The Pandharpur Puja

 Shesh-shayani Ashadhi Ekadashi is a day, a date revered by most Maharashtrians. The formal government puja of the arch deity of Maharashtra, Vithoba, is performed by the Chief Minister very early, in fact, in the very wee hours of  this morning. It is a beautiful, devotional and devoted ritual. 

To me, too, this puja matters a lot. Let me explain why. Aai was from Pandharpur. Naturally, Vithoba was very close to her heart. She studied, moreover, most sincerely and in great detail  Sant Dnyaneshwar's and Sant Tukaram's oeuvres. In fact, like her Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta course, these studies, too, fetched her laurels. 

In Marathi, there is a proverb which can be loosely translated as "when the cart moves, along with it rotates the axle of the wheel." That was me. Getting her books from the college library, listening to her analysis, arranging her discussions with her classmates, I garnered some star dust.

One of the rituals she loved about the wari was watching its televised coverage. From Day One in Alandi to all the "ringan"s, she watched each and every event. As the high point of the wari is Viththal Darshan, we used to watch the Ashadhi Ekadashi Mahapuja which would start at 2.30 a.m. 

I used to wake her up, and then till almost 4 a.m., she would be physically in Pune, but her mind would be in the Viththal Mandir in Pandharpur. Even after her sad demise, I have continued the practise as a tribute to her and her genuine devotion!

Pratima@ Now would begin the Chaturmas which both my parents observed, and in their footsteps, i follow it as a tribute to them.

Quote of the day:                                                            The following two quotes capture the essence of going on a pilgrimage. "We do not go on a pilgrimage to arrive. We go to be changed by the going," asserts Macrina Wiederkehr, while Phil Cousineau states, "Pilgrimage is the human need to put the body where the heart wants to go." 

Word of the day: devotion                                            Devotion means fervour, great love and piety, a state of mind shared by lakhs of warkaris, and for the last eight centuries.