Of Gods and accessories that please them

I am not a religious person. I am rather secular and offer prayers to the one(s) above. The ones above could  be Jesus, Zeus, Allah, Durga, Satyanarayan, Saibaba, Guru Nanak Dev –  just about any one who qualify as Gods. Having said that, it doesn't mean I don’t idol worship at home. I do. But this post is not about religion and idol worship. I don’t think I can churn out such an exalted post.

A while back I lit a candle when the sun set – the act called ‘Shondha’  or ‘Sonjo’ as they refer to it in Bengali and Oriya respectively.  No thanks to the ultra sensitive smoke detectors (which btw, I set off 3 times, all because of the husband’s wretched Maach Bhaja/fish fry), I have to make do with an aroma lamp burner. Oh! yah, baby, I am a modern worshipper. So, my Gods have this spa like environment around them- inhaling whiffs of lavender perfume,  and the t-light candle serves for the Dia. Sometimes I also play Bhajans straight from my ipod Nano fixed to a portable speaker. I told ya, I am hip.

But, what I miss most about the entire set up is a conch and conch blowing/shankh bajano. I miss it so much. You know how you associated with different sights and sounds at different times of your life? I associate conch blowing with many things – as a primary school kid, shank bajano always reminded me that there was not much time left for the night to come- so buck up and finish those bloody chapters for the next day’s exams! As a a teenager, it only meant- ‘girl, you’re stuck now, no point asking ma if you can go out, even if its for 10 minutes.’ But as I grew, the sound of it relaxed me, gave me a sense of peace.

But the most special memory of conch blowing was during my wedding. The fact that my in laws live 3 floors below, made the conch blowing almost like a competition..I clearly remember, each time we heard sounds from the first floor, my mum picked our’s. There was a mini Pujo happening at our apartment. Each time people from the first floor blew the conch, it was our clue to blow our’s, coz something was about to happen. Either Totto was on its way up to our place or something on those lines . Our wedding was the most amusing one . So when the time for Bidai  finally came and mass tear glands were dutifully at work-  I could hear both, the shankh bajano at flat  404 and at 101. The 404 one sounded heart rending as hell, and the 101 one sounded happy and festive- Pujo like, heralding the new bride to her brand new family.

Amusing as hell , I tell you.

Digressed enough.

God, forgive me, for I am unable to offer you the sights and sounds you are familiar and comfortable with. It must be tough for you to live with the sounds in this house. And I also know, that you know, its difficult for me, with a 3 year old who insists on pressing the plus sign of the volume button till our neighbour’s eardrums burst. Perhaps you can help? Only divine intervention can stop us.

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PS: One more memory- Sunday morning – Mahendra Kapoor croooning away soon after the blowing of the ‘Shankha’- Mahaaabhaaaaaaaaraaaaat, Mahaaaabhaaaraaaaaaaaaat, Mahaaabharaat!