Prathi varusha mettilotsavake hoguvudhe anandhavaada mittaaii!!

[Guest guest]

Namaskara all, Count down had begun..4 more days...3 more days...2 more days...yipppeee!! I could hardly control my excitement!! Finally I can select what sarees to wear!!! since there was no Kalyana, patte saree was out of question..I took my time to carefully select what I am going to wear for morning/afternoon & evening!!! Heaved a big sigh of relief once that was mentally done! packing was a cinch after that. Unlike last time where I did not know how to begin, this time I can, with my mind being happy in a sort of rajasic way! We had decided after the event last year that we get together on Friday & the main attraction being masala dosas. We (my hubby & I)

weren't able to leave on Friday so deep down I was sad I would miss the dosas..ooppss! sorry, masala dosas. On sighting Veena, with my heart thumping, after cursory formalities,( ok! ok! ok! in my mind) my first question was so did u guys make masala dosas?? 'Oh no..we were just three of us on Friday'..I fought the urge to jump with joy & managed a sincere 'howdha'? So much for rajasic mindedness..maybe next year, with His grace! I would have matured! We reached on Sat around 3 pm. After greeting all the yearly once people ' chennagi iddhira?' couple of us volunteered to the kitchen.. There was Sri Janardhan with his camera clicking away to glory..camera & Janardhan go hand in hand..It was as if they were hand & glove with each other!!!that one is surprised if his hand does not hold the

camera!! Is something wrong???? Where is his camera?? Evening was the children's programme. I missed it since we were the handy helpers. Special mention is to be made for the tabla master (Sudhindra Yapalparvi's brother's son)proving the swaroopa of the jivas. We all attended the discussion session 'basics of Madhwa philosophy' by Sri Kotekal, Sri Keshav Rao & Sri JK. Not only the youth but adults were in for a great time. The power point presentation made its point powerfully! Due to dearth of time, we had to wrap up the session earlier which was a bummer. Next year more time has to be alloted for discussions since kids including adults were immersed in these. Time & tide wait for no man!! woman and kids

included. This was preceeded by Jeopardy! The entire concept was conceived and developed by Srinvas Kotekkal! Surely put his software talent to good work! & it showed!!! Way to Go Kotekkal avare! It was moderated by Sri Vasu & What a moderator he turned out to be! we came to know of his goodha talent! Soft spoken Vasu had transformed into Alex Trebek with his voice loud!!! his domineering act was a pleasant surprise!. What with double jeopardy & a chance for audience participation, it was a grand success. VMS kids never cease to amaze one and all !!! Most jeopardy answers were questioned with ease ???? and

they stole the show. Winners were showered with candys literally speaking..but lollipop??? next year that should be upgraded to something better!! Kids were vying with each other to tell the right questions..good way to teach our philosophy to kids...catch them whilst young!! At the end of the program, the kids were innovative and selling the candys back to the audience! Talk about being street smart!!In the meantime, Sripad took charge of the Kitchen and as usual with men chanting 'vayu sthuthi', agni was lit and food preparations were underway in a grand scale. Dinner was served with its usual grandeur & after cleaning up we retired so to say. Special mention has to be made of one ' Paanchajanya'. Unique name to a unique kid! He was a very enthusistic boy ever ready to serve that too in pancha kacche. I felt he energised the whole pankthi with his humbleness!

Hats off to him for his selflessness at such an young age. when we all ran to 'catch' places to eat, there he was ready to serve in his kacche! It was a very cold night I should say..we were freezing inspite of comforters/sweaters/socks/heaters etc. This is the first time we decided to stay in the cabin. At 4.45 am, I came out of our 'house' & what a serene atmosphere it was. One could just close ones eyes & hear the chirping of the birds. ' Hakki chili pili ennali, kage kaka ennali' humming the song I proceeded. It was a beautiful morning, with tolerable chilliness. Enjoying the moment & thanking Him for the same we all began to get ready for the 'Mettilotsava'. I remnisiced Sandhya Prasanna's rendition during our Srinivasa Kalyana at MI last year! As earlier opined this is my first morning after the function where

I witnessed the devara pooja by Sri Bindu. ' Trivikramam theertha padam' reverberated boldly & nidhanake throughout the hall, full of devotion, followed by Venkatesho Vasudevo Pradyumno amitha Vikramaha' Again one has to be present to experience it..With men doing their sandhyas & the pooja going on, it was serene & divine. It was such a divine setup that Sri Bindu was going on and on not minding that it was getting closer to the time that we all planned to leave. Fortunately, Lakshmana ( Srinivasan) propmted him at 6:35 AM so that we could come to closure soon. After nirmalya we headed to the temple foothills! Sathya and Bindu lost their way enroute..no wonder they were last to arrive! Sri Yogeendra & Sri Prasannacharya were the main VIP's on that day. To get up at 3 am & be

