OH 22 - WhatsApp Warriors

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Life is full of challenges, and the reaction to any situation shows the character, upbringing, skills, capacities and human capabilities of an individual. Any challenge or problem can be a blessing in disguise, and it's all about attitude.

Life's challenges usually seem like inconveniences when they interrupt our schedules or get in the way of something we want to do. Everyone wants a routine and happy life. Unexpected challenges are never welcomed. And when they happen, it usually means a major delay, adds learning curve, greater expenses or some other unplanned complications. When we are focused on results, it is hard to appreciate the detours caused by new challenges.

Life is always posing challenges to everyone, whether small or big. How does one respond to daily life? Does one panic and become frantic easily or stay positive and energetic? Should small problems be made bigger, or should big problems be made small and dissolved into nothing? How we face the normal and somewhat not-so-normal events of each day is generally how we will face the bigger challenges.

Why am I pondering about it? Today's (long back in 2020) water problem and the residents' reactions in OH motivated me to analyse human behaviour. Some reactions were cool, and some were very hot and nonsensical. I am surprised at the residents' basic understanding of community living. Being in a cooperative society means being equal partners in taking responsibilities and tackling the challenges.

Some comments like: society maintenance to pay ki hai, yeh kyon? 

What is society maintenance, and who is being paid? 

Common sense: to the society. 

Who are stakeholders in society? 

Everybody. 

So why blame the people who have taken the reins by coming to the forefront? 

Someone has to come forward and take up a leadership position and get the society's work done. 

Let's look at some of the qualities of people who become negative and panic versus people who respond positively and energetically. Panicky people don't have control over their mental energies. Because their minds are unfocused, they exaggerate events. Their confusion complicates things, and even small challenges appear to be big problems. They usually react emotionally to situations, so they easily become irritable, anxious, and excitable. Because of their emotionality, people who panic are often unreliable and are unable to take appropriate action.

Negative people make everything a problem. They generate an incredible amount of mental and physical stress. When anything comes up that disturbs their comfort zone, they think and say things like, "It's too difficult. I can't do it. I never did it before. I don't know how. Why is this happening to me?"

Succumbing to negative emotional states creates nothing but more negative reactions, such as jealousy, hatred, blame, fear, and depression. That helps neither us, the situation, nor the people around us. The moment negative emotions hit us, we have to see the urgency of generating some positive energy instead and start doing something good for the environment and others.

If we are often frantic, we should ask ourselves if we have the habit of procrastinating. Procrastinating itself contributes to a frantic mind. How? If we habitually postpone doing what needs to be done--whether in our physical surroundings, our health, our relationships, or whatever--neglect eventually catches up with us. If we are not used to taking timely action and life finally forces us to get things done, we can easily become frantic and filled with worries.

This was written 6 years ago. I am posting it now as I am reviving this blog. few years ago, we thought of moving ahead, and I stopped writing for this blog. But God planned another route, and we are here to stay. So here I am, reviving my blog.

OH21 Elections and responsibilities of residents.

So, the 2nd elected committee of OH which brings in mostly new faces and few from the earlier elected members has wound up their tenure in almost 1 year and little more. We in OH are seeing 3rd election in a span of 3 years. The election date is fixed on Jan 12th.

The elections in a society should be fought for the betterment of the place rather than making it a political issue, which has been done in earlier elections. In last election, the popular election issue was created by one of the group was gujarati vs non-gujarati. We have studied divide and rule by Britishers and here it's being used as a regionalism tool.
In the last committee, the members used to respond to the issues raised by residents in a very rude way which is not expected in the civil societies. Responses like - "we are not paid for this job" is neither expected nor acceptable.
Why does an RWA  committee is elected?
As the name suggests - Residents Welfare Society. So people who win the election should be humble and have a bent of social services.
What do I as a resident of OH want? I want a clean surrounding and all facilities in the premises in  excellent condition.

