It is the time of year again when the Ganeshotsav is to begin in a few days, and it is the job of Tapu Sena to prepare for the festival: to decorate the mandap and to think of and prepare for the program.
Tapu Sena is very excited because they have already begun the preparations for the festival. They have prepared the budget and consulted with Bhidebhai to make sure the budget is good and to make sure they can begin the preparations on time.
After getting Bhidebhai's permission, Tapu Sena calls the mandap company and gathers a list of all the materials they will need to complete the decorations. The mandap company arrives, and Tapu Sena supervises them as to where and how the mandap needs to be built. After they leave, Tapu Sena gets all the materials from Abdulbhai's shop and begins cutting, coloring, gluing, and taping their decorations.
The kids are so busy in what they are doing that they even forget to each their meals. They have Abdulbhai bring them snacks and water as needed.
Each year, the theme of the mandap is a suspense to all the members of the society. No matter how much the members ask, the kids do not tell them the theme.
The day is finally here to open the curtain and reveal the theme of the Ganeshotsav mandap. Everyone has brought the murti of Ganpatibappa, and the kids take it inside the mandap to fix. As they are inside, Tapu comes outside, and Bhidebhai asks him, "Tapu, parda kab khologe bhai? Ab aur intezaar nahi hota." ("Tapu, when will you open the curtain. I can't wait anymore.")
The society members agree, "Haan, beta." ("Yes, dear.")
Tapu responds, "Bas, do minute, Bhideuncle." ("Just a couple of minutes, Bhideuncle.")
As soon as he finishes saying that, Sonu, Pinku, Goli, and Gogi come out and Sonu says to Tapu, "Tapu, hogaya. Aap sab taiyaar hai?" ("Tapu, it's done. Is everyone ready?")
Everyone responds, "Haan, haan. Kholo, kholo, jaldi kholo!" ("Yes, yes. Open it, open it, open it fast!")
As soon as the curtain opens, the society members are pleasantly shocked at what they were seeing. The decoration consisted of the Draupadi's cheerharan and Lord Krishna saving her, in the background of the city today. There was also a board that had a message about respecting women because we would be nowhere without them. All the society members are so happy with the thought of the kids.
All the members of the society are talking about how well the kids have decorated and the message they send to the world. Mehtasaab agrees and says about the message, "Aurat ke haalat sach much aisa hi hai, Tapu Sena. Aurat ek behen hoti hai, beti hoti hai, phir ek patni banti hai, phir bahu banti hai. Aur patni aur bahu banne ke baad maa banti hai. Uske baad bhi woh khatamb nahi hoti hai. Woh hamesha balidaan deti hai, lekin hum log kya dete hai aurat ko? Jis aurat ki hame puja karni chahiye, sammaan dena chahiye, hum log uska cheerharan karte hai. Hum uske garima ke saath khilwaad karte hai. Sharam aani chahiye unko jo aurat ki izzat nahi karte. Kya baat hai, Tapu Sena, kya baat hai." ("The condition of women is like so exactly, Tapu Sena. A woman is a sister, a daughter, then a wife, then a daughter-in-law. And then, she becomes a mother. But even then, her roles are not finished. She always sacrifices for her family, but what do we give her? The woman that we should be worshipping, we strip her of her grace? We play with her dignity? The people who don't respect women should be seriously ashamed. Very well done, Tapu Sena, very well done!")
Everyone applauds for Tapu Sena, and they respond, "Thank you, thank you!"
In this way, Tapu Sena did a fantastic job of decorating for Ganeshotsav.
***Author's Note: This story came from the cheerharan of Draupadi. It is one of my favorite stories from the Mahabharata. It is a shame of what happened in the hall where Draupadi was being stripped, but it sends a very powerful message to everyone. The thought of the kids to portray such an event and to send such a message is very praise-worthy for the kids. Sad part is that this still happens today in the form of rape. And what's even worse is that rapists don't feel any kind of shame when they should.***
Click here for a reading guide to R. K. Narayan's Mahabharata.