driven for 8 to 10 hrs to offer pooja to Him shows their commitment. Singing dasara padas & walking slowly to His abode renders a special sense of gratification. I dont think anyone will want to miss that. After archana & rathotsava of Lord Thimmappa, we headed back to the camp while a few others stayed back to enjoy the traditional lunch at canteen. Commitment reminds me of another person..our VMS treasurer Sri Satya..all the way from California & not once, not twice, not thrice but always..I dont think any of us would fly to be a part of Mettilotsava, arriving & departing at odd times each & every year. He mirrors commitment! maybe his middle name???? we should take a leaf from him! Either he was busy in all of the sathkarma activities or ultra busy counting the funds rec'd so that he can report on the latest

total! What followed was the fun party where only a handful were present to enjoy. Others missed it..period!!! We had what is called the 'viludhale adike' session. I remembered the song ' aarohaNeya maade ambhujakshi thaayige' well! instead it was the ambhujakshis giving to ambhujakshas!!! Such chit chatting in lighter vein tighten the bonding & we were laughing non stop..what with Janardhans ' candy packet' & pan chutney guaranteed to blow one away, we had a riot! In my opinion such on the spot sessions are the ones that make any get-together extra special. Evening we had the much awaited pravachana. ' Yam Brahma Varunendra' is how I wished Sri Galagali to start, since it gives a touch of Detroitness, & felt relieved to hear the same in him! He has the gift of

the gab so to say & he kept all of us mesmerised by his 2 hr pravachana cut short to 1 & 1/4 hrs & later extended by 30 mins by popular demand...crazy! right! not for our Galagali. He is a master of any situation & proved so. So we did have Srinivasa kalyana in a way! we all know now as to why he is sooo talented...It is all because of shri Pandarinathacharya Galagali. What fantastic sadhana he is doing! When one hardly has time to read even one Purana, he has completed translating all the 18 puranas in to Kannada in 24 volumes! I do feel left out since its in kannada..well! another project to transliterate to tamil!! any takers??? "naan oru kai paarkiren" Dinner with, yyyep! you are on the dot! 'Paanch' being ever ready to serve was next! It was feast for ears too with Shweta Maddur singing

along with tabla mastero! (Another lady also sang & I apologize for not knowing her name) Kalyana should have sweets & there was jangiri courtesy of MI group! Fireworks were the highlight of the evening, lighting the dark sky with colourful lights making a bold statement VMS will be back next year!. The grand finale where one particular fountain restarted itself 4 times after a brief respite every time, showering golden starry showers took our breath away. That last one was a beauty. It was cute when Sripads son came sobbing that his voice took a vacation..I told him not to worry & to just go & talk with Pratima Kotekal. He would feel elated..reason being her voice was barely audible..hardly a whisper!! she lost hers leading the kids group at Mettilotsava. When we were struggling towards the campfire

in the dark, a good soul drove his car & parked with headlights on so we were able to find our way without treading the slush! People were always willing to jump in and help as situation warrants. Are we a blessed lot or what?We all got together for a meeting regarding Sri VB's concert. What began as that discussion was deftly veered towards improving Mettilotsava by Sri Bindu. Talking of focus focus focus!!! That went on till midnight when we ladies called it a day. Next day early morning 'Trivikramam Theerha padam' was dancing in the air. After pooja he was giving theertha when he noticed there were only few oranges left. I was standing in line to get theertha, hence I observed his reaction. GV was next in line. Bindus' hand which had extended to give

phala retracted the same way on noticing short supply. GV, without batting an eyelid, took theertha & went back. Bindu then gave to the rest of the men. Meanwhile I was explaining this to Sangeetha & she immediately called her sons, Panch & Hrishikesh who were in line & told them not to accept the fruit..that it was one per family!! I was like ' wow' what a wonderful family we have in VMS..each & everyone is looking after the well being of another! we need 'drushti suthi' (Tamil )..(I dont know whats that in kannada)..Maybe next year we can request Sri Vasus m-in-law to do the same!!Monday morning was our cleaning day & cleaning was done not gleefully but mechanically! sad that time to go home has come One side items were up for sale one minute & then it was clearence the next minute! Sounds of going/going gone were ringing

through the air! Janardhan has mastered the auctioneering act! one more feather in his cap! Once that was taken care of, we were going around bidding adieu. All the while my hubby kept telling me we had to leave. We ladies were chit chatting & I suddenly realized there was no nagging from my better half..so I continued my chit chat for a while & then it was my turn to wonder!! Out of the blue came shouts of ' clean bold' And there were a lot of guys and kids, all cricket fanatics, playing cricket. All of a sudden, these guys transformed themselves to Dhonis, Irfan Pathans and Yuvraj Singhs etc!!! Now it was ladies turn to nag (Meera avare! am I allowed to do that??) & it fell on deaf ears!! Acc to Ram 'Paanch' bowled beautifully ....Paanch is adept not only with ladle but with bat too!! so much so that at 2009 Mettilotsava, plans for 20 / 20 overs

cricket are under way! whatever!. All said & done by His grace we had the time of our life!! This article will not do justice if we do not mention about Sri Padaki & Sri Sriprasad. We missed both of them & their families esply Sridhar in the kitchen.......it was much quieter I should say! same goes for Varuni & Aasha Katti.

Prathi varusha Mettilotsavake hoguvudhe anandavaadha mittaaaiiii!! until next year! Sri KrishnarpaNamasthu Chitra Ram

 

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