With not many people eager to take part in the election process neither as voters nor as candidates, the democracy fails. Democratic process need aware, responsible and responsive people. It's really surprising to see this in a place where literacy rate is 100%. 
Why are we not responsible towards our own society? If I can see the degradation in everything in OH - the housekeeping, security, maintenance of activity rooms, T T room or gym, others are also seeing it as it's evident from our small conversations here and there.

While I am still writing this post, the voting is over and results are declared. A new team with few old and few fresh faces have been elected. In a society with total votes of 384, approximately 135 votes were polled. 😔😏

The two most important office bearers are -
Mr. Ankur Agarwal - Chairman
Mr. Sandeep Mathur - General Secretary

Good luck and expect better upkeep !

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!

OH17 - Harmony Premier league and much more

It has been quiet a long time since I have come back to the blog. It was sheer laziness and nothing more to it.

My last post was in Sept 17, almost seven months ago. Much has happened in OH. With so many human beings living together, the life is bound to be colourful. 😁. It's a perfect place to study human behaviour and psychology.

The latest happening in OH is the organisation of "Orchid Harmony Premier League".

I observed a sudden  hyper activity on the cricket pitch, which is just under my balcony. Though, the cricket pitch usually comes alive mostly on weekends or on holidays as most of the offices were closed. But  since a month or two, the cricket has become a anthem in OH. The mornings become lively with all the commotion at the pitch. Everyday, the cricket tribe was increasing. There was no age restrictions as I can see players from the 8-9 years old to senior citizens. With so many enthusiasts, it's natural to organise a competition.

The OHPL has used "Auction League Software" for player selection and team captains had to bid for each player. E-auctions were held and all the captains can see  the details of all the players on the screen.

Each team was allotted 500000 points to bid for 8 players. One by one , the players' information is shown on the laptops and teams' captains  can bid for the players of their choice. Highest bidder gets the player to his team. The whole process of selection was made transparent and many enthusiastic society dwellers were out there in the cricket pitch to have a "dekho" at the process. Six teams were formed. T-shirts were also designed for each team.

Have a look at the teams -

The glimpses of the matches from my 7th floor balcony.

I loved all the hustle and bustle. Some food counters were also set up for the sports enthusiasts, who were down to cheer their favourite teams. I am not a cricket fan, so I just had a look from my balcony. I am too lazy to go out for something which do not interest me. 

Another cricket league for under 19 is also in the pipeline... I am not a cricket fan. Ugh...😔 

With summers setting in may enterprising ladies have planned many interesting workshops for the benefit of  residents, mainly children and ladies. Some were fun workshops for children having fun activities like dancing, yoga, story telling sessions etc and baking workshops for children.

With such hot weather and temperature running up to 46 C, OH is still keeping it's spirits high , which is quiet a feat in dry Gujarat. 😀😀😀

The weather is killing at 46 C. The only workout which is easy to manage is swimming. I had been a regular to the society pool since last month and a half. But routines bore me. So, now it's sometimes morning walk or sometimes yoga at my terrace for me to keep fit. I have recently added  late night walks to my armour of "keeping fit". 

Not very long ago, Ahmedabad was blessed with nice cool breeze in the morning and evening even in peak summers. Unlike north India, where hot months have hot mornings and evenings, Ahmedabadites used to have a respite from heat in the mornings and evenings. But just like the changes in weather around the globe, it's changing here too. Now the cool breeze returns late at night around 10 pm. That's the time I have chosen for my late night after dinner walk. 

That's all for now folks!!! 

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.......

OH15 ELECTION AND NAVRATRI FERVOUR

Life has been pretty interesting at OH since last one month. There was an amalgamation of political and cultural activities  in OH.

Almost 4 months ago, the builder of OH has handed over the maintenance and other issues to the society residents. Few people were nominated by residents and did all the assigned jobs of taking over from the builder. As usual, there is always another group who want to take hold of things for reasons best known to them. Lot of muck and abusive language was used on the whats-app groups for the people who were doing the job and spending so much of time and extra efforts to setup the systems. 

