Thursday, October 1, 2015

There Is No Doubt In My Mind That You Shoot Better Pictures Than Me



you see through the eye
of your camera all things
filled with joy beauty your
visions pride neighbors envy
i shoot open gutters over
flowing garbage remorse
pain disparity somebody
has to shoot lepers beggars
you see they are part of a
lesser god doing their duty
i shoot abandoned moments
abandoned memories i freeze
while you only talk about stray
dogs swach bharat and trees
on the soul of my camera
consciousness aided by shivas
third eye ,,,my feelings for the
downtrodden marginalized
wont ever cease ..as a hobbyist
a beggar poet through stories
within pictures i get my release

I Refuse To Believe It Is The Camera That Takes Pictures



but the eye of shiva
within my cosmic
consciousness shoots
a thought a moment
a feeling from the soul
of a person it loots
'sometimes it steals
the entire soul i am
sure you wont dispute
it is the mind that creates
melodious memories
to the environment
surroundings pays
tribute ,,pictures
exuberantly talk
the language of
poetry silent
mute ..

but remember you can only shoot what you were destined to shoot ..fruits of the loom.. branches and roots ,,poetry a medium mystically photography's offshoot ,,

108 Names Of Lord Ganesha



Lord Ganesha is known by many names. There exists 108 different names of Ganesha in the Hindu scriptures. Many of these are suitable for baby names - for both boys and girls. The following are these various Sanskrit names of Ganesha with their meaning.

Akhuratha: One whose chariot is pulled by a mouse
Alampata: One who is forever eternal
Amit: One who is incomparable
Anantachidrupamayam: One who is the personification of the infinite consciousness
Avaneesh: Master of the universe
Avighna: The remover of obstacles
Balaganapati: Beloved child
Bhalchandra: One who is moon crested
Bheema: One who is gigantic
Bhupati: The lord of lords
Bhuvanpati: The lord of the heaven
Buddhinath: The God of wisdom
Buddhipriya: One who bestows of knowledge and intellect
Buddhividhata: The God of knowledge
Chaturbhuj: The four-armed lord
Devadeva: The lord of lords
Devantakanashakarin: Destroyer of evils and demons
Devavrata: One who accepts all penances
Devendrashika: The protector of all gods
Dharmik: One who is righteous and charitable
Dhoomravarna: One whose skin is smoke-hued
Durja: The invincible
Dvaimatura: One who has two mothers
Ekaakshara: One who is of a single syllable
Ekadanta: Single-tusked
Ekadrishta: Single-focused
Eshanputra: The son of Shiva
Gadadhara: One whose weapon is the mace
Gajakarna: One who has elephantine-ears
Gajanana: One who has an elephantine face
Gajananeti: One who has the looks of an elephant
Gajavakra: The trunk of an elephant
Gajavaktra: One who has an elephantine mouth
Ganadhakshya: The lord of lords
Ganadhyakshina: Leader of all celestial bodies
Ganapati: The lord of lords
Gaurisuta: The son of Gauri
Gunina: The lord of virtues
Haridra: One who is golden-hued
Heramba: Mother's beloved son
Kapila: One who is yellowish-brown
Kaveesha: The lord of poets
Kirti: The lord of music
Kripalu: Merciful lord
Krishapingaksha: One who has yellowish-brown eyes
Kshamakaram: The abode of forgiveness
Kshipra: One who is easy to appease
Lambakarna: One who has large ears
Lambodara: One who has a big belly
Mahabala: One who is enormously strong
Mahaganapati: The Supreme Lord
Maheshwaram: Lord of the universe
Mangalamurti: The all auspicious Lord
Manomay: The winner of hearts
Mrityuanjaya: The conqueror of death
Mundakarama: The abode of happiness
Muktidaya: Bestower of eternal bliss
Musikvahana: One who rides a mouse
Nadapratithishta: One who appreciates music
Namasthetu: Destroyer of evils and sins
Nandana: Lord Shiva's son
Nideeshwaram: Bestower of wealth
Omkara: One who has the form of 'Om'
Pitambara: One who has yellowish skin
Pramoda: Lord of all abodes
Prathameshwara: First among all Gods
Purush: The omnipotent personality
Rakta: One who is blood-hued
Rudrapriya: One who is the beloved of Shiva
Sarvadevatman: One who accepts all celestial offerings
Sarvasiddhanta: Bestower of skills and knowledge
Sarvatman: Protector of the universe
Shambhavi: Son of Parvati
Shashivarnam: One who has a moon-like complexion
Shoorpakarna: One who is large-eared
Shuban: The all auspicious Lord
Shubhagunakanan One who is The Master of All Virtues
Shweta: One who is as pure as the white
Siddhidhata: Bestower of accomplishments and successes
Siddhipriya: Giver of wishes and boons
Siddhivinayaka: Bestower of success
Skandapurvaja: Elder of Skanda or Kartikya
Sumukha: One who has an auspicious face
Sureshwaram: The lord of lords
Swaroop: Lover of beauty
Tarun: One who is ageless
Uddanda: The nemesis of evils and vices
Umaputra: The son of Goddess Uma
Vakratunda: One with a curved trunk
Varaganapati: Bestower of boons
Varaprada: One who grants wishes
Varadavinayaka: Bestower of success
Veeraganapati: The vigorous lord
Vidyavaridhi: The God of wisdom
Vighnahara: Remover of obstacles
Vignaharta: Destroyer of all obstacles
Vighnaraja: Lord of all obstacles
Vighnarajendra: Lord of all obstacles
Vighnavinashanaya: Destroyer of all obstacles
Vigneshwara: Lord of all obstacles
Vikat: One who is huge
Vinayaka: The Supreme Lord
Vishwamukha: Master of the universe
Vishwaraja: King of the world
Yagnakaya: One who accepts sacrificial offerings
Yashaskaram: The bestower of fame and fortune
Yashvasin: The beloved and ever popular lord
Yogadhipa: The lord of meditation