Tapu Sena is very excited because they have already begun the preparations for the festival. They have prepared the budget and consulted with Bhidebhai to make sure the budget is good and to make sure they can begin the preparations on time.
After getting Bhidebhai's permission, Tapu Sena calls the mandap company and gathers a list of all the materials they will need to complete the decorations. The mandap company arrives, and Tapu Sena supervises them as to where and how the mandap needs to be built. After they leave, Tapu Sena gets all the materials from Abdulbhai's shop and begins cutting, coloring, gluing, and taping their decorations.
The kids are so busy in what they are doing that they even forget to each their meals. They have Abdulbhai bring them snacks and water as needed.
Each year, the theme of the mandap is a suspense to all the members of the society. No matter how much the members ask, the kids do not tell them the theme.
The day is finally here to open the curtain and reveal the theme of the Ganeshotsav mandap. Everyone has brought the murti of Ganpatibappa, and the kids take it inside the mandap to fix. As they are inside, Tapu comes outside, and Bhidebhai asks him, "Tapu, parda kab khologe bhai? Ab aur intezaar nahi hota." ("Tapu, when will you open the curtain. I can't wait anymore.")
The society members agree, "Haan, beta." ("Yes, dear.")
Tapu responds, "Bas, do minute, Bhideuncle." ("Just a couple of minutes, Bhideuncle.")
As soon as he finishes saying that, Sonu, Pinku, Goli, and Gogi come out and Sonu says to Tapu, "Tapu, hogaya. Aap sab taiyaar hai?" ("Tapu, it's done. Is everyone ready?")
Everyone responds, "Haan, haan. Kholo, kholo, jaldi kholo!" ("Yes, yes. Open it, open it, open it fast!")
As soon as the curtain opens, the society members are pleasantly shocked at what they were seeing. The decoration consisted of the Draupadi's cheerharan and Lord Krishna saving her, in the background of the city today. There was also a board that had a message about respecting women because we would be nowhere without them. All the society members are so happy with the thought of the kids.
All the members of the society are talking about how well the kids have decorated and the message they send to the world. Mehtasaab agrees and says about the message, "Aurat ke haalat sach much aisa hi hai, Tapu Sena. Aurat ek behen hoti hai, beti hoti hai, phir ek patni banti hai, phir bahu banti hai. Aur patni aur bahu banne ke baad maa banti hai. Uske baad bhi woh khatamb nahi hoti hai. Woh hamesha balidaan deti hai, lekin hum log kya dete hai aurat ko? Jis aurat ki hame puja karni chahiye, sammaan dena chahiye, hum log uska cheerharan karte hai. Hum uske garima ke saath khilwaad karte hai. Sharam aani chahiye unko jo aurat ki izzat nahi karte. Kya baat hai, Tapu Sena, kya baat hai." ("The condition of women is like so exactly, Tapu Sena. A woman is a sister, a daughter, then a wife, then a daughter-in-law. And then, she becomes a mother. But even then, her roles are not finished. She always sacrifices for her family, but what do we give her? The woman that we should be worshipping, we strip her of her grace? We play with her dignity? The people who don't respect women should be seriously ashamed. Very well done, Tapu Sena, very well done!")
Everyone applauds for Tapu Sena, and they respond, "Thank you, thank you!"
In this way, Tapu Sena did a fantastic job of decorating for Ganeshotsav.
***Author's Note: This story came from the cheerharan of Draupadi. It is one of my favorite stories from the Mahabharata. It is a shame of what happened in the hall where Draupadi was being stripped, but it sends a very powerful message to everyone. The thought of the kids to portray such an event and to send such a message is very praise-worthy for the kids. Sad part is that this still happens today in the form of rape. And what's even worse is that rapists don't feel any kind of shame when they should.***
Click here for a reading guide to R. K. Narayan's Mahabharata.
Tapu Sena's decoration including Draupadi's cheerharan on the right.
Source: (Youtube)
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