OH18 -Independence Day to Ganesh Visarjan

Orchid harmony is now a living community of almost 1000 residents with more than 300 occupied flats. It's my 4th year here and I have seen lots of human emotions and characters here. It's like mini India and one can witness the similar kind of politics and other flavours as one comes across in national news. :)

Orchid Harmony is a cosmopolitan community with representation from different parts of the country. I have avoided the word "states" as it's feel is of a divided  country . The  belonging to state is highlighted  and does not show any  association with the country. Intellectuals and politicians prefer to divide the country and then rule the divided masses, the formula used by all those who have ruled India for a thousand years.

Independence day, the August 15th, 2018 was celebrated with routine flag hoisting and serving of hot bhajias and ladoos. As usual, the flag hoisting was witnessed mostly by few senior citizens and young children in the morning. The number of attendees increased four folds on free servings of  bhajia and ladoos counter. Ladoos were more preferred than bhajias, in-spite of the calories count , after all the life is happier with the calories. :)  I avoided both, though it was free and I also pay "maintenance" and it was served from the society fund. This thought is a big motivator to eat free meals and have been loudly shared on most of the public platforms.

No comments on right or wrong attitude. Just wondering if any body ever worried about the kind of offspring or society being created by throwing such thoughts to the children ? People in general are very unabashed about their "weight throwing" behaviour.

I remember an incident which happened in society almost an year ago. Few residents with their wives were shouting at the elected representatives of society in a way which in no way was a sign of civilized interaction. I am sure their young children would have hanged their heads in shame if they were shown the videos of that day.

Passing the baton to young ones!

Anyway, let's come back to Independence day celebrations in society. Flag hoisting by the Chairman of the society, followed by national anthem and few items by senior citizens with "bhashanbaazi" types messages from anyone who gets hold of mike. Time has come to change the way we celebrate the festivals of national importance at society level. To my mind, the better way to celebrate independence and republic day is to involve children in some society building activity like cleaning the dead corners of society or garden  to inculcate the sharing of social responsibilities rather than repeating the history umpteen times.

Getting acquainted with the colours of Indepenence

Evening has seen the children performances on theme "patriotic". How about having a long play incorporating all the entertaining elements to have a continuous story?  :)

Ganesh Chaturthi in mid September is also a community function and has seen an increased fervour and favours with society residents. This is mainly a Marathi festival and in earlier years, Marathi Manus of OH were in forefront in planning and celebrating the Ganesh Chaturathi. Things were different this year. I had come to know that they backed out to force some demands.

Anyway, Lord Ganesha's presence is so overwhelming that all these things become non-entities. Lord Ganesha stayed in the OH for three days. Lots of people participated and "chappan bhogs" were curated for all the three days of  "bhagwan's" stay with in the premises. Two times "aarti" every day and action filled evenings saw participation from some enthusiastic residents. Stalls were set up by vendors to provide food items were very popular with the crowd in the evening.

Ganesh Chaturathy is more about social interactions and activities than a religious

I  did not participated in the pooja and aarti as my dialogue with the Lord is very personal and I am not a ritualistic. Since my apartment is strategically located and I can see everything going on in the garden, which is the main venue of all the activities, it feels being there without going out.

Third day was the day of visarjan and time to bid farewell to Lord till He comes next year. Dhol, baja, sindoor khela and garba dancers accompanied lord Ganesha to Visarjan venue.

As He leaves OH to come next year, I wish He takes away all the negativity from the hearts of people and society so that residents live in harmony and peace. Amen!!!

Taking Lord Ganesha for Visarjan - View from my balcony.

Few people also bring in Ganesha home. A kitty party friend has invited to see his Ganesha idol and I along with 4 others have gone to visit her place. She has really made lots of effort and creativity in creating a beautiful look. Sharing the picture for all of you to rejoice!

OH16- Responsible Community Living-- Some Musings!

It has been almost 32 months, when we had shifted to OH. Since it's a new society, people who bought flats here were the first to shift . Ownership brings in the feeling of permanency and a desire to build long lasting relationship. In the earlier days, every body used to make an effort to reach out to others. "Potluck" sharing dinners, evening tea gupshup, every day evening strolls and sometimes late night too. Residents were reasonably responsible towards the common properties in the campus. Overall, it was nice and happy place to be in.