Though lots of rubbish is being thrown to these people, they were undeterred and did their job with honesty and conviction. They did a real good job. This was proved by the election result, which was won hands down by their team of 11 people. So, on 25 September, 2016, OH has got it's first elected management committee and thankfully, all the colourful language is stopped for the time being. It must be a great relief to all the people who are not used to such colorful language. It was the worst kind of language, I have ever read or heard in my entire life. 

It actually shows the deterioration in society and I felt bad and sad that I am part of this kind of society. I have grown up in the extremely learned atmosphere of university campus and had lived in the corporate colonies of public sector giant, Indian Oil Corporation where people were very careful and respectful towards each other. They were culturally much ahead. 

The OH management committee has 11 elected members. It comprises of chartered accountants, senior bankers, doctor, engineer and successful businessmen. So, a lot of experience and skill sets is there in the team. I wish the new "ELECTED" management body good luck and expect high standards of living in OH.

As the navratri fever has been gripping the city, how can OH community be left behind? The garba classes have started at the onset of September. A garbs tutor was invited to do the job. Another class was organised by some resident garba lovers . The practice time was around 9pm  as it was convenient for the "annapuranas" to finish the dinner of the families. 

I had also joined a class, but somehow on the way, I lost interest as the fun of dancing was being lost in complicated steps. I think, it was important for the trainer to teach complicated steps to satisfy his ego but as a learner, I felt lost in 1,2,3,4, left and right. Unfortunately, this class has created an aversion towards dancing in my mind. I did not try to remove it at all. I was more interested in clicking pics this time. May be next year, I will tap foot on the beats.

The festival arrangements were taken care by a newly formed Navratri Committee. A small temple was erected in the lawns with divine mother's picture. Every day, an aarti to please and request for blessings in the glory of divine mother was performed which ends with the distribution of prasada. The prasada was contributed by the residents. After the routine aarti and pooja rituals of half an hour, the garba fervour started and it went for almost 3 hours and some times more. Few stalls were erected which served popular food items like idli, sambhar, pav-bhaji, paani poori, ice cream and many more. It was fun to sit and watch the enthusiasm of residents. The women took great care and lots of efforts in dressing and makeup.It was time to catch up with friends, have fun and real great festivity. It went on for 10 days. This year , many days were spoiled due to rains. It has been said to be the wettest navratri ever.

In Gujarat, there is a tradition of eating fafda and jalebi on Vijaydashami . On the last night of navratri,  the fafda-jalebi shops are open almost whole night. They do a brisk business in few thousand crores  in just one day. This year, I also had the chance of going out on a night to relish fafda jalebi at midnight. It appeared as if whole city was on roads and almost all the fafda jalebi joints were serving to their full capacity. Finally, we reached a joint in Prahladnagar , where we could park our car. It feels good to be part of the festivity of the city crowd.

 On Vijaydashmi , arrangements were made to serve fafda jalebi in the society. Fafda is eaten with sweet gujarati kadhi and raw papaya chatni. I loved the papaya chatani and will make it some day. Fafda is made from besan chickpea flour, lots of oil and soda. 

Its always good to analyse the jobs done. The scale of  celebration and arrangements were better than the last year, but there is always scope of improvement.

1. Decoration was better than the last year. 
2. DJ for all the 10 days was great. How about having live music and singing next year? 
3. In-house dinner "MAHABHOJ" on Navami was good. I like all dishes, except bhindi, which I do not like  otherwise.
4. The food counters to serve mahabhoj, were very less as compared to the coupons distributed. People have to wait for at-least 30-40 minutes in line. No one wanted to visit again to fill the plates because of long ques, much food is wasted as people fill their plates to avoid next visit.
5. The less number of distribution counters on Vijayadashmi were again a pain in neck. Just one counter ? The distribution system needs improvement.

