, 2009


LIFE GOES ON

life goes on here and there in the valley , same things repeated , loss of jawans , loss of officers  and now in the eastern part…….. when will this violence stop ? Is it too much to ask for , PEACE!

Posted in Memory of Past.

3 comments

By Noanee Kapadia – September 24, 2009


Kargil ,more on my experience

Kargil ,more on my experience

 

 

Across the stream , there was a small village , village was small because there were few houses , but houses were not small in fact they were well built houses which flaunted the wealth of the owner. Now you must know this that we are in a very remote place in very hard mountains. From Leh we are about 8hours by road , and then again another two hours on rouh road and then a walk about half an hour by foot on rough terrain .

So what is the source of income here? Of course the fruit orchards are one ,but main source of income here is donkeys and mules which work for Army .A donkey 's wages are rs.120 per day , Mule would be 200 rs., and a porter would be 250 per day .

On an average a family earns about 50,000rs to a lakh per month besides their agriculture income.  Rough terrain is every day life for them , so it is  money at door -step.

Something for us to think about ?????

 

Well, lets turn to the jawans and officers now every single one of them is home sick , most of them are very young either newly married or with little babies . They long to be with their families .The talk all the time about the chutti that they will get .

The vastness of the region makes you feel all the more isolated in this region , you are like a spec of small pebble on path .

I am in the bunker now , if you photograph it ,it is like your bedroom in Mumbai ,  a comfortable bed , a table and chair, a TV with all attachments and a library .,the difference is there is no window and when you come out your in a tunnel .

White wall is all that you see all the time , imagine staying in it for three months continue sly and your whole day goes watching over to enemy over a vast terrain ,trying to look at the specs to see whether they move. It is frustrating .

 

And then there is this other side when the officers come down they have a party where they have best of music played by the unit jawans , who are excellent with musical instruments .All then dance to the tunes . It is magical and unreal , it is an attempt to forget your day . And I think it is so very sad that we do not have political will to straighten our boundaries and live peacefully as neighbours something needs to be done .

Who will hear this and carry it to the ears of politicians????

 

 

Posted in INDIAN ARMY.

6 comments

By Noanee Kapadia – September 7, 2009


Kargil August 2009

Kargil August 2000

 

 

We were sitting under the shades of cluster of trees .The sun was scorching hot but  under the shade the cool breeze kept us comfortable .The freezing cold water ran through the canal along the side ,after all the water was from the higher glaciers . The contrast of hot sun and cold water and wind is very unique to Ladakh , and we were sitting at a Army post at Kargil .Men in uniform served us tea , as they would serve any where ,the white tea-pot bowl of sugar and hot milk , on a wooden carved tray , with dainty biscuits and hot pakoras by the side. It is always a pleasure to be served well in style ., but my eyes are set far away on the ridges beyond . There are ridges after ridges of mountain ranges spread faraway , I can count three but there can be more hidden ,they are beyond my span of  sight .It is a rocky terrain , rumble of sharp stones heaped on each other to make it into a huge mountain .The only green patch is were I am sitting ,I am restless , I cannot enjoy my tea ,The first ridge top nearest to us , is the Indian Post .There is not a blade of grass there , nor a drop of water, and the path that  goes up is so narrow that only small donkeys can reach there with difficulty .

This post is guarded by about a dozen army men .Everything you need has to be carried up .And now in August they had started to store everything for winter. You cannot see anything on the top , because all the activity is confined to the bunkers alone .

They will all stay up for three months at a stretch .There is meticulas calculations and the loads are taken up every day .The only worry the officers have right now is about the well being of the donkeys !!!! that is their life line here .

Kerosene is crucial here , without that the generator will not work , and staying in Bunker in dark would be further difficult .

The wind runs at a fast speed , making the cold feel worse on the ridges, and a snow fall  isolates the bunkers further from the base.

 

India and Pakistan does no have a boundary well defined , it does not go along the river

 side or along the ridges , but cuts unevenly across the middle of mountains ,and through valleys and  mountain tops , with the result when you travel by road you are exposed to Pakistani posts and so to guard you from firing you need to have a long wall built along the road. It is a complicated geographical terrain and guarding it is extremely difficult task. Army men do not let you feel any tension but I knew that they were alert day and night .Surely we all owe a lot to them.

