Takes me to the good ol' days of our Vinayak Mitra Mandali...
The days when we used to ...
... make countless visits on our cycles to Mavalli to select the "right" Ganesha
... spend endless hours in the police station and corporation office to get permission
... knock every door in the area to collect every rupee possible,
... thank (and in some cases curse later) people who ask for receipt even for 5 rupees contribution,
... make long-term investments by buying stuff instead of renting
... everything (right from weaving coconut leaves for the pandal to testing the serial set) on our own instead of hiring people
... request our relatives to sponsor "prasad" for each day
... wake up to the rude voice of night beat policemen at 2 a.m. asking for "prasad"
... feel sooooo happy when a visitor says "chennag maadideera" (good job)
... plead with our employers to give 5 days off
Today, we are in a position to...
... take our 2/4 wheelers to select the Ganesha
... make phone calls to get permissions
... withdraw cash from ATMs and spend thousands
... give 5k as a charity to any organization
... rent stuff instead of visiting shops looking for the best price
... outsource everything to a contractor
... hire a catering contractor for "prasad"
... give a damn about the policemen
... just give a smile when we receive some appreciation
... take leaves for any number of days
But what don't have is TIME. The banner, serial set, tarpaulin, curtains, Welcome board, tables, pots, and most importantly, the people are all there. But priorities have changed, for good or bad.