Have a glimpse of the festivities in OH: 

 

OH14 घर घर गणेश !

OH में आजकल गणेश की धूम है. सोसाइटी के लॉन्स में गणेश विद्यमान हैं. फिर घर घर में भी आ बैठें हैं. बहुत ही शौक़ से लोगों ने इन्हें अपने सर आँखों पर बैठाया  है. आईये आप को OH की रचनात्मकता से रूबरू करवाती हूँ. ख़ुशी की बात यह है कि अधिकतर लोगों ने इको-फ्रेंडली यानी मिटटी के गणेश जी स्थापित किये हैं. देर से ही सही, अब समाज में अपने पर्यावरण के बारे में जागरूकता आ रही है. यूँ, अभी भी काफी लोग यह समझते हैं की POP के गणेश भी सही हैं, क्योंकि यह भी पानी में घुल तो जाते है हैं. पर यह नहीं समझ पाते की आप अपने कुछ सैंकड़ों या हज़ारों रुपए बचाने के चक्कर में अपनी आने वाली पीढ़ियों के लिए लाखों का स्वास्थ्य का बिल  बढ़ा के जा रहे हैं. एक तरह से पर्यावरण का बलात्कार करने से हम अपने आगे आने वाली पीढ़ियों को आशिर्वाद में भयंकर बीमारियां दे कर जा रहीं हैं.
इको - फ्रेंडली मूर्तियां पहचानना कोई मुश्किल नहीं. मिटटी POP जितनी सूक्षम नहीं होती, इसलिए मिटटी के गणेश की कारीगरी  बहुत  सूक्षम नहीं होती. ज़रा सा ध्यान से देखते ही आप पहचान पाएंगे कि आप के भगवान् की प्रतिमा आपके बच्चों को अच्छी सेहत का आशिर्वाद देगी या नहीं.
आईये देखें OH में स्थापित कुछ गणेश प्रतिमाएं   :

                                                                               

वर्षा के हाथों का कमाल देखिये. गणपति भी स्वयं बनाये और उन्हें अपनी कल्पना से कितना सुंदर बनाया.

 राधा ने स्वयं अपने गणेश मिटटी से बनाये. ->

रूपाली, कविता और लविशा के गणेश.

चॉकलेट के गणेश भी आये OH  में. नेहा ने अपने छोटे बेटे के लिए चॉकलेट के गणेश बनवाये.विसर्जन भी किया दूध में. फिर  चॉकलेट वाला दूध बच्चों को पिलाया.

घर में इको फ्रेंडली गणेश का विसर्जन आम तौर से लोग घर में ही एक बाल्टी में कर देते हैं.. फिर उस पानी को गमलों में डाल देते हैं  इस तरह सार्वजनिक पानी स्त्रोतों की स्वछता भी बनी रहती है. और फिर ढोली आदि के द्वारा ध्वनि प्रदुषण से भी बचाव होता है. 

सोसाइटी के गणेश और बाकी गतिविधियों के बारे में अगली पोस्ट में!

तब तक के लिए विदा.

पढ़ने के लिए धन्यवाद.

OH 13 गणेश चतुर्थी

OH में आजकल बहुत धूमधाम हो रही है. कुछ चुनावी सरगर्मियां हैं और कुछ बप्पा के आने की. हाँ, और गरबा अभ्यास की धूम भी तो है. जगह जगह महिलाओं और कन्यायों के समूह अभ्यास करते दिखाई दे रहे हैं. गार्डन में, पार्किंग में और कभी तो टावर्स के पीछे भी. माहौल मस्त और खुशनुमा  है. 

अब ५ सितम्बर को गुन्नू भैया के आने का इंतज़ार है. आज कुछ धार्मिक वेबसाइट्स से गणेश चतुर्थी की पूजा और विधान की कुछ विधियां पढ़ी तो लगा यह में आपने पाठकों के साथ शेयर करूँ. 