 Jai Hind!

Posted in INDIAN ARMY.

11 comments

By Noanee Kapadia – September 6, 2009


Rain in Matheran ….heavenly song

Mumbai's long wait for rains was at last over.

It poured day and night and flooded , the roads,  rail tracks ,bringing all life in city to a halt. Mumbaikars struggle for survival reached at it's peak.

All gears of rain were out ,umberella ,raincoats , plastics of all kind ,but now a days you don't need only bucket and mug to throw the water out but you need a rubber boat to cross over to other side of the road .

And the rain went on  for days together. The weather man on the TV gave news of rains all around , rains had come to land of Sahyadri which was dried to the last drop , was alive again , life had sprung up from earth at every inch

.The creepers were lush green and full of strength wrapped around the tree trunks while the trees swayed their branches happily with young leaves sprouting all over. Little streams sprouted from all the corners running it's way down  in hurry ,and clouds engulfed ,the forest in embrace ,creating a dream situation for humans around .At this time Matheran is the best destination to be at .

One Friday , three enthusiastic couples packed their small bags and left for few days to enjoy the rains in forest of Matheran .

Hot  Chai and chilly hot Batatawada settled them in cosy room of a traditional comfortable hotel.

The men were childhood friends and the three wives jelled well with each other .The cold clouds , with wind flowing set a cool romantic atmosphere in the air .

Wrapped in their warm shawls Naina started humming and soon all settled in their chairs and started to sing .

Music was a bond that tied their friendship together and to Naina ,it was passion of life .She loved to sing the devotional Bhajans ,and the beauty of forest was perfect setting to sing in praise of GOD.And the Bhjans flowed on till the lights came on  in the evening .

'We are so happy as if we are in the heaven ' thought Yogesh as he pulled his friends out to take walk in the drizzling rain .

The ladies refused they were warm and cuddled up in their chairs and did not want to be out in the rain so three men left them and continued to enjoy the rains.

 

In about an hour they returned , Yogesh was shocked to find Naina lying on the bed panting, gasping ,struggling as if someone was choking her throat .They raised alarm and soon help came along , and Naina calmed down .She gathered herself and sipped some water and felt better .Yogesh was not comfortable,she had never ever been ill , he called for an ambulance .

On it's arrival , Naina refused to get in saying she was perfect , but only wished to talk to her father-in-law ,to tell him to light a lamp in her temple at home.

'I am perfectly fine now that a lamp is alight in my temple'she said

.Relieved all retired to the room.But the calm was short lived , within an hour or so Naina started feeling choked again ,she was fighting for breath .

What followed then was a nightmare ,  call for help ,again the ambulance ,again call, ride down the Matheran road ,again call, search for oxygen cylinder , call again ,search for hospital, call and more call, Medicare in heart hospital ,try ,and again try  and try , call ,call call and all are here now from the family .

 

Not anymore ,now all is calm , but the rain is lashing loud  on the silence ,and all hearts are crying aloud ,our Naina is in real heaven ,praising God with heavenly songs.

 

This is a true story ,we lost a lovely person in our family..

 

 

Posted in Personal.

18 comments

By Noanee Kapadia – August 3, 2009


Divine Fruit

Mangoes  goes ..gone

 

King amongst the fruits,God created Mango with all his heart

 For us poor mortals the taste buds ,the smell ,the sight are all enhanced with arrival of this delicious fruit.

.To Mumbaikar there is another advantage because we have Hapus or Alphanso mango .

 

You have to be a Mumbaikar to understand ,this love for Hapus .The Portugese bought this to India .Here, along the  west coast we cultivated it , and since then it has remained exclusive to this region .Ratngiri and Devgad Hapus are the best of all.

It is perfect in shape , the skin semi transulant with shades of fading green into brighter yellow and then growing into lovely shade of orange. The pulp is firm and can be cut neatly in cubes so you can ,,relish eating it with fork,like a Sahib .

Hapus is loved by Mumbaikar and many die hard ,will only eat Hapus .

.

I remember once travelling in remote Spiti,in Himachal Pradesh ,my husband was down with terrible cold and could not attend a meeting with District Collector ,so as he send a note of regrate,and  he send six precious Hapus mangoes .The collectors wife , a Mumbaikar yelled with joy when she saw the mangoes ,and came running to meet my husband knowing that it can be only a Mumbaikar who could get Hapus.

