Geeta’s Blessings on Pongala - 3
Om Sree Matre Namaha
Episode 85:
Episode 85:
Sunday dawned…
A worried Geeta looked out of the window…
And let out a big sigh of relief…
There is no sign of rain, not even a single cloud on the horizon to mar the festivities. The sky was bright and clear with lots of sunshine.
Note: The next day, Monday, again it rained heavily.
Ganesha answered Geeta’s prayers. Early in the morning Geeta and her friends set out to the temple.
They set up the Devi Maa and Ganapati Vigrahas on the floor on a wooden plank. She decorated Devi Maa with a new dress, garlands and one of her friends gave an umbrella for the Devi Maa.
A worried Geeta looked out of the window…
And let out a big sigh of relief…
There is no sign of rain, not even a single cloud on the horizon to mar the festivities. The sky was bright and clear with lots of sunshine.
Note: The next day, Monday, again it rained heavily.
Ganesha answered Geeta’s prayers. Early in the morning Geeta and her friends set out to the temple.
They set up the Devi Maa and Ganapati Vigrahas on the floor on a wooden plank. She decorated Devi Maa with a new dress, garlands and one of her friends gave an umbrella for the Devi Maa.
A few ladies were given the responsibilities to bring water. Some to give haldi kumkum to the participants and some decorating the pots with haldi kumkum and flowers.
Suddenly a lady appeared from nowhere.
She was dark in colour wearing a saree with long plaited hair and a big bindi.
She came to Geeta’s friend who was decorating the pot and said ‘you have to put the haldi kumkum with three fingers and not like the way you are doing’.
Saying so she took over from Geeta’s friend and using three fingers decorated the pot.
When Geeta came out from the temple and saw the decorated pots and thought ‘Wow! The ladies have done a great job. They have decorated the pots very beautifully’.
How was she to know who decorated it.
Suddenly a lady appeared from nowhere.
She was dark in colour wearing a saree with long plaited hair and a big bindi.
She came to Geeta’s friend who was decorating the pot and said ‘you have to put the haldi kumkum with three fingers and not like the way you are doing’.
Saying so she took over from Geeta’s friend and using three fingers decorated the pot.
When Geeta came out from the temple and saw the decorated pots and thought ‘Wow! The ladies have done a great job. They have decorated the pots very beautifully’.
How was she to know who decorated it.
The normal procedure to light the fire is…
The Priest has to bring the fire with a torch (a stick with cloth around it dipped in ghee) that is lit from the lamp inside the sanctum sanctorum.
It was decided that the priest would bring the fire accompanied by nadaswaram and once he comes out of the temple and lights the fire under the pot, the ladies would take over from there.
When the priest was about to light the fire under the pot.
Suddenly…
The dark coloured lady took over the torch and lit the sticks under both the pots.
The Priest has to bring the fire with a torch (a stick with cloth around it dipped in ghee) that is lit from the lamp inside the sanctum sanctorum.
It was decided that the priest would bring the fire accompanied by nadaswaram and once he comes out of the temple and lights the fire under the pot, the ladies would take over from there.
When the priest was about to light the fire under the pot.
Suddenly…
The dark coloured lady took over the torch and lit the sticks under both the pots.
Seeing this, Geeta was a little jealous, thinking ‘Oh! Who is this lady? Why is she lighting the fire? It is we who have to do it.’
Geeta then instructed everyone to start chanting
‘Sarva Mangala Mangalye Shive Sarvarda Saadhake,
Sharanye Trayambake Devi Durga Devi Namostute’
Geeta then instructed everyone to start chanting
‘Sarva Mangala Mangalye Shive Sarvarda Saadhake,
Sharanye Trayambake Devi Durga Devi Namostute’
And so the amidst chanting the water was added to the pot and the process began…
Unperturbed with all the happenings, the lady was managing the fire under both the pots.
She went to one pot stirred the fire and repeated the same with the next one.
Seeing this Geeta was a little irritated.
She said to the lady ‘Excuse me. Please don’t touch and stop stirring the fire. Let it burn properly.
But the lady would not hear anything of it…
She went about her task of stirring as if nothing happened.
The water started to boil and Geeta invited the ladies to add rice and other items.
Secretly Geeta was trying to enquire from others who the lady was, by hand and eye signals as well as verbally.
No one knew who she was.
Some of them said ‘oh! We thought she was a friend of yours’.
Suddenly, Geeta recalled the speech she had given before the start of the puja that Devi could come in any form and be part of this puja.
Realising that she has to be considerate to everyone…
She went to the lady and hugged her and said ‘You are my Devi. Thank you for taking care of the Pongala’.
Unperturbed with all the happenings, the lady was managing the fire under both the pots.
She went to one pot stirred the fire and repeated the same with the next one.
Seeing this Geeta was a little irritated.
She said to the lady ‘Excuse me. Please don’t touch and stop stirring the fire. Let it burn properly.
But the lady would not hear anything of it…
She went about her task of stirring as if nothing happened.