मैं खुद भी गणेश जी को घर लातीं हूँ. मेरे यहां विनायक  दूसरी बार ठहरेंगे. OH में आने के बाद से मेरे मन में गणेश जी को घर लाने की इच्छा जागी. क्योंकि मैं बहुत कर्मकांड में विश्वास नहीं रखती, तो मुझे पूजा इत्यादि की विधि की कोई जानकारी नहीं थी.पिछले वर्ष मैंने अपनी सहेलियों के मार्गदर्शन में बप्पा की पूजा अर्चना  की. पर मेरा  ईश्वर के साथ संचार का एक अलग माध्यम है. मुझे अकेले में शान्ति से उन से बात करना अच्छा लगता है. मुझे पूजा के नाम पर चंदा इत्यादि भी देना बहुत सुहाता नहीं. उस भगवान् को हम क्या दे सकते हैं जो सारी सृष्टि का मालिक  है. पर कुछ बातें समाज में रहते हुए करनी भी पड़ती हैं. 

मैं खुद तो किसी भी तरह की पूजा पाठ  की विधि को नहीं मानती, पर आज नेटसर्फिंग करते हुए मुझे गणेश वंदना की प्रणाली के बारे में कुछ जानकारी प्राप्त हुई तो सोचा कि यह जानकारी  सभी के साथ बांटी जाए.

मैं तो सिर्फ भगवान् से साधारण संवाद करना चाह रहीं हूँ. सिर्फ मन की बात. यूँ तो विघ्नहर्ता को कुछ कहने की भी ज़रुरत नहीं है, पर फिर भी इंसानी मन है, बिना कहे मानता भी नहीं.

चलिए बातों का क्या है, यह तो होती रहेंगी.

आईये, अब गणेश चतुर्थी के बारे में कुछ जानकारी का आदान प्रादान हो जाए.

शुभ मुहुर्त

आपको बता दें कि भले ही गणेश चतुर्थी 5 सितंबर 2016 को है लेकिन इसका प्रारंभ 4 सितंबर, शाम 6.54 मिनट पर ही हो जाएगा और 5 सितंबर रात 9.10 मिनट पर यह शुभ मुहुर्त समाप्त हो जाएगा।

पूजन का समय

घर में गणेश स्थापित करने और पूजन का शुभ समय सुबह 11.10 मिनट से लेकर दोपहर 1.39 मिनट तक रहेगा।

विशेष सामग्रियां

गणेश चतुर्थी के दिन, गणेश पूजन पूरे विधि-विधान से ही किया जाना चाहिए और इसके लिए विशेष सामग्रियां जरूरी हैं।

मोदक

चौकी, जल कलश, पंचामृत, लाल कपड़ा, रोली-मोली, मोदक, जनेऊ गंगाजल, इलायची, नारियल, सिंदूर, चांदी का वर्क, सुपारी, लौंग, पंचमेवा घी, कपूर... आदि की आवश्यकता है।

भगवान गणेश की पूजा

सामग्री इकट्ठा करने के बाद अब पूजन विधि के बारे में जान लेते हैं। जानकारों के अनुसार भगवान गणेश की पूजा करने के लिए सबसे पहले सुबह जल्दी उठकर नहा लें।

लाल कपड़े पहनें

नहाने के बाद लाल कपड़े पहनें और फिर पूजा करने की तैयारी करें। पूजा करते हुए आपक मुंह पूर्व या उत्तर दिशा की ओर होना चाहिए।

पूजन की शुरुआत

पूजन की शुरुआत करने से पहले पंचामृत में गणेश जी का स्नान करवाएं और उसके बाद उन पर गंगा जल छिड़कें। एक चौकी पर लाल कपड़ा बिछाकर गणेश जी को उस पर स्थापित करें और ऋद्धि-सिद्धि के रूप में उनके साथ दो सुपारी रखें।

