This Pournima is indeed perfect. On the one hand, the Indian rover is wandering around the moon surface which proves the supremacy of science. So does the fact that this Pournima moon, this full moon is both the super moon and the blue moon. These two are facts that are explicable scientifically.
Yet this particular poornima has a lot of emotional valency as well. For sure, it is the Rakhee Pournima. It is, however, the Narali Purnima as well. Well, on the full moon day, the sea has high tidal waves. The poets have often used this fact as an image for romantic love.
Well, the sea, like life itself, has multiple facets. For the fishermen, the sea is the source of livelihood. Their daily bread and butter depends on the sea. Despite the climate change, even today, as in the past, the sea is rough since June 7 till now.
From this day onwards, the sea gets calmer by the day, and the fishermen tribe can re-start riding the waves in search of the sea's abundance, the fish. The process begins with a propitiatory Puja on this Pournima day.
I have two very touching thoughts tucked in to this purnima-saga. The first one is the annual Puja of the sea Papa performed on the Narali Purnima as Raju's professional life as a Merchant Navy Officer is related to the high seas. In his affectionate memory, I keep aside a coconut, with the usual Puja paraphernalia, on the day, and offer it to some water body, a ritual celebrating his selfless, innocent, clean life full of love for his son.
The second memory relates to Aai. Once she turned eighty, for one whole year, every Pournima, each full moon day, she prayed to the moon by offering an actual pranam to the full moon in gratitude to her "Sahastra Chandra Darshan". Her aching knees never came in the way of this simple bowing down to the larger forces that shape our small lives.
Neither of my parents was terribly religious nor ritualistic. In fact, initially, there was not even a proper devhara in their early household. Papa, who appeared religious, was actually an atheist initially, Aai told me.
Given the difficult times they were made to suffer in the early days of their marriage, they felt the constant lack of a solid support. Hence, for the welfare of their children, the Puja performances entered their lives, and they managed whatever was needful most sincerely! Hence my multiple tributes to their genuine generosity! Long live their sincere memories as perfect as the poornima!
Pratima@Perfection lies in genuineness, devotedness and simplicity.
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