The water started to boil and Geeta invited the ladies to add rice and other items.
Secretly Geeta was trying to enquire from others who the lady was, by hand and eye signals as well as verbally.
No one knew who she was.
Some of them said ‘oh! We thought she was a friend of yours’.
Suddenly, Geeta recalled the speech she had given before the start of the puja that Devi could come in any form and be part of this puja.
Realising that she has to be considerate to everyone…
She went to the lady and hugged her and said ‘You are my Devi. Thank you for taking care of the Pongala’.
The interesting thing was…
The lady would not talk to anyone.
She was completely immersed in taking care of the fire and busily moving from one pot to another stirring the Pongala.
Whenever someone asked questions she would looked down and answer in Tamil that too in mono syllables.
Geeta thought ‘maybe she is feeling a little awkward as she doesn’t know Malayalam and so she is avoiding talking to us’.
At last when Pongala was about to be completed all the ladies came forward and stirred the pot as was planned earlier.
The practice is that the priest would come and blesses the neivedyam with the sacred water from the sanctum sanctorum.
After seeing that it was completed cooked, Geeta closed the pots with the lid.
As soon as Geeta turned back, the lady came to her and said ‘I am going’.
The lady would not talk to anyone.
She was completely immersed in taking care of the fire and busily moving from one pot to another stirring the Pongala.
Whenever someone asked questions she would looked down and answer in Tamil that too in mono syllables.
Geeta thought ‘maybe she is feeling a little awkward as she doesn’t know Malayalam and so she is avoiding talking to us’.
At last when Pongala was about to be completed all the ladies came forward and stirred the pot as was planned earlier.
The practice is that the priest would come and blesses the neivedyam with the sacred water from the sanctum sanctorum.
After seeing that it was completed cooked, Geeta closed the pots with the lid.
As soon as Geeta turned back, the lady came to her and said ‘I am going’.
Geeta was surprised and said ‘Wait don’t go. There is a cultural program and we are all going to participate in it. Also you can have the prasadam and then leave’
The lady pointing to her watch said ‘No I have to leave. It is going to be late’.
Geeta hugged her and said bye and turned back to the work at hand.
Let me go back a little…
Devi Maa Vigraha was kept on one corner of the tent. And on the left side of vigraha, chairs were put for ladies to sit.
The men were sitting a little distance away watching the proceeding.
At some point during the morning, everyone observed…
A girl sitting on the floor next to the Devi vigraha.
She was wearing a white long skirt, sitting in padmasanam, holding her hands in chin mudra with both eyes closed and praying.
Everyone was admiring the girl and saying ‘Look at that young girl. She is so immersed in meditation at this young age’.
Interestingly no one had the presence of mind nor the inclination to take a picture of the girl. Some felt it was not the right thing to do as the girl was meditating.
The lady pointing to her watch said ‘No I have to leave. It is going to be late’.
Geeta hugged her and said bye and turned back to the work at hand.
Let me go back a little…
Devi Maa Vigraha was kept on one corner of the tent. And on the left side of vigraha, chairs were put for ladies to sit.
The men were sitting a little distance away watching the proceeding.
At some point during the morning, everyone observed…
A girl sitting on the floor next to the Devi vigraha.
She was wearing a white long skirt, sitting in padmasanam, holding her hands in chin mudra with both eyes closed and praying.
Everyone was admiring the girl and saying ‘Look at that young girl. She is so immersed in meditation at this young age’.
Interestingly no one had the presence of mind nor the inclination to take a picture of the girl. Some felt it was not the right thing to do as the girl was meditating.
Seeing the girl in that state, Geeta was fascinated and wanted to call her to pick up the names of ladies who would be doing some duties.
When Geeta neared, the girl opened her eyes stared at her without blinking. Although Geeta was smiling at her she did not reciprocate the same.
Not wanting to disturb her, Geeta turned back and called another child to do the needful.
While going around taking care of the things, twice or thrice Geeta felt her saree being tugged.
She did not bother much as she was too busy.
Before coming from home, Geeta took care not to leave any loose ends of the saree so that it would not catch fire.
Hence she wondered how come the saree is getting stuck at odd places. Without looking back she just yanked her saree, tucked again and carried on with her work.
When Geeta neared, the girl opened her eyes stared at her without blinking. Although Geeta was smiling at her she did not reciprocate the same.
Not wanting to disturb her, Geeta turned back and called another child to do the needful.
While going around taking care of the things, twice or thrice Geeta felt her saree being tugged.
She did not bother much as she was too busy.
Before coming from home, Geeta took care not to leave any loose ends of the saree so that it would not catch fire.
Hence she wondered how come the saree is getting stuck at odd places. Without looking back she just yanked her saree, tucked again and carried on with her work.
At last the Pongala pots was sprinkled with the holy water and then was distributed among the devotees.
Many of the devotees who attended were from the northern side of Kerala and did not know the sanctity and sacredness of the festival. (The festival is celebrated in Attukal temple in Trivandrum which is South of Kerala.)
