A Kozhukattai (read big fat) Lesson from Grandma:-)

This morning , as I watched my paatti ( grandma) get so upset about not having fresh flowers to offer Ganesha on Shankata Hara Chaturthi Day , I got a little annoyed as I saw it simply as an old lady’s obsession towards having things a certain way.  I was intent on getting done with the puja with or without the flowers because the delicious kozhukattais kept for naivedhya were calling out to me to get eaten.  

But, she wouldn’t stop grumbling. So I went out and collected  a few flowers from the trees in the neighborhood, just to silence her. 

What I saw when I came back and handed over the flowers , did not just open my eyes, but in just a few minutes__transformed my annoyance into total awe .

As she took the flowers from me,  paatti’s eyes lit up with joy. With a spring in her 83 year old feet, she went straight  to the puja room and apologized aloud to the lord unabashedly.  "Sorry Vigneshwara, for having started the puja without flowers".

She then  proceeded to  lovingly decorate each idol, chanting the name of the lord and praying for each one of us in the family all through.

Her simple faith,  open demonstration of her love of God  and her unshakable belief in what she was doing, shook me out of my slumber. A selective slumber that takes refuge in science to run away from faith.

Later, I did gobble up the kozhukattais shamelessly. But they filled me up with humility and love for a soul that lives and breathes for us.

#lessonlearnt

#grandma

#kozhukattai