मंत्र

समस्त सामग्री अर्पित करने के बाद धूप, अगरबत्ती, दीपक से उनकी आरती करें और “वक्रतुंड महाकाय सूर्य कोटि समप्रभ, निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे दे सर्व कार्येषु सर्वदा” मंत्र का जाप करें।

चांद

गणेश चतुर्थी से जुड़ी एक मान्यता भी विद्यमान है कि गणेश चतुर्थी की रात चांद नहीं देखना चाहिए। ऐसा क्यों कहा जाता है उसके पीछे भी एक कहानी है, जिसका संबंध एक श्राप से है।

भगवान श्रीकृष्ण

ऐसा माना जाता है कि जो भी व्यक्ति गणेश चतुर्थी के चांद को देख लेता है, तो देखने वाले व्यक्ति पर चोरी का आरोप लगता है। भगवान श्रीकृष्ण ने भी चतुर्थी का चांद देखा था और उन्हें भी मणि चोरी करने के झूठे आरोप का सामना करना पड़ा था।

चांद ना देखने का समय

चांद को ना देखने का निश्चित समय भी उपलब्ध है जो 4 सितंबर 2016 को शाम 6.50 से 8.36 तक है और 5 सितंबर को सुबह 9.21 से शाम 9.12 तक है।

समस्त खुशियां

यह सभी पूजा की विधियां और पूजन की सामग्री पूरी तरह शास्त्रीय मान्यताओं से जुड़े हैं। 

इसी उम्मीद के साथ आप से विदा लेती हूँ कि गणेश जी जब आएंगे तो वे आपके सभी विघ्नों को हरकर आपको और आपके परिवार को समस्त खुशियां प्रदान करेंगे।

( information collected from different sites)

OH11 - Independence Day Celebrations - August 15, 2016

Its whole day celebration in Orchid Harmony today to celebrate the Independence day.
The day started with the beautiful patriotic songs in the morning, followed by flag hoisting in the presence of members of OH family.

It was followed by introduction of the new members and some impromptu performances by the talented residents. Here are some glimpses of the occasion.

 National flag in full glory!

गुज़ारिश  है इन हवाओं से ज़रा तेज़ बहें 

                                              बात मेरे देश की शान  तिरंगे के लहराने की है!

The guards' brigade - OH safety is in their hands.

 The OH family:

   Stand still @ National anthem !

Ladies in independence day colour coordinates - orange, green and white!

                                                                                     Spreading happiness!

Members enjoying the togetherness!

Impromptu performances by the residents

      

OH 10 Festival of Colours

The holi celebrations this year were started with "Holika Dehan" on 23rd March, 16. Holika Dahan is  the burning of Holika, the devil.

Dehan was outside society premises on an unused cross road. A wide platform of sand and soil was erected where the wooden logs were piled on the brick lining so that road is not spoilt.  It was well planned and people's participation made it vibrant and colourful. Women in colourful attires with pooja thalis brings festivity to its best.

Like many traditions in Hinduism, Holi celebrates the death of Holika in order to save Prahlad, and thus Holi gets its name. The story as a whole is testament to the power of devotion (bhakti) over the evil represented by King Hiranyakashyap, as Prahlad never lost his faith. 

On the eve of Holi, typically at or after sunset, the pyre is lit, signifying Holika Dahan. The ritual symbolises the victory of good over evil. People sing and dance around the fire. People also perform parikrama of fire.

On 24th March, young enthusiasts were down very early. All geared up with pitchkaris and colours. As the day gets warmer around 9.30am, people were streaming down to celebrate the festival of colours! 






Breakfast of vegetable bhajias and jalebis were laid down . It was fun! Little later, a lunch stall offering pao-bhaji, chole-bhature, vegetable pulao and samosas was set up. The food was good. Food and eatables served this year were an improvement over the last year's. I hope, we see further improvements next year too.

