Happy Ganesha Chathurthi

Today is a celebration for the elephant headed god Ganesha, the remover of obstacles. Was able to take a few hours this morning to finish the pooja. San was busy in meetings as well, but still managed to make some yummy kozhukkattais, Vadai and Payasam. 

She even recorded me this time doing the archanai for Pullaiyaar!

One kid is eating a qdoba sandwitch for lunch after attending college and standing in a long lunch line while the other kid is in school, still fighting a stomach issue after a month.

Celebrating between the two of us is still okay and we are getting used to making do with what we can, when we can.

My pulliyaar for this poojai has not changed in decades. 

Looking at this one always makes me smile and be positive. Maybe it is just a habit I have developed over the decades! Think of this as one of my Horcruxes.. 

San clicked this while she was talking to me about how I had a deadline to finish the neivedhiyam(food offering to Ganesha prior to it being distribution worthy) before her next meeting and I look up annoyed and she clicks.... apparently this is what passes for candid photography by wifes standards.

I am not this grumpy by default. Just didn't like to be rushed for the pooja!

Then there was a kozhukkattai (dumpling) exchange with our neighbor. I got called out to the front to take a picture. My legs were numb from sitting in same place for an hour. So got up and literally wobbled out of the house as the blood returned to my feet.  In my rush didn't realize that my dhoti had come undone slightly on one side! My neighbor points this out  just before clicking and I make a joke on top of her joke and voila..

As long as we have great friends and San keeps laughing at my jokes, think we will be okay! 

that is more like the normal me!

and a video that San took during the poojai...

Was thinking of my grandpa a lot today and my dad. They are both big on getting saamandhi poo for the poojai. Usually we have yellow crysanthemums at this time which I use. This year they are late to bloom and the plant is full of buds that have yet to open! A thousand memories ran past my eyes as I finished the poojai. Some of my happiest memories of celebrating in India are from the Pulliayaar chathurthis. Compared to that, this is a very simple celebration.

My grandpa is a memory and my dad is not in a position to do pooja anymore. All I can do is show him these photos and videos to cheer him up.

We make to with what we can, but celebrate we still do!

We are back to normal?

Last year we celebrated Gokulashtami, Krishnas birthday at home. The kid was leaving for college that very weekend but we did a great job with bakshanams, dressing up and the overall mood was upbeat. 

Today was yet another working day Gokulashtami. Monday mornings are always busy. Even though we were both working from home, the fact that the little one is back to school and we have to get ready at the usual time, do a school drop off, disrupted the flow. There was even a doc appointment in the middle of all of this. 

Did make a 100 or so seedai, but put too much butter. The seedai was porous, so I will have to make it again soon, just to make up for the experience. San made some aval payasam. We did a simple celebration. 

A simple treat for Krishna..

and the "I am still a good boy mommy!" picture as I call it.. 

San gets credit for taking this picture! She even cracked a joke for me to smile! 

Next year, will take a day off and do a better job of celebrating!

A festive and exhausting weekend

Started writing this post and somehow it took on too sad a tone. So decided to post about the mornings hike first!

The festival season is officially open. That starts with the Varalakshmi nombu, observed by the women. This year was a muted affair given the pandemic and also because Jr. was leaving for college early the next morning. 

Cooking and packing don't mix. That sums up that. Still San did a great job and got us some goodies and did her pooja. Have said this before a zillion times.. she is always my madisar wearing hottie! She lights me up whenever she dresses up in her wedding saree. 

The weekend had the thread changing ceremony for the guys in our family on Saturday followed by a 1008 time recitation of the Gayathri mantra today! These events have been described in this blog for a good 16 years now.. bottomline, I get to change my thread, meditate for a long time using a mantra for at least that day. On normal days I say it a 108 times in 6 minutes. Every 90 minute hot yoga class is a moving meditation and some classes I just move with the Gayathri mantra going on in my head in an infinite loop and that count would be close a 1008 as well on most days. 

The reason for the sad tone of the post that got scratched? Flight reliability. I have not been on a plane since we landed from Costa Rica on New Years day 2020. As most of you know, my Asia trips came to a halt as did all travel. Since then San has flown once to Seattle and her flight was delayed 5 hours. Jr. came and went from the midwest twice last year and both times she was fortunate to not have more than 30 minute delays. The MIL has come and gone back to India without event. 

This time our luck ran out. Jr. sat in a plane for 2 hours and they aborted the flight for some mechanical issue. So I went back to SFO to get her back home and there was a scramble to book her on the next flight where she could make a connection. A note to parents.. when considering your kids college, think about if it is a direct flight away or if there is a connection. Connections make it incredibly difficult, especially to smaller cities. We had to go back to SFO a third time to drop her off for the red eye. I know Uber drivers do this all day, but they have the practice and experience and their passengers are not anxious children who are worried about making it to campus before school starts Monday.

The idea that she should be here on Nombu day was tricky. We did not anticipate this flight issue. Why planes show up at gates, board all passengers and then find out they have issues is beyond me! This is one issue that seems to have no progress over the years!

She finally made it to campus today. Given the mornings experience, I did not sleep till the flight status changed to show the plane left the runway. It was on the runway for 30 minutes on a red eye! Lets say I didn't sleep last night. 

Was wondering how my parents dealt with it when I left home.  There was no texting, no facetime, no nothing. We left on a train and reached college 42 hours later. There was no feedback loop. Same thing when I came to grad school. Maybe all this technology is making me more anxious than I should be!

Over years of traveling I have had flights canceled, sat in plane and been de boarded, have slept in airport floors over night, but all of these experiences were not a big deal because it was me. Maybe my family had some anxiety but I doubt it. Maybe the lesson in this is for me to let Jr. go through these learning experiences and teach her all my travel tips. 

In the middle of the first and second trips to SFO, I had manged to do the thread changing ceremony! After very little sleep last night and going on a sleep walking hike for 8 miles, came home and did the Gayathri japam this morning.

Given the mental and physical exhaustion, did the only thing I know that can give me that "you are dead and back, nothing can touch you now!" feeling. So went and did yoga to wrap up the day!

Here are some pictures in random order..

It has been a hectic weekend and I need a weekend from this weekend, or so it feels!

Now I have to just contend with Facetiming Jr. for the next few months!