Lord Ganesha...

Vakratunda Mahakaya sooryakoti samaprabha

Nirvighnam kurume deva sarva karyeshu sarvada||

I begin my blog with a prayer to Lord Ganesha to help me do my work well.

Well this is a simple painting of Lord Ganesha done on a piece of cloth and then framed. It now adorns my home main door blessing all those who enter that door.

Back in time when I was a kid, may be about 6-7 years old, someone had given a cloth calender to my mum. I remember it was a saffron color one with this picture in black. My elder sister liked it a lot. She thought it will look better with all the ornaments painted in gold. So it was originally her idea, not mine! She painted the ornaments in Gold leaving all the black lines intact. A very difficult work for school going kids. It looked beautiful and adorned our wall for quite a few years. But with time, it eventually was removed and kept in a trunk.

It was always on my mind to redo that. So once I got a chance to sneak it and take it with me to my hostel. I also took a white piece of cloth with me. I traced the design and outlined it with black and gave Ganesha a lot of Gold ornaments just like my sister. I then got it framed and presented it as a surprise gift to my parents on my next visit. I can still remember the delighted look on my mum's face.

This happened back in the year 2001. So it has been in its place from that time blessing all of us.