The wastage of water during the festivity when lakhs of people in the country are facing severe water shortage is criminal. I have seen some using the fire fighting hose and water was flowing just like that for more than ten minutes. Its okay, if one uses limited supply of water for fun , but it was sheer wastage and criminal.

Is it out of fashion to think about social accountability? 

Some people were seen throwing full plates of jalebis and bhajias  in the dustbin. The servings were free and self serving. Why should one throw food? With so many people dying of hunger in the world, it's sheer immoral to throw away eatables. 

The worst was the misuse of swimming pool. It's only in our society, where people have spoilt the swimming pool. None in the neighbouring society "Greenfield" and few other nearby societies in South Bopal have used their swimming pool for holi. 

Why in OH people have acted in this way? 
Is it because there were some suggestions issued by some residents of the society to save the infrastructure of common use? 
Is it because the residents do not feel the ownership? 
Is it because the residents are not proud of their premises? 

All of us must ponder over these.

We all need to think about it and find answers to improve the social behaviour and civic sense.

OH9 : CHRISTMAS, LOHRI AND HOLI !

Much water has flown under OH bridge in last few months.

Christmas was celebrated with much fervour and enthusiasm on 25th December 2015. A christmas carnival was organized with food stalls, game stalls and a small corner for product stalls to share the home business done by the residents of OH. It was very well organised. OH family participated in large numbers and enjoyed a lot. Though it ended with the intervention of  local police. The organizers were totally at fault to allow loud music after 10 PM. They should have shown some concern about the people who have to go to office early in the morning, senior citizens and students and all those people who have the right to a sound and peaceful sleep. I am really happy that some one has complained and the unwanted music stopped. My sincere thanks to that unknown samaritan, who saved my night's sleep and a bad day.

We went to visit the flower show on river front on 3rd January. As we were entering the society, there was a large crowd at the entry gate and a police van just behind us. There has been a very nasty episode which has happened in the society. Its beyond my comprehension, how can people show anger and muscle power to ruin young lives. I shudder to think about the kind of reactions cornered persons forced to do. Crime petrol , the TV programme is such an eye opener. It's my personal belief that one should not create hostile living conditions in and around living spaces.

February comes and brings in the final examination fever - boards, pre-boards, practicals, boards etc. Mothers are as tense as children. Its almost March end now. Most of the school exams are over. Some schools have declared the results too. The examination days were stressful for the mothers and children. Few enterprising mothers celebrated the occasion with a grand pot-luck lunch. It's heartening to see the happy faces. I personally feel very joyous when such happy memories are created. I love being surrounded by positive and happy people.

With holi festival, just after 3 days, some action is being seen in OH.
It has been long time when I am back to this blog.
The life has been very busy at the onset of the new year. I hope to write about OH more often as I want to record most of the moments .

OH8: Sunderkand Paath

On Saturday, 21 Nov,15 OH was inmersed in spititual flavours. A sunderkand paath was organised by few relligious minded people. After 2 hrs of musical recitation of Ramayan's Sunderkand followed by hanumaan chalisa was attended by around 100 people.
The paath was followed by prasaad of poori-sabzi-halwa.
May this religious ceremony brings prosperity,peace and happiness in the OH family!

Amen!

OH7: Festival Flavours in community living

Hi,
Long time! You know how the Indian festivals are :).
Lots of hungaama and being busy in dressing up, eating up and adding kilos. Anyway, eating is part of festivity fun. few inches here and there do not matter. :P

The festivities started from Navratri days, Dushhera, Karwachauth and now Diwali.

Nine days of navratri were great with all late night dancing. It was fun to get dressed and see the beautiful , smiling action oriented people all around. Though the OH occupancy seemed to be approx 30 % of the total occupancy, the regulars dancing brigade kept the flame of festivity alive.

