Moon Of Chaturthi

There was always a buzz in Mahesh's house during Ganesh Chaturthi. When he was a child, his family lived in a village for many years. There, during Ganesh Chaturthi, his father used to put up a Vinayaka statue in the street, gather everyone, and perform daily pujas and evening bhajans. On the last day, everyone would have lunch as Prasad, and a cultural program with children's participation was held. Neighbors used to help his father voluntarily when they realized that he was doing it diligently. Over a period of time, Ganesha became their family Deity.

After working in that village for ten years, Mahesh's father was transferred to a town. Just as they shifted to the new place, the information about the devotional qualities of their family also reached there. So, even in the new town, the people of their area entrusted him with the responsibility of arranging Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. So, many programs were arranged by him for several decades. He has been doing this devotional service voluntarily under all circumstances, without giving up his vocation.

Thus, before retiring, he also built a Ganesha temple in that town and made proper arrangements to worship the deity every day. Every year, during Ganesh Chaturthi, and also in the month of Kartika, important events used to take place grandly in that shrine.

Over a period, some people started negative propaganda against him. It was rumoured that some part of the subscriptions collected to build the temple was spent without proper use and some money was siphoned off in the programs held every year. Although, his father explained that all his earnings came from his salary and that he did not take even a single rupee of God's money on any day, people who initially believed him also gradually began to doubt him. Not knowing what to do with this situation, Mahesh's father reduced his visits to the Ganesha Mandir. With that, more accusations were hurled against him. They started saying that if he had not committed any mistake, he should fight back, but if he is hiding his head, then that indicates something is wrong with him.

It was very difficult for Mahesh to see his father in these circumstances. He didn't like that his friends shunned him when he went out too. But he didn't know what to do.

Last year, those who spread rumours about Mahesh's family took the responsibility of celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi. All the people helped generously. However, lack of experience and the desire to do better than Mahesh's father resulted in those people not being able to conduct the programs properly even after incurring huge expenditure. Mahesh's father came to know about this and felt bad, but he could not do anything except lament. The family celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi at home, thinking that they had to face all these allegations as they might have seen the moon of Chaturthi by mistake.

The elderly persons in that street verified all the old accounts and found out how Mahesh's father managed to organize the programs and build the mandir even though the subscriptions were low in the last few years. It was revealed through their calculations that he spent one-fourth of the expenses every year from his pocket. They realised that the bad propaganda against him resulted in more expenditure without commensurate services. So, they all came to Mahesh's house, praised his father, and asked him to forgive them for believing the rumours. Mahesh's father felt that the proper performance of Ganesh Chaturthi this year at home resulted in Lord Ganesha showing them the right path and proving that he was not at fault.

After some time others also joined him, and once again became a single team all over the street. In a jiffy, the year passed and Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations came again. When Mahesh's father said that he could not take charge this time, all the street people handed over the responsibility to Mahesh. Once again, Mahesh's house wore a festive look during Ganesh Chaturthi.