hinduism.about.com/od/lordganesha/a/108-Names-Of-Ganesha.htm

Lord Ganesha Remover Of Obstacles Lord Of Success





Ganesha — the elephant-deity riding a mouse — has become one of the commonest mnemonics for anything associated with Hinduism. This not only suggests the importance of Ganesha, but also shows how popular and pervasive this deity is in the minds of the masses.

The Lord of Success
The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being.

He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. In fact, Ganesha is one of the five prime Hindu deities (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Durga being the other four) whose idolatry is glorified as the panchayatana puja.

Significance of the Ganesha Form
Ganesha's head symbolizes the Atman or the soul, which is the ultimate supreme reality of human existence, and his human body signifies Maya or the earthly existence of human beings. The elephant head denotes wisdom and its trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic reality. In his upper right hand Ganesha holds a goad, which helps him propel mankind forward on the eternal path and remove obstacles from the way. The noose in Ganesha's left hand is a gentle implement to capture all difficulties.

The broken tusk that Ganesha holds like a pen in his lower right hand is a symbol of sacrifice, which he broke for writing the Mahabharata. The rosary in his other hand suggests that the pursuit of knowledge should be continuous.


The laddoo (sweet) he holds in his trunk indicates that one must discover the sweetness of the Atman. His fan-like ears convey that he is all ears to our petition. The snake that runs round his waist represents energy in all forms. And he is humble enough to ride the lowest of creatures, a mouse.

How Ganesha Got His Head
The story of the birth of this zoomorphic deity, as depicted in the Shiva Purana, goes like this: Once goddess Parvati, while bathing, created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Shiva, her husband returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and struck off the boy's head in rage. Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad (gana) to fetch the head of any sleeping being who was facing the north. The company found a sleeping elephant and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy. Shiva restored its life and made him the leader (pati) of his troops. Hence his name 'Ganapati'. Shiva also bestowed a boon that people would worship him and invoke his name before undertaking any venture.

However, there's another less popular story of his origin, found in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana: Shiva asked Parvati to observe the punyaka vrata for a year to appease Vishnu in order to have a son. When a son was born to her, all the gods and goddesses assembled to rejoice on its birth. Lord Shani, the son of Surya (Sun-God), was also present but he refused to look at the infant. Perturbed at this behaviour, Parvati asked him the reason, and Shani replied that his looking at baby would harm the newborn. However, on Parvati's insistence when Shani eyed the baby, the child's head was severed instantly. All the gods started to bemoan, whereupon Vishnu hurried to the bank of river Pushpabhadra and brought back the head of a young elephant, and joined it to the baby's body, thus reviving it.