When we have shifted, the occupancy was almost 25 %. Slowly and steadily, occupancy increased. More interactions among people brings out very vast and varied responses from people which is a parameter of the society we live in general and the immediate neighborhood in particular.

"Whatsapp" is the most common and convenient platform of interaction and we have one in OH too. There are almost 250 members on the group now. The response of the people and the language (no, I am not pointing to grammatically correct English 😊 ) is shocking. Mutual respect for each other is the basis of any respectable society is missing, when it's mostly required . Shouting ( you know what is shouting in writing), calling names and no basic courtesy towards each other  , I have seen it all on the group.

It forces me to think what kind of upbringing they had and what kind of upbringing they are giving to their children? No meeting or discussion ever ends without shouting and showing uncivilized behaviour. I am really shocked at the behaviour and reactions of the people towards each other.


Few leaders are always needed to run any organisation or society. Since India is a democracy, election is the mode of selecting people in whom hands the reins are given. It always create a class of people who have lost the competition to oppose just for the heck of it. I guess, it's the reflection of our political system, where we  see that the opposition always condemn every move of the government without any thought. The same is being witnessed in OH too.

The exclusivity and safety of the society is being compromised by breaking the rules by handful of people. It's obvious that rules are always created for the larger interest of the society and not to please everyone. They need to be followed and no one can force any one to follow the rules. The day is not far away, when such compromises on the safety of people may result in something terrible. 

Ahh... the inputs from "Crime Patrol" and :Savdhaan India" are coming in handy here!! 😜

OH celebrated independence day on August 15, with flag hoisting in the morning and a cultural programme in the evening followed by an elaborate dinner. There is improvement in the arrangements and performances. My only suggestion is to avoid patriotic filmy songs, specially those we have been seeing for last two years...  😒

Living in a closed community enhances learning by exposures to different cultures. It's here in OH, I learnt about the traditions of Ganesh Puja and Garba . Also I learnt about "invoking" money for worshiping God, the giver of everything, which I disliked. 

Recently, I read an article about corruption in Indian society, where it was mentioned that India is a corrupt society as they believe in bribing God to have their jobs done. 

People coming for "door to door" collection is not an admiring sight. I have come across so many residents who were angry at being almost forced to pay Rs. 500  for Ganesh Pooja.  Many have mentioned, since the team came at their doorstep, they have to pay but from next year, they will not budge. It's sheer wastage as many have not participated in any of the activities and rituals. Some were complaining about the quality of food, that was served on the last day. I have not gone even for a day so, cant comment much about the arrangements made but sharing the sentiments of the women I met.

There is a specified area for cooking in the society behind the club but the dinner was cooked in the activity room and it was so dirty that for a day, none of the activities could be held there. Moreover, it was so unsafe to cook under any residential building with vehicles in near vicinity. Imagine,if an LPG cylinder behaved in not so routine way.... a perfect example of not following the rules, meant for the safety of all residents . 

OH is a fertile ground to understand and learn about human behaviour and psychology. It imparts lessons in sociology and the life in general. Any community with almost 300 families is going to be vibrant and so is OH!!! 🙈🙉🙊

..... And the learning continues.......

OH2: Sarvajanic Ganesh Utsav in Orchid Harmony

Ganapati utsav celebrations started amidst some rough discussions,which were necessiated by  a group of people who started taking decisions on behalf of every  body. 
With lots of discussions, the new ideas float in and a different set of leaders in true sense come up. Suddenly the emphasis from collection of money shifted to collective effort. Every tower has been allotted some task and the freedom to execute. All interested people came  forward to contribute. The joint effort brings in positivity and interaction among residents. People have started knowing others by face now. A cutural exchange has started.
Today,my tower were assigned to bring prasaad. Ladies of the tower joined hands to make prasad at home instead of ordering it from market. We made coconut laddoos.
Sarvajanik Ganapati in OH is for three days. Tomorrow evening,Ganspati will be taken for visarjan. Since we opted for eco Ganapati , we pat our back !

Today,I have said goodbye to my gunnubhai too. I did the visarjan in a bucket. I have brought home ganapati for the first time.
OH is a great community and is a great teacher in community living.
May all have positivity,happiness and support each other when needed.