With mixed feelings Divya and I did the final aarti at home, before we can send Ganesha back to where He belongs. We have been really proud of ourselves for doing the Ganesh sthapna at home this year. Although we are both away from our (actual) homes, we were quite focussed on our religious intent, and were regular with aartis, flowers, prasad etc for those 5 days (yeah, we conveniently cut short the 10-day-span to 5, so that we can do the visarjan on a Sunday) (c'mon, itna toh chalta hai!)
Post some rounds of discussions with the local residents, we had decided to do the immersion at Marina beach which could be reached through local train. We carried our Ganeshji with a lot of care, taking rounds holding the idol, until Marina. While walking towards the shore, both Divya and I kept looking at the people around (we were hopeful, we would find at least one more companion for our Ganeshji.. but surprisingly it seemed to be a typical Sunday at the beach). I couldn't help but think of the Telankhedi lake at Nagpur which used to be over-crowded during the 10 days of Ganeshotsav. During immersion we would find Ganeshji in various avatars around, many diyas, echos of Sukhkarta-dukhharta.., the fragrance of agarbatti in the air, prasad offered by unknown followers and Rotary volunteers who would collect the flowers and other accessories of the Ganpati, to ensure less water pollution. Marina, however, was a total contrast.
Upon reaching the shore, a kid came to us and spoke in Tamil. I guess he offered to take our Ganpati idol inside the water. But before we could decide anything, he started walking towards the other side. We did say 'Aye aye' to grab his attention, but it was too late. 'Oh no!', we said to ourselves, wondering how handy it would have been if we could have got the immersion done with his help. However just then we noticed a couple at a distance, who looked Marathi to me. (yes, I can identify Maharashtrians by their face and feel the same happiness on spotting one, as I would if I bumped into my relative in an unknown land). The guy was holding something in his hand (couldn't make out what it was in the night), while the girl was walking close to him. Hoping they had come for visarjan as well, we went towards them (this time we did not want to waste any time). I took a second to decide whom should I talk to amongst the couple, and approached the guy as he was the one who was carrying the big bag close to his chest. As soon as I said 'excuse me', the couple turned to us. I realised the look on the girl's face was that of disgust. 'Maybe I disturbed their interesting conversation', I said to myself to regain my self-worth. In a split-second I changed the plan and spoke to the girl instead. I asked her if they were there for visarjan as well. To our disappointment, she took a while to understand what visarjan meant and then said - no. (I admit I was disappointed more on going wrong about the Marathi bit, than not having company for Ganpati immersion).
Divya and I were back to Square-One, wondering how to go about the immersion. Finally we decided to do it ourselves, after all 'Ganeshji bhi to hamare hain' (Yeah, self-motivation! It helps!)
We folded our jeans and walked to a less crowded part of the shore (obviously we did not want unwanted attention, especially when we are laymen at this activity). We went into the water as much as we could, holding the Lord, and together immersed the idol in the sea. Our Ganesh-pujan had come to an end with the visarjan, and we felt peace within.
Me - Oh, we forgot to do a prayer. Visarjan ke pehle bhi aarti hoti hai!
Divya - Arey yaar, batana tha na! You are the Maharashtrian among us, I mean by upbringing... (just then, her voice changed.. as if she sensed a Tsunami)... Oh my God!! Nehaaa! Apne Ganeshji toh bahar aa gaye!
I looked at the direction that she was looking at, and to my surprise the idol we just immersed was lying on the shore at a distance! Some kids were playing on the shore, near our idol, and two ladies were talking among themselves while pointing fingers at us. We felt as if we have been caught red-handed after a crime! We were hopeful that out of the many people around, at least one kind soul will immerse our Ganesha back to the sea. But nobody came to His rescue!
We walked upto the idol and lifted it for a re-immersion. This time, we devised a 'strategy' (being MBAs we like to use sophisticated words for 'common sense'). We decided to immerse the God along with the wave that goes back from the shore, with a slight push towards the sea. With a lot of curious eyes watching us (yes, we could not avoid unwanted attention after all!), we geared up again and went into the sea holding the idol. As per the plan, we did the immersion again. We (and many others) kept looking into the sea until the idol was seen no more.
Both, Divya and I were relieved. However, we decided to walk along the beach for a while, just in case! While walking, we kept looking at the sand and observed carefully the flowers, plastics etc that was lying on the shore. After about twenty minutes, we decided to go back home.
We took a final view of the beach and noticed something near the water! It was an idol lying on the shore, like an abandoned child!
Me - Divya! Wo kya hai? Kahin hamare Ganeshji wapas toh nahi aa gaye?!
Divya - Nehaaa (squeezing my hand), ye kya ho raha hai yaar?
We went close to the idol. The shape and size of the murti was just like ours.
Divya - But ye toh brown hai, apne toh colourful the!
Me - Ho sakta hai the colour got washed in the water.
We lifted the idol from the sand and realised that it was a different one!
But the good girls that we are (ahem ahem), we used our 'visarjan strategy' and immersed this idol in the sea as well.
We did a quick scan of the beach again.
Me - Kahin Ganeshji wapas aa gaye toh?
Divya - Yaar, humse jo ho sakta tha, wo toh humne kiya. Now, we can't stop the law of nature, can we?
I was convinced. I bid a mute adieu to Ganeshji, and went to the nearby stalls with Divya to have bhutta and chat.