Ganesha, the Destroyer of Pride
Ganesha is also the destroyer of vanity, selfishness and pride. He is the personification of material universe in all its various magnificent manifestations. "All Hindus worship Ganesha regardless of their sectarian belief," says D N Singh in A Study of Hinduism. "He is both the beginning of the religion and the meeting ground for all Hindus."

Ganesh Chaturthi
The devotees of Ganesha are known as 'Ganapatyas', and the festival to celebrate and glorify him is called Ganesh Chaturthi.


courtesy 

Ganesh Chaturthi



Ganesh Chaturthi (Vinayaka Chaturthi, Gaṇēśa Caturthī or Vināyaka Caviti) is the Hindu festival celebrated in honour of the elephant-headed god Ganesha. Celebrations are traditionally held on the 4th day of the first fortnight (Shukla Chaturthi) in the month of Bhaadrapada, according to the Hindu calendar. This usually falls between August and September months of the Gregorian Calendar. Festivities usually finish in 10 days, on the fourteen day of the same fortnight (Anant Chaturdashi).

The festival is celebrated both publicly and privately at home. The modern day version of public celebrations involves installing clay images of Ganesha in public pandals (temporary shrines) and worshipped together for ten days. The private celebration involves installing an appropriate sized clay image at home and worshipping with family and friends. In both cases, at the end of the festival the idols are immersed in a body of water such as a lake or a pond.

The festival is generally celebrated all over India. However, celebrations also occur at Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa,[1] Odisha and in other parts of Western India[2] and Southern India.[3] Outside India, it is celebrated widely in Terai region of Nepal and by the Hindu diaspora in the United States, Canada, Mauritius,[4] and other places.

Rituals
The festival starts by selecting and installing a clay murti (idol). At home, families will create a small, clean corner decorated with flowers and other colourful items prior to installing the idol. For public celebrations, preparations will commence weeks in advance and will involve erecting temporary structures such as mandapas and pandals. These are funded by monetary contributions from local residents and commercial establishments. Once the idol is installed, people will decorate the idol and the place of installation in various themes using flowers and other decorative materials.

In preparation for the festival, skilled artisans create artistic clay models of Lord Ganesha with the aim of selling them. The clay idols tend to range in size from 3⁄4 inch (1.9 cm) for domestic celebration to over 70 ft (21 m) for large well funded community celebrations.[5]

As part of the consecration ceremony, a priest will perform the Prana Pratishtha ritual with a symbolic aim of inviting Ganesha to inhabit the idol. This is followed by the 16 step ritual named Shodashopachara[6] (Sanskrit: Shodash = "16", Upachara = "process") during which various offerings like Coconut, jaggery, modaks, durva (trefoil) blades of grass and red flowers are offered to the murti.

Throughout the ceremony, Vedic hymns from the Rig Veda, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, Upanishad, and the Ganesha stotra (prayer) from the Narada Purana are chanted.

Once installed, Aarti's are periodically performed with friends and family - typically in the morning and the evening.

Within India, the festival is mainly celebrated at home, and publicly by local community groups in western states of Maharashtra and Goa and all southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Celebration at Home[edit]
Within homes, the families install small clay statues for worship during festival. The idol is worshipped in the morning and evening, which involves various offerings of flowers, durva, karanji, kadabu and modak.[7][8] The daily worship ceremonies ends with the worshippers singing the Aarti in honour of Ganesha, other Gods and saints. In Maharashtra, the Marathi aarti "Sukhakarta Dukhaharta", composed by the 17th century Hindu saints Samarth Ramdas is sung.[9]

In Goa, the festival is locally known as Chavath in Konkani language and is also known as Parab (Parva, or "auspicious celebration").[10] In Goa, the actual festivities start on the third day of the lunar month Bhadrapada. On this day Haritalika, or Gauri,[who?] with Shiva is worshiped by women, which also includes fasting.[1] Instruments like the Ghumot, cymbals and Pakhawaj are played in ceremony.[11] Harvest festival, known as Navyachi Pancham, is celebrated on the next day where newly harvested paddy is ceremoniously brought home from the fields or temples (where Puja is held on a community level) and a Puja is conducted[clarification needed]. Communities that eat seafood refrain from doing so while the domestic Ganesha celebrations last.[1]