 

Yet there are many more variety of mangoes that have delighted me through out my life .

I  recall my childhood days in Goa it is Mankurad this has  a heady fragrance and is very juicy and the seed has lot of fine fibre( hair)on it  , as in one tiny room all the mangoes were laid out covered between dry straw grass. As you entered the house smell of mango ripening mixed with smell of grass , rushed into your nostrils almost choking you wth joy .

You have to have experience to choose the ripe mangoes from the lot ,and one can only observe it and learn. I loved every moment of this .Morning time the mangoes were cut into pieces for all to eat at breakfast .

At  lunch it was Aamrus ,the juice rather pulp of mango ,now this was a task because we were about ten odd children of various ages and that many adults .The huge vessels would come out and three female servants would  sit down to squeeze out the juice .One washed the mangoes thoughraly , other softened it and squeezed out the juice and third one strained it .The lunch was fried golden poorie and Aamras of course being in Goa rest of the famous fish dishes also accompanied in the menu.

 

Then we have Payri which has very watery pulp and again is good to make into Aamras .

Then we have Rajapuri , this is favourite of all house wives because the raw Rajapuri is cut into pieces and turned into delicious pickles.Gujratis love this because the sweet and sour Chundo is made from this .My grand mother used to make mouth-watering jam from ripe Totapuri mangoes ,these were very round in shape , green skin but bright orange and very sweet thick pulp inside. One strong servant woman would sit whole day long stirring the mango juice ,in a large vessel on a wood fire chulla.

This jam then was divided between all the cousins to be taken to Mumbai .The children always hovered around the Mango trees ,so Mama took us at the back yard where , we could pick up, or with a very long bamboo with hook pluck the mangoes ourselves.

This was a great fun and joy to us , not only we enjoyed gathering the small mangoes but we made our own corner with grass bed and laid the mangoes on it to ripen .These are junglie mangoes , Grand 'mother made sweet and sour curry called saasav with these .

And also the golden prawn curry .But greatest pleasure to all of us was when these tiny mangoes ripened  Mama put it in the centre, we could make a hole and suck the mango juice .The juice would spill on our clothes ,our faces would be smeared with mango juice

We sucked the juice we laughed a teach other and enjoyed ourselves to the last drop of mango .Now with age that is far gone and with arrival of monsoon gone are Mangoes ,till they will return next year .

 

Posted in to be an Indian.

16 comments

By Noanee Kapadia – June 28, 2009


Siddhi Vinayak

I  have always lived in Bombay ,and that to near Siddhvinayak temple .At that time round of temple was  a routine to get handful of prasad .There was no Q .Ganpati Bappa had not achieved the todays status.Since the long Q started ,I only looked at them in wonder and never wished to visit again .Then of course the threat of terrorist ,enclosed the Ganpati Bappa into all the more unapproachable situation for ME and I never thought of going in , in fact after a visit to Vithal temple i Pandharpur , I decided never to go to a temple which is Famous .I am happy with small roadside shrines and as for God granting my wish I think they are accomplished by my prayer and by blessings of smaller Godsand gods from my small family shrine at home. A friend of mine got up at 2.30 am cooked for the family then walked all the way from Irla to Siddhi Vinayak temple, stood in the line for two hours and then went for her job as school teacher every Tuesday for many many years.Actually I did not find her peaceful at all with this experience but anyway ,she beleived in doing and she did it.

As for me I kept hearing stories about how at Tirupati you can pay so much and get a  VIP darshanand how you could get special prasad etc .There were many who boasted about how they had influence in all temples and they could get you Darshan for few hundred rupees . They believed in their shraddha , and did not mind paying up.Where as to me it was a bribe which I thought was  amoral especially for Gods.All said, aap ko bulawa ayga tab jaana padega.

And really the bulawa came in form of a friend who rarely visits Mumbai ,it was Friday so I agreed saying noQday today .But what do we find there were three rows of winding line to get in .We were looking lost in the scenario when lie flash one young man approached my friend and offered VIP Darshan for few hundred rupees ,my friendwho must be used to this n seconds parted with the amount ,and there I was in situation I did not want to be in ….I smiled inwards thinking this is your wish Ganpatibappa.,and I went in .The Darshan was pleasant indeed , I looked at the peacful image of God and wondered what does he care what humans do , he is there unmovable as ever.

