HAPPY 'RAINY SEASON'!

For almost all possible reasons, I've hated the fact that Indians associate largely everything to their Gods. For everything good, for everything bad, there's ONLY God. I am not an atheist myself, and what all I believe in is another part of the story, but I do not see God the soul reason for everything. He's believed to be the culprit, the savior, the generosity, the judge, the everything! It's a pity how a large part of the country gets swayed so easily.

But perhaps today, whatever be the reason, I realize another aspect of it today. The brighter perception called "celebration"! Others merely enjoy rains. But we, the Indians, celebrate the season(sawan) by worshiping the Gods. Thus, the enjoyment, the whole spirit of a season is doubled, tripled because of such intense devotion being associated to it.

Today, my grandmother hosted a keertan at our place. She invited many ladies of the neighborhood and many of her other friends. And she, very sincerely, took the job of arranging everything herself. She cleaned the portraits of her preachers and put garlands around them herself. (She bought the garlands herself!) She neatly kept the portraits in the living room and even decorated the jyot with rose petals. Everything was absolutely set right half an hour before the scheduled time. (Trust me, the arrangements were impressive!) She welcomed each lady with folded hands and a pleasant smile. Each one sat with utmost discipline and silence.

The keertan wasn't a social gathering at all. All the ladies, with their eyes shut, sincerely engrossed themselves in the purpose of the gathering. After the gathering, each one greeted the other, and without making much noise, left.

Before the keertan, i saw Badima so excited, like a small child packing return gifts for his birthday party. During the keertan, she was, in real sense, magn(!!), I noticed. And after it was all over, man! the million dollar smile on her face, I loved it. A smile of extreme satisfaction and pleasure.

I don't want to comment on how happy the Gods felt or how God would save them from any sort of a punishment. All I'm feeling happy about is that small things in life can give immense pleasure to anyone who intends seeking it.