In Karnataka, the Gowri festival precedes the Ganesh Chaturthi, and people across the state wish each other on the auspicious Gowri - Ganesha Habba (festival). In Andhra Pradesh, Ganesha idols of clay (Matti Vinayakudu) and turmeric (Siddhi Vinayakudu) are usually worshipped at homes along with plaster of paris idols. In Tamil Nadu, the festival is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or Pillayar Chaturthi and the festival falls on the fourth day after a new moon in the month of aavani. The idols here are usually made of clay or Papier-mâché, since plaster of paris idols have been banned by the state government.[citation needed]. Idols are also made of coconuts and other organic products. The idols are worshipped for some days in pandals and are immersed in the Bay of Bengal the following Sunday. In Kerala, the festival is also known as Lamboodhara Piranalu. The festival falls in the month of Chingam.[12] In the city of Thiruvananthapuram, a grand procession is held from the Pazhavangadi Ganapathi temple to the Shankumugham beach, with tall statues of Ganesha made from organic items and milk being immersed in the sea.[13] Elephant worship is also widely practiced across Kerala.

The traditions of each family differs over when to end the celebrations. The domestic celebrations come to an end after 1, 1 1/2, 3, 5, 7 or 11 days when the idol is taken in a procession to a large body of water such as a lake, river or the sea for immersion. Due to environmental concerns, a number of families now avoid the large water bodies and instead let the clay statue disintegrate in a bucket or tub of water at home. After a few days the clay is used in the home garden. In some cities, a public eco-friendly process is used for immersion.[14]

Public celebrations[edit]

Ganesha Visarjan in Mumbai

Ganpati Idol at Pune
Public celebrations of the festival are popular. These are organised by local youth groups, neighborhood associations or a group of tradespeople. The funds for the public festival are collected from members of the association arranging the celebration, local residents or local businesses.[15] The Ganesha idols and accompanying statues are installed in temporary shelter called mandap or pandals. The festival is the time for cultural activities like singing and theater performances, orchestra and community activities such as free medical checkup, blood donation camps, and charity for the poor. In modern times, the festival is not only a religious festival, but has become a very critical and important economic activity for Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. Many artists, industries, and businesses earn a significant amount of their living from this Festival. Ganesha Festival also provides a stage for budding artists to present their art to the public. Not only Hindus but many other religions also participate in the celebration like Muslims,[16][17][18] Jains, Christian and others.[

The main sweet dish during the festival is the modak (modak in Marathi and Konkani, modakam/kudumu in Telugu, modaka/kadubu in Kannada, kozhakatta/modakkam in Malayalam and kozhukattai/modagam in Tamil). A modak is a dumpling made from rice/wheat flour with a stuffing of fresh or dry-grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and other condiments. It is either steamed or fried. Another popular sweet dish is the karanji (karjikai in Kannada) which is similar to the modak in composition and taste but has a semicircular shape.

In Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, modak (flour dumplings with a sweet stuffing mixture), Laddu, Vundrallu (steamed, coarsely ground rice flour balls), Panakam (jaggery, black pepper and cardamom flavored drink), Vadapappu (soaked and moong lentils), Chalividi (cooked rice flour and jaggery mixture), etc., are offered to Ganesha. These offerings are called Naivedyam in Telugu. Traditionally, the plate containing the Modak is filled with twenty-one pieces of the sweet.

In the coastal state of Goa,apart from Modak,a Goan version of Idly called Sanna is extremely popular,[22] along with Patoleo and Payasa.


It is not known when nor how Ganesh Chaturthi was first celebrated.[23] However, the Ganesha festival was being celebrated as a public event in Pune since the times of Shivaji (1630–1680), the founder of the Maratha Empire.[23] The Peshwas, the de facto hereditary administrators of the Empire from 1718 till its end in 1818, encouraged the celebrations in their administrative seat Pune as Ganesha was their family deity (Kuladevata).[23] With the fall of the Peshwas, the Ganesha festival lost state patronage and became a private family celebration again in Maharashtra until its revival by Indian freedom fighter and social reformer, Lokmanya Tilak.[23]