Whatever we humans  do is our own logic ,he does not ask for Modak nor for red flowers ,not any silver Mukut or Gold ornament .It is wish of the devotee that rules  over these things..

HE IS NOT MOVED BY ANY OF THIS THINGS.,I ,brushed aside all the thoughts,

I filled my vision with Ganpatibappa’ image prayed to him with all my heart and stepped out.

Ganpati Bappa Morya.

Posted in Religion.

16 comments

By Noanee Kapadia – June 14, 2009


Manasarovar in Tibet

 

I was sad to read about the deaths of ten piligrims on way to yatra in Tibet.

Mansarovar KailasYatra in Tibet is ultimate goal of piligrims in India ,Hindu ,Jains and Buddhist alike..

Situated at 14,000ft above sea level this is a magnificient large lake.Mythology says this is abode of Lord Shiva,and the magisty of Kailas is such that one feels ,it is fit only for God to reside.

What  is so different in Tibet?It is high elevated mountain platoue which is nowhere less than 14,000ft .The flat and wast terrain is amazing ,you can see far away land and mountains ,to a distance you cannot judge .Once we watched clouds coming our way form far ,and they reached us two days latter.It is like being on a boat and you see only water till the horizen .Here the horizen is streched out so far away from you ,that as you travell ,land seems to go further away from you .

This is mountain desert land and the formation of mountain rocks ,the colours because of the minerals in them range from bright yellow to red and orange to purple and shades of greys and browns.It is surely work of divine ,and as you drive from Nepal int Tibet you are in awe with the landscape.The air is thin here,and oxygen is rare here.

This is surely a place not fit for common man to live in , especially not for people like us who live in plains and in warm weather,and in comforts of our homes in small towns and cities of India.

The diifficulty in Tibet is the high altitute,every one of us even if we are fittest of all need to get acclamatized or in simple words our lungs need to get used to the rare air .And this needs a simple thing  that is TIME , that means as you come in to Nepal from India , stay in Nepal for two days Kathmandu is about 6000ft .Go slow , you are on piligramage and this is going to be  once in a life time ,so stay at every stage for a day and then proceed . Every one I have spoken to wants to FINISH it in hurry .You invariably will have a headache and not enjoy the trip .

The second problem is warm clothing ,for some reason people do not want to wear warm clothings till they start shivering but once the chill catches you , body cannot get warmed up easily this adds to your breathing problem further.

Now the still bigger problem is there are no good accomadations anywhere on the way, .rooms or Dharamshalas are pathetic and cold, toilets non-existant .Food is basic and nonpalatable.Emergency medicine very minimal and you have to be lucky to have a doctor around.

The chilly wind  blows constantly at this altitute and piligrims shiver all the time .

The travel agent take hefty fees , for the arrangement but do not gear for the cold .The blame game is on each other , the travel agent say that people do not listen to the rules ,and want to finish in a hurry.Many people say that if you are on piligrimage you have to suffer and nt complain .

In varibly a tragedy strikes and it is taken in philosophical way that ,the person’s soul is reached heaven because he died at Mansarovar.Well can you imagine death in that place? when you have to do all the formality with Chinese police and Indian police and the either the body to brought back or kept ther .Ther is no wood available there at all I am no sure what they do.

And let me tell you that every month there is a tragedy or two.Infact most of the people are over 60 in age and it is on sheer will power that they complete the piligrimage.

Todays group got stranded at 8000f t  for a long time and suffered a major tragedy .

THIS ALL CAN BE AVOIDED IF PROPER CARE IS TAKEN BY INDIVIDUALS .

I have been talking about this over and over and again and again ,we have enough temple trusts with loads of money and educated people looking after it .but I do not know why good facilities are not demanded and given .Same is the case of all yatra in India but they are less difficult than Mansarovar.

Now about the filth that we have made around Mnasarovar I will talk some other time .

But if you have any one going to this yatra tell them to go slow, stay at every place get your lungs strong enjoy the mountain and then reach the destination .About the poor souls I can only pray for Peace.

 

Posted in Religion.

6 comments

By Noanee Kapadia – June 10, 2009