It so happened that I was in Ranchi this Ganesh Chaturthi.
Festive air was all around!! We had all welcomed Lord Ganesha with pomp and show.
And then there was a WhatsApp status of a colony friend of her sombre Ganesh Chaturthi celebration images.
The beginning of buzzing and speculations !!
Now the latest topic of discussion in our colony circle became that particular WhatsApp status. The matter of discussion was: How could anyone celebrate a festival within some months of loss of a loved one?
The Unfortunate Event
Actually, the friend, unfortunately, had lost her father a few months back due to cardiac arrest.No doubt, all colony members kept aside the Corona fear and tried to support the grieving family in all possible ways. Once the services began to open after the lockdown sequence, then most of the colony people became engaged in their day to day routine. The friend's family, consisting of the friend, her mother, and younger brother, were now mostly on their own. Most of us now tried to keep in touch with her through the phone generally.
The day to day increasing cases of Corona also kept all the acquaints away.
Somewhere the incident was now becoming a lost one. All at once, the recent status suddenly brought her fresh into our conversation with her celebration in spite of the loss of her father.
The Flashback...
Earlier, we all know that my friend's family celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with lots of enthusiasm for all ten days. Not only that, but they also used to hold Bhandara on the day of Ganesh Visarjan. All the people of the colony and their known were invited to attend. Actually, we looked forward to it.
Contrast
Contrary to their earlier magnitude of celebration, this Ganesh Chaturthi, when we were expecting only mourning and grief, there was this humble celebration of Ganesh sthapana and puja. So why this hue and cry on this simple celebration?
Let's stop judging !!
We generally as a society assume that there should be total griefing to portray the pain of the dear departed soul. Is it really so? There were no bright lights, nor the usual music system. It was only a small idol of Lord Ganesha and a slight smile on the face. We never know how much strength it takes to project a smile when your dear one is not beside you and now onwards will never be!
Other side Perspective
The family might be actually trying to remember the lost loved one by this simple gesture of continuing the custom which was initiated by him. Imagine the deep void during the Arti of the family when the beloved husband and father is not there!! Abyss in their lives but still, they are trying to pay their tribute through the continuation of the ritual which he had once started in the happy times. We can never understand the reason or pain until we are in the same boat, so it will really be great when we all will strive at least a bit to connect to the feelings of others within our capabilities instead of assuming things. Let's all together make this place a little more beautiful by giving emotionally our 100 per cent, when already we are giving our 99 percent!!
Seema Pandey
