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)

OH12 - Independence Day Celebration- Evening Cultural Programme

It has been 4 days, when India celebrated Independence day. These days have been real hectic, so could not come back to write.

Evening was spent in watching the cultural programme with performances by OH children and mommies.The flavour of the programme was patriotism. The programme was much better than last year's performances, which is a good thing as I believe in bettering one's level in everything. Here are few glimpses of the programme. Have a look:


A fashion show by children as young as 4 yrs old was a hit event. The freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Mahatama Gandhi, Laxmi Bai and Subhash Bose were seen sharing stage with Indian Icon of free India like Marycom, Lata Mangeshkar, Priyanka Chopra, Sachin Tendulkar. Political leaders like PM Modi , Mother Teresa, Sarojini Naidu were also remembered. Mothers have really worked hard in creating the correct ensemble and personality.  

OH Karate kids gave a marvelous performance. OH residents came in full strength and enjoyed the programme.

Spirited dances by young girls and boys were enjoyed by one and all.

The dance by boys, I forgot the song has been repeated since last 3 functions. Yeh dil maange ab change... please no more repetitions.



After a performance of almost two hours, the whole gathering was served with dinner of poori- bevadi, raita, fried rice and Jalebi.

I had hurried back after having my dinner as soon as it was laid down. Food was hot, tasty and sumptuous.

So, with night, all the patriotism also went to sleep, till it will be taken out, cleaned and decorated on next holiday on 26th January! Good night! A new day, some new challenges- I am looking forward to it!

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.