Heavenly Glory

 Do pomp and grandeur matter in a ceremony? Well, yes, one would say, after all, it is a spectacle, and as such does require a design made of patterns, of colours, of formations, right? You do not believe me, right? Well, watch the "Trooping the Colours" ceremony in England. It is a fomal celebration of the King's official birthday. The annual London parade is a visual and aural treat. Oh, yes, the young Prince Louis never fails to add to the event the unique charm of his child like antics.

Well, you would agree that every (geo)political meet these days is grand. Why, the latest G7 meet had a cuisine spread in such a wonderful way that it satiated not merely the taste buds of the world leaders.  Why, our very own G20 meets spruced up very many cities so wonderfully that they brightened up like a bride.  Oh, yes, the third oath taking ceremony of Modiji and his cabinet was grand, too, not withstanding the mysterious shadow lurking like a wild silhouette in the background.

The doubting Thomas-es amongst you may say that such raazmatazz is after all normal business for socio-political meets. Can a religious function so dazzle? Well, my answer is a resounding 'yes'. Why and how? Are these your questions? Well, my answer is, this evening i watched online the Ganga Aarti at the Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi.

Honestly so wondrous it looked that it could make an atheist believe in the divine. The vibes even so very far away were heavenly indeed. Against the darkening evening sky, the ochre looked gorgeous. There were so many diyas with their reflections undulating in the water that the ghat literally looked like the starlit night. 

As if the visual symmetry was not enough, there was the oral-aural abundance. The sadhu who blew the conch could beat hollow  any ardent disciple of Sadhu Guru and Ramdev baba combined when it came to holding the breath. All along the 'damru' rhythm and the 'ghanta naad', not to forget the chanting of the mantras and the aarti's created such a magic that it was indeed divine. 

So far away I could thus feel the fragrances of the flowers blending in with that of the camphor that, oh, yes, to my bucket list is added yet another ardent entry, watching the Ganga Aarti not only at Haridwar but at Kashi as well!

Pratima@On the occasion of Aai's seventy-fifth birthday, one of the decorative pieces was a peacock made of seventy-five diya's. The hall people insisted that we should take away the earthen diya's. On the Tripura Pournima that year, I took formal permission, and lit up the entire premises of a Shiv Mandir in the vicinity. So gorgeous it looked, every flame gently wavering with the breeze, and reflecting in the marble floor, that the diya's shared the sheer  luminescence of the full moon in the sky. Aai absolutely adored the vision! My evening was made!