Saraswati shopping

My erudite cousin from Kolkata exclaimed: 8220;You don8217;t worship Saraswati? You8217;ll never make it as a musician!8221; She is a si...

My erudite cousin from Kolkata exclaimed: 8220;You don8217;t worship Saraswati? You8217;ll never make it as a musician!8221; She is a sitar player of some repute. And I? I8217;ve been fiddling around with the synthesiser and Spanish guitar for years. But nobody has heard of me. Her observation gave me food for thought. Perhaps riyaz and talent are not enough, perhaps my musical genius needs Saraswati8217;s touch to come alive.

Off I went hunting for a Saraswati. I may add that I am woefully ignorant of religious customs. Always believed if the others in the family were doing a good job of them, some of the blessings would rub off on to me as well. Never been to a temple seriously, never worshipped any particular deity.

I asked a friend for advice. 8220;Do you want a framed picture or a statue? If it8217;s a statue, do you want to go for clay or metal? It it8217;s metal, brass or silver? And do you prefer traditional or modern representations?8221; she asked. Wow. It was like buying ice-creams abroad 8212; 20 varieties of toppings, 50 varieties of flavours.

Seeing my general ignorance she advised me to go to Cottage Emporium. Off I went. Reached the statue section and got a jolt. An array of mini-gods and goddesses stood before me. Dancing divas, meditative gods, gods in reclining poses, in playful moods, gods with two hands, four hands holding all kinds of dangerous objects, even snakes. I guess I didn8217;t do my homework well enough. The only ones I could recognise