The public festival (as celebrated in Maharashtra today), was introduced by Bhausaheb Laxman Javale in 1892 by installing the first Sarvajanik (public) Ganesha idol. This followed a meeting at his residence, which was attended by Balasaheb Natu, and Krishnajipant Khasgiwale, amongst others. Khasgiwale, on his visit to the Maratha-ruled state of Gwalior, had seen the tradition of public celebration still maintained and brought it to the attention of his friends in Pune.[24] In 1893 Lokmanya Tilak praised the concept of Sarvajanik Ganesha Utsav in his newspaper, Kesari, and the next year he installed a Ganesha idol in Kesari Wada too. Tilak's efforts transformed the annual domestic festival into a large, well-organized public event.[25] Tilak recognized the wide appeal of the deity Ganesha as "the god for everybody",[26][27] and popularized Ganesh Chaturthi as a national festival in order to "bridge the gap between Brahmins and 'non-Brahmins' and find a context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them", and generate nationalistic fervour amongst the people of Maharashtra to oppose the British colonial rule.[28][29] Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and also established the practice of submerging the idols in rivers, sea, or other pools of water on the tenth day after Ganesh Chaturthi.[30]

Under Tilak's encouragement, the festival facilitated community participation and involvement in the form of intellectual discourses, poetry recitals, performances of plays, musical concerts, and folk dances. It served as a meeting ground for people of all castes and communities in times when the British discouraged social and political gatherings, in order to exercise control over the population.[31]

In Goa, the festival predates the Kadamba era. The Goa Inquisition had banned Hindu festivals, and heavy restrictions were imposed on Hindus who did not convert to Christianity. However Hindu Goans continued to practice their culture, despite the restrictions. Many families worship Ganesha in the form of Patri (leaves used for worshiping Ganesha or any other deity), a picture drawn on paper, small silver idols, or in some households Ganesha idols are even hidden, a unique feature to the Ganesha festival in Goa. The reason for these differences was due to a ban on clay Ganesha idols and festivities, as a part of the Inquisition by the Jesuits.[32] Another striking feature about Chavath of Goa is, unlike Maharashtra, it's more a family affair, and is a sentimental time for Hindu Goans. It is generally a celebration of the joint family, and some families of 1000 or more members, still celebrate the festival together with great fanfare in their ancestral homes.[33] Goan Catholics also take part in the festivities in many places.[c


The most serious impact of the festival on the environment is due to the immersion of idols made of Plaster of Paris into lakes, rivers and the sea. Traditionally, the idol was sculpted out of mud taken from nearby bodies of water. After the festival, it was returned to the Earth by immersing it in a nearby water body. This cycle was meant to represent the cycle of creation and dissolution in Nature.

However, as the production of Ganesha idols on a commercial basis grew, the "earthen" or "natural clay" (shaadu maati in Marathi; banka matti in Telugu) was replaced by Plaster of Paris. Plaster is a man-made material, easier to mould, lighter and less expensive than clay, however, it is non-biodegradable, and insoluble in water. Moreover, the chemical paints used to adorn these plaster idols themselves contain heavy metals like Mercury and Cadmium, resulting in water pollution. The non-biodegradable accessories that originally adorned the idol also accumulate in the layers of sand on the beach.

In the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Radio Jaagriti, the leading Hindu radio station in the country[according to whom?], has actively educated the public of the environmental implications of the use of plaster of Paris idols. Clay idols of Lord Ganesha have been encouraged to be used for immersion into the water courses to prevent any harmful environmental impacts. Ganesh Chaturthi is also a widely celebrated Hindu Festival in Trinidad and Tobago.

In Goa, the sale of Ganesha idols made from Plaster of Paris is banned by the State Government. People are urged to buy traditional clay idols made by artisans.[34]

Recently there have been new initiatives sponsored by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board to produce clay Ganesha idols in Hyderabad.[35]


Artificial pool created to immerse Plaster of Paris idols of Ganesha.
On the final day of the Ganesha festival thousands of plaster idols are immersed into water bodies by devotees. These increase the level of acidity in the water and the content of heavy metals when using Plaster of Paris and heavy-metal-based paints.[36] Several non-governmental and governmental bodies have been addressing this issue. Amongst the solutions proposed are as follows:

Return to the traditional use of natural clay idols and immerse the icon in a bucket of water at home.
Use of a permanent icon made of stone and brass, used every year and a symbolic immersion only.
Recycling of plaster idols to repaint them and use them again the following year.
Ban on the immersion of plaster idols into lakes, rivers and the sea.[37]
Creative use of other biodegradable materials such as papier-mâché or food to create Ganesha idols.
Encouraging people to immerse the idols in tanks of water rather than in natural water bodies.
To handle religious sentiments sensitively, some temples and spiritual groups have taken up the cause.[38]

wikipedia

Ganesha Curses the Moon



One day while travelling round the universe on his rat, Ganesha came to Chandraloka
(the realm of the Moon). The Moon saw him. The Moon, very handsome, was proud of his appearance. On seeing the elephantfaced, big-bellied Ganapati riding on a rat, he- laughed at Ganesha with contempt.

