The festival of Ganesh is one of the more popular ones in India - more so in Mumbai. Every year, communities come together in the spirit of devotion and pool their funds to bring a Ganesh idol to their neighbourhood. After 10 days of daily gathering and 'satsang' they celebrate the destruction of all that has been created and immerse the idol in water.
Over the centuries, you can imagine several rituals and structures creeping into the whole affair. But I was delightfully surprised when I heard about the home of the twenty year old twins - Darpan and Drishti.
This year, for the gatherings in their home, they installed a 'Gratitude Tree'. They then asked people to write something they were grateful for, and tie it to the branch, as opposed to the routine 'asking God for things'. Not only that, with the customary food offerings to all visitors, they gave out hand-made inspirational quotations!
When I visited themI was truly inspired by the transformation within the whole home - with quotations and smileys all over the walls. It's incredible to see how they've been able to touch everyone's lives by bringing simple values and spirit into their very local context :)
Over the centuries, you can imagine several rituals and structures creeping into the whole affair. But I was delightfully surprised when I heard about the home of the twenty year old twins - Darpan and Drishti.
This year, for the gatherings in their home, they installed a 'Gratitude Tree'. They then asked people to write something they were grateful for, and tie it to the branch, as opposed to the routine 'asking God for things'. Not only that, with the customary food offerings to all visitors, they gave out hand-made inspirational quotations!
When I visited themI was truly inspired by the transformation within the whole home - with quotations and smileys all over the walls. It's incredible to see how they've been able to touch everyone's lives by bringing simple values and spirit into their very local context :)
Reflections
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