Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar sight – a large idol of Ganesha was being lugged slowly down the street as it made its way to the beach. It was her beloved Pivla-Raja. The most majestic. The most divine. The most yearned for avatar of Ganesha in Bombay. Kalpana had been unable to go see Him, but here He was gliding down to where she now stood. “Bappa you found me” whispered Kalpana in a voice that only she and her Bappa could hear, “But why did you make this happen? Why did you deny me from prostrating at your feet? Why am I being punished Bappa?” her almost silent voice, now trailed off as tears welled up in her eyes.

For the next hour her eyes were fixed on her beloved Pivla-Raja, as he slowly descended on to the beach and boarded the dingy boat. But something suddenly went amiss. The sevaks on the Pivla-Raja team were looking visibly distraught – some looked silently at each other’s faces, some squatted down with their head heavy in their hands, others looked ardently at the sea. What had happened? Had some incident occurred? Had something gone wrong with the arrangements? Something definitely felt out of place. A lull had fallen over the place… visitors to the beach were murmuring among themselves as most of them turned and began the walk back home? Why were they going without seeing off their beloved Raja, Kalpana wondered?

Read Part 1 of this story here

“All that she wanted was to have a normal day… but perhaps the definition of normal was this, for her!”

Her eyes now followed the gaze of the sevaks on the dinghy that was in charge of lowering the Ganesha idol into the sea – “The sea! It was the sea!” The sea had fallen quiet. The tide had gone out. The water had receded and the once waist deep water now lapped at their toes. There was no way the idol could be immersed now. Kalpana felt a pang of pain – like how a mother feels agony when she witnesses her child losing a race, one he had long prepared for. All she wanted to do was comfort Him. Cajole Him. Convince Him that there was a next time. But she waited… far away, within His sight but far away. Tai-ajji would have been proud of her restraint.

The beach was almost empty now. It was ticking close to 2 am. The tide was still out. Just over a handful of sevaks and even fewer devotees remained on the beach now. It was just them and their Raja waiting eagerly for the water to rise again. Kalpana had done little than gaze at the lifelike eyes of the Ganesha idol. Her phone battery had died a long time ago and she knew her family would be worried for her. But she didn’t have the heart to turn her back on her beloved Raja. So, she stood there, waiting, watching and wondering… wondering if she should take this as a sign and…

You can read Part 2 here
and here is Part 3

Stay tuned for the finale!

This is part 4 of a 5 part series written for Blogchatter‘s Half Marathon.