This was an insult and Ganesha was very angry about the Moon. His eyes grew red. He pronounced a curse "Oh Moon, your handsome appearance has made you too vain. Fool, I am worshipped in all the worlds, but you laugh at me. Receive now the fruits of your foolish pride. Let your beauty, which is the cause for your arrogance and ignorance vanishing! From now on, whoever sees you on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada month, the day of my birth, will suffer because of unjust accusations."

The curse shattered the Moon's pride. He realized his mistake, and felt sorry. Standing devotedly with folded hands before Ganesha he prayed to him. "Sir, forgive me and my ignorance. Take back the curse and protect me."

Then the kind Ganesha grew calm. He consoled the unhappy Moon. He said, "Moon, you have realized your fault. What is important is the destruction of your pride. Anyhow, my curse cannot be in vain. But those who are subjected to false accusations will be saved and regain their good name if they see you on the second day of the bright fortnight also or listen to the story of the Syamantaka gem." The Moon was satisfied.




A Magical Moment Called Lord GSB.. GSB Seva Mandal King Circle



By Ravi Gadiyar


 The GSB (Gaud Saraswat Bramhin) Seva Mandal Ganapati utsav this year was the 61st since inception in 1955. The pandal, at Shree Sukratendra Nagar A Rama Nayak’s Grounds in King’s Circle, is among the top three Ganesh Mandals of Mumbai.

 The Ganesh idol at the GSB Seval Mandal is 14.5 feet in height and weighs 2700 kgs. It is made with shadoo (red mud) and grass easily dissolves in water. It’s sculpted by Avinash Patkar and his family since ages. The GSB Seva Mandal Ganapati is widely accepted as the most expensive of all the Ganeshas in the city of Mumbai. The idol is adorned with 70 kgs of gold and 470 kgs of silver, estimated at a staggering Rs 23 crore! The Lord’s crown itself weighs 22 kg gold. The idol is insured at a mindboggling Rs 237 crore! The expenditure for the idol is donated by a devotee for decades.

 A sea of humanity throng the one lakh square feet area of the mandal during the five days of the festival. Yet, the discipline that is seen in the flow of the devotees is extremely orderly. In fact, no less an authority than Rakesh Maria believes that the GSB Seva Mandal Ganapati is the “most disciplined” of all the mandals in the city.
Nearly 500 vedics come from all over India to do the various poojas. Nearly 3.5 lakh coconuts are used for poojas, and the same is distributed at the exit for each and every visitor, along with "panchkadayi" (poha). Tulabhara is done as per the desire of the devotees … with coconuts, rice, sugar, modak, dudhpak, coins etc Approximately, Rs seven crores of donations is expected this year from devotees pouring in during the five days.
The hundi collections go towards the education of students. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are also served to devotees, numbering an overall 70,000, during all five days of the utsav. Annapurna has different sections: seating on the floor, for senior citizens, the handicapped and for VIPs. Around 1200 devotees have meals at a time. Apart from water purifier tanks which serves mineral water for devotees, there is also a 5x6 small well, which is otherwise dry.


Apart from the normal entry, there is a "skywalk" for visitors to take a quick Darshan. At any given time there are 1200 volunteers to regulate the flow of devotees.

 On visarjan day, the Idol with all ornaments intact is taken to Girgaum (Chowpathi) with full police protection. The journey from the start at Wadala to Chowpati takes 10-12 hours, and immersion takes place the following day by 7.00 am after the ornaments are removed and kept in guarded police van, following which it goes straight into the banks vault.

 Through the long journey, food, soft drinks, mineral water, tea and coffee are served at specific places and approximately 3000 follow the Ganapati to bid Him farewell.

