Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Onam wishes

Satjugi tai manio chalio bali bavan bhaio
(In Satyayuga, you sported the incarnation of the dwarf, and fooled Bali)


-- Excerpts from the Guru Granth Sahib wherein Vamana is mentioned as the "enticer" of Mahabali


I received a dinner invite from a very unexpected quarter last week! When the matriarch of a very poor family, that stays in my landlord's property and watches over it, asked me if I would honour them by having dinner with their family, I readily and wholeheartedly agreed with an immense sense of happiness, a kind that had not prevailed on me even while wining and dining in the finest of bistros.

Amidst hot and sumptuous Bhakris, Subji and Modak, I made efforts to understand the suffering these wonderful people endured in their daily lives, while yet remaining resolute and cheerful in carrying themselves forward in the battle to win another day!

Their gesture to invite me to dinner touched me a great deal, and also served as a crude reminder, once again, of how fortunate I have been, being me! Humane gestures know no human divisions, don't you agree?

It is Onam now, the festival of harvest, in Kerala, a time of the year when the golden era of prosperity during the reign of King Mahabali is fondly remembered and celebrated in awe, happiness and oneness!

I'd like to wish my country-cousins, folks and all my friends a very happy and prosperous Onam and more importantly, urge every one of you to envision a sense of prosperity in your lives, in all that you do and reaffirm your commitment towards the spirit of solidarity and oneness, which is all that matters in the end!

34 comments:

  1. Wish you once again A Very Happy Onam, Rak!

    a good read here,

    wishes,
    devika

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  2. I’m glad you shared there gesture and so nice reading about it here. Have a wonderful and prosper Onam :)

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  3. Wonderful post!

    Wish u and ur loved ones a very happy Onam!

    Happy celebrations :-)

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  4. Some gestures do take us by surprise.... chahe wo nice ho ya bad gestures.. such are humans and such r the gestures!!!

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  5. So what was the gesture like? Rubbed your stomach showing you were hungry ??? :D :D :D :D :D jus kidding !!

    Happy Onam bro ! Have a nice time !

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  6. so very touching.. the invite you got.. and happy Onam to you and yours...

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  7. I wish you a very happy Onam :)

    (I never heard of it before,
    it was very interesting to read about it ;)

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  8. Hey rakesh: wish and your family happy onam...
    i have some friends who celebrate this festival am trust me buddy iam really looking forward for an invite as the food is just awesome :-)

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  9. wishing you and yours happy onam!

    have a great one!

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  10. a very supa dupa onam to ya :P

    I love kerala for that only

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  11. Happy onam to you too rakhesh :)

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  12. Devika Chechi

    Thanks very much! Appreciate the wishes! Hope you had a good Onam!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  13. Jeevan

    Thanks very much! Am glad you liked it! Also, many thanks for the Onam wishes!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  14. Mani

    Thanks very much for the thoughtful wishes!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  15. Vee

    Yes! Sahi kaha aapne..... some things do surprise us! I'm glad I had a pleasant one!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  16. Neeraj

    Thanks very much for your thoughtful wishes!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  17. Bhargav

    Thanks very much for the wishes! Appreciate it!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  18. Survivor

    Thanks so much! Very kind of you!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  19. Vimmuuu

    Lol! Hats off to your ability to bring humor to any situation! Many thanks for the wishes! Hope you had a good Onam! What did U do?

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  20. Aria

    Indeed, that was very touching! Thanks very much for the wishes!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  21. Anya

    Thanks so much for the warm wishes! Now U know about Onam ;)

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  22. Rakesh

    Thanks so much pal! Indeed, the food is awesome and this time around, I missed it myself :(

    Consider that one among the many oddities of not being home!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  23. Prabhu Anna

    Thanks so very much for the wishes! Appreciate it!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  24. Rahul

    Thanks mate! Appreciate the wishes!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  25. Sourish

    Many thanks pal! Appreciate the wishes!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  26. Anish

    Thanks so much budd! Hope you had a good time. Your post was superb!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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  27. Small gestures like that go a long way in making people happy... I just gave a packet of sweets to our watchman during Deepavali as I will not be able to eat an entire packet, and he was very happy for that simple gesture! Talking to him even for ten minutes, while going back home would thrill him to no end.. he is so happy about telling about him and his family and his childhood which was in Meghalaya.. You and me might have just heard of that place in our Social Science text books!

    Destination Infinity

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  28. DI

    Indeed! It is some of the most elementary things that gives us the most pleasure!

    Great to have read about your gesture, which by no means is small!

    Cheers

    Rakesh

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