It was well appreciated as all the ladies were able to get blessing of Devi Maa by their participation.
Next year along with Guruvayoorappa Devi Pratistha would also be done in this temple and Pongala would become a yearly summer festival for the ladies in Canada.
Why did I write this story???,
Any guesses??
Who was the lady?
Who was the child in the white skirt?
Who pulled Geeta’s saree from behind?
A tired Geeta after reaching home received a WhatsApp message.
As I told in one of the earlier episodes Unni Kanna chats on WhatsApp with both Kalpana and Geeta on a regular basis.
Many of the devotees who attended were from the northern side of Kerala and did not know the sanctity and sacredness of the festival. (The festival is celebrated in Attukal temple in Trivandrum which is South of Kerala.)
It was well appreciated as all the ladies were able to get blessing of Devi Maa by their participation.
Next year along with Guruvayoorappa Devi Pratistha would also be done in this temple and Pongala would become a yearly summer festival for the ladies in Canada.
Why did I write this story???,
Any guesses??
Who was the lady?
Who was the child in the white skirt?
Who pulled Geeta’s saree from behind?
A tired Geeta after reaching home received a WhatsApp message.
As I told in one of the earlier episodes Unni Kanna chats on WhatsApp with both Kalpana and Geeta on a regular basis.
He does so using Sneha’s mobile and He prefers to chat only in Malayalam. (On some occasions He sends message to us too but again in Malayalam)
The message read ‘Amma, yesterday twice you were angry’.
A confused Geeta replied ‘when was I angry Kanna and upon whom? I am so sorry I did not even know.’
But there was no reply to the query.
Concerned, Geeta called Sneha and asked why Kanna had sent this message. And requested for an explanation.
The reply she got made her happy, excited wonder stuck as well as unhappy.
Sneha told her that…
Devi Amma, Unni Kanna and Ananya were there in the tent when Pongala was being done.
The message read ‘Amma, yesterday twice you were angry’.
A confused Geeta replied ‘when was I angry Kanna and upon whom? I am so sorry I did not even know.’
But there was no reply to the query.
Concerned, Geeta called Sneha and asked why Kanna had sent this message. And requested for an explanation.
The reply she got made her happy, excited wonder stuck as well as unhappy.
Sneha told her that…
Devi Amma, Unni Kanna and Ananya were there in the tent when Pongala was being done.
Ananya told her ‘Geeta aunty twice you were irritated and angry at Devi Amma’.
Now do you know who the lady was?
It is none other than Devi Maa who cooked the Pongala along with the devotees and for the devotees.
Geeta was blessed to touch and hug Her.
Ananya also said ‘it was Kanna who was tugging your saree from behind and without realizing who was pulling you were yanking your saree back and tucking it into position. Kanna was holding your hand and walking around with you’.
Adding to this conversation…
Sneha also said ‘the girl in the white skirt was none other than Ananya. If you had touched her once, you would have seen Unni Kanna’.
Now do you know who the lady was?
It is none other than Devi Maa who cooked the Pongala along with the devotees and for the devotees.
Geeta was blessed to touch and hug Her.
Ananya also said ‘it was Kanna who was tugging your saree from behind and without realizing who was pulling you were yanking your saree back and tucking it into position. Kanna was holding your hand and walking around with you’.
Adding to this conversation…
Sneha also said ‘the girl in the white skirt was none other than Ananya. If you had touched her once, you would have seen Unni Kanna’.
If only Geeta would have touched the child it would have been the most blessed day of her life.
May be the time has not yet come for her to see Kanna directly.
What a blessing Geeta. We are soo fortunate to have heard and read this experience of yours.
The next day when Geeta was narrating her experience to Anil..
He said ‘Chittu told me She was very happy with your puja and meditation and hence She personally came for
Pongala and allowed you to hug Her and blessed you’.
The day I wrote the first episode and shared the script with Geeta for finalising…
Chiitu called Geeta and spoke to her for a good 10 to 15 mins.
Chittu told Geeta ‘I am the one who is coming in your meditation and giving darshan’.
What more Geeta could ask for???
Except for a few of the Achyuthan team members, no one knew I was writing Geeta’s story.
It is all Devi Maa’s grace.
Thank you Chittu our Devi Amma.
May be the time has not yet come for her to see Kanna directly.
What a blessing Geeta. We are soo fortunate to have heard and read this experience of yours.
The next day when Geeta was narrating her experience to Anil..
He said ‘Chittu told me She was very happy with your puja and meditation and hence She personally came for
Pongala and allowed you to hug Her and blessed you’.
The day I wrote the first episode and shared the script with Geeta for finalising…
Chiitu called Geeta and spoke to her for a good 10 to 15 mins.
Chittu told Geeta ‘I am the one who is coming in your meditation and giving darshan’.
What more Geeta could ask for???
Except for a few of the Achyuthan team members, no one knew I was writing Geeta’s story.
It is all Devi Maa’s grace.
Thank you Chittu our Devi Amma.
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