(Ravi Gadiyar is a former Mumbai Ranji Trophy player and a volunteer of the GSB Seva Mandal)


Bleeding Heart ,,Tears On The Soul Of Mohomed Akhlaq




Bleeding Heart ,,Tears On The Soul Of Mohomed Akhlaq

in india you can be lynched
to death for eating storing beef
.progress and development a
modi wave in which we believed
that it would bring succor acche
din our nation would turn a new
leaf.. but hindu talibans attack
a house in the heart of the night
like thieves murder a man make
sure he is dead when they leave
impregnable silence of our globe
trotting chief,..our nation in grief
wake up akhilesh yadav from your
world of make belief offering 10 lacs
does not bring a dead man back to
life ..your miscalculated misplaced
relief..pulling out an ace from your
sleeve  does it wipe the tears of
the bereaved what does it achieve

Two Friends ,,, Vinay Parelkar And Me Searching For Hope Beyond The Camera




When I began learning photography under Mr Shreekanth Malushte almost 20 years back Vinay was already an established well known pictorial fine art photographer unlike his pedantic pompous contemporaries he was a thinking artistically endowed photographer.
We met once at National park an outdoor portraiture workshop of Mr Shreekanth Malushte in BW .. during the film negative era ..he helped me put the cut roll in my Nikon SLR and we got along .. perhaps because as a photographer I might have been raw and new but I was not new to life I had seen more pitfalls more life than Vinay..
We belong to the same camera club PSI Mumbai we went to an outing together with Mr Shreekanth Malushte to Konkan and we became good friends ,, at the outing I only shot BW..with lots of filters and used the tripod,, this was landscape photography.
Than from analogue photography I evolved as a blogger once I entered the digital age on the Internet in 2004 ..and camera clubs in their self built walls of conceit and insularity till date dare not talk abut blogging .. blogging those days at camera club level was an alien madness giving pictures free on the net .. a big blow to Marwari oriented minds that simply thought photography was to make big bucks selling your slides .all this in the late 90 s
Making money is important as buying cameras and accessories and keeping up with the latest technology lay great pressure on the pockets of most photographers , if you have a sugar daddy and if you are rich hardly matters .. but for the photographer starting out it can be pretty tough.
I bought a camera on a bank loan and my guru Mr KG Masheshwari publicly humiliated me at our club.. he was right he said invest in business but not on hobby and Mr Maheshwari scion of the Birla family used the same camera same tripod for over 30 years I think he used the Mamiya 330.. and it was his decision , he could buy the most expensive camera if he wanted ,,he did later but than his eyesight was failing , he too jumped the digital bandwagon and was the healthiest internet user for several years .. yes I really miss him and he was fond of Vinay a lot he was very fond of Mr KB Jothady .. and I miss his morning calls and camera gossip..
Vinay and I shoot differently .. he is more sure confident and well composed within his shots ..I shoot impulsively I shoot without thought without method and I fuck F stops ,,I dont know why I shoot what I shoot ,,but an old picture if I bring it forward from my Flickr archive I can tweak it poeticize it and it becomes new in thought in body within its imaginative dimensions .. for me photography is poetry .. be it words or silently mute devoid of words.
I would die in my soul as a salon or camera cub photographer and I am sure some folks may not like my words but honestly introspect the shit you shoot your sick rural pastoral pictures that are devoid soul or poetry I would rather shoot beggars..and those mindless bullshitters that add a comment lovely pictures sir ,, there is no truthfulness in their likes .. they dont have the balls to give honest opinion , basically lick ass.. because the person concerned is a camera club master and achiever ..see the brochures the camera club newsletters I would puke no innovation horrid borders and the same picture of a mother sitting at a door suckling her child ..wake up for gods sake get real .. dont insult humiliate downgrade the third eye of Shiva within your camera consciousness and the reason for this apathy , this degradation is the politicization of camera clubs and photography..
Where is Mr Bhardwaj Where is Mr Unwala Where is Mr Sam Tata Where is Mr Mitter Bedi where is Mr KG Maheshwari , where is Mr AS Syed where is Mr BW Jatkar all writhing squirming in their grave ..seeing the death of photography at camera club level.
And I reiterate call me biased opinionated but I stand by my words .
And to keep alive the memory of the stalwarts past and present on the souls of my grandchildren I demystified the camera ...let them break all barriers and let them shoot from the age of 2 .. let them breathe the fresh air of change .. made them shoot beggars hijras and everything possible on the streets ,and most of all made them unlearn photography..
And now I see my world through their eyes .. now as a 63 year old man I refuse to kowtow to old traditions the color wheel or one third rules I make and break my own rules ,,
And this soliloquy in the morning is known as blogging .. it gives birth to pictures too , pictures not as pictures but as real life stories ..this is with malice to non..
Two people in a picture both held by the soul of a camera and an asymmetrical assimilated analogy.. beggar poet and Vinay my friend ,,
Happy Morning From Bandra.

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