Enthralling Trails

Let life be like music.  And death a note unsaid.”  ―  Langston Hughes,  The recent Ganesh festival initiated festivities and grandeur in the hearts of people. It also brought back memories of a person dear to us. Each day of the ten-day festival is a special one in Maharashtra with rituals making it even more special. On the third day of Ganesh Chaturthi, a plant of Tulsi is kept in front of the doorstep with tiny footprints drawn towards the doorstep welcoming Lord Ganesha’s sister Gauri. The Hindu mythology marks Gauri as a symbol of health, wealth, happiness, and prosperity. It was exactly at this time last year when my housemaid Sunita asked me for a two day leave. Her sons were newly married and the young girls were ecstatic about the festival. A day before that we had a demise in the building. It was the great-grandmother of a resident where Sunita worked. She was sad but consoled me saying, ‘the lady was old and ailing, she has overcome the pain’. Sunita was