No, I was not a regular participant for all nine days. I detest regularity so need to take a break here and there. Then there were some freelancing ID project which were to be submitted in between and hence I participated in the fun and frolic from my balcony. I had a great view and felt like being there.

Last few days, a DJ was invited and it was more fun than our desi music vendor. I only hope, next year, OH will arrange for live music if there are people with a greater vision .

Last four days, some snacks were also served. They were just YUCK and not eatable at all. The first day idly and utppam were all kachcha. Accompaniments sambhar and chutney were horrible and not hygenically made as many people have heard having stomach upsets. Next day's snacks were ragda- patties which really gave a great "ragda" to my apetite and tastebuds.

The "horrible meter" to rate the food was rising towards the unhealthy and tasteless preparations. On 3rd day, we went late, around 10pm for snacks. Surprisingly, it was better than the first two days. "Pav Bhaji", an Indian curry (bhaji) with bun (Pav). Though, later on I came to know the Bhaji became tasty because of one resident's misadventure into the kitchen which resulted in adding tomatoes and other masalas worth Rs. 2800.00. With tomatoes around 40 - 50 rs, per kg, I do not know how much he has added and masalas. Clearly appears to be a case of overcharging. This caterer should be blacklisted as he was neither a good cook nor a good businessman.



Dushera was celebrated with gujarti flavours fafda - jalebi. The fare was okay this morning though arrangements were not so. Why the cooks were making the jalebis in sunlight? It was terrible hot day with bright sun. I did not like this.

Dushhera evening was made most beautiful by live singing programme organised by our OH

 resident, Sh. Satbir Singh ji and his troupe and orchestra. He is a professional singer. It was a very kind gesture from him as he has not charged a single penny for himself and his singers. Only orchestra people were paid. Song selection was great. Songs of all moods and genre! Song with great lyrics. It was a wonderful evening that started from 9 pm and melted into next morning and time just flew away! I loved every moment of it. The artists were doctor, a physics lecturer and other professionals. A big thanks to the whole group.

Accounts statement this time was the most innovative part of the whole programme. For the first time ( I have attended 3  functions before this) a detailed statement of account is issued. A closer look clearly shows the need for better negotiations skills for food , lighting etc and controls in otherwise random expenses. Public money accountability is very important for people who enters into this domain. the societies / organisations where matured and committed people enters in this arena are definitely better managed.

Karwachauth was celebrated on 30th October. It is a festival of married women, who fasts for the long life and well being of their husbands. I do not celebrate Karwachauth as on my first karwachath, my husband has asked not to do this as he cant fast with me for my long life and he does not want to live longer without me. moreover, I also do not have any faith in such beliefs, so this karwachauth celebration was never part of my life. But I have no less respect for women who do it with wholehearted devotion.

I remember an old incident about Karwachauth. My son Vaibhav must be around 5 years old then, when we were living in IOC colony Noida. Ladies in full karwachauth dress code were doing katha and pooja in the society gardens. Vaibhav came running home and asked, mom there is something going on in the garden. why donot you join them? I told her aunties are fasting and celebrating a festival. Vaibhav was never a fond eater of any kind of meals, said " wah auntiyon ke to maze ho gaye, aaj khaana nahin khaana padega." Everyone has different perspective of being without food.

We will be celebrating  Dipawali tomorrow. Thus all major festivals of this year have come to an end. Next festivity will be in December for Christmas.

OH is a vibrant community where resident do not leave any opportunity to discuss any issue and convert it into non issue or take up a non issue and convert it into issues. The Latest issue of discussion is  the place where the firecrackers should be burnt?  Inside or outside the society. With so many vehicles parked all around the residential complex, it is a wise decision to burn the crackers outside. It will be safer for children to be away from vehicles to avoid any mishapping. I wonder, if this issue needs any debate at all.  finally a safe place has been assigned for fire crackers.

Wishing all a very happy and safe diwali! May the new year brings in more compassion, understanding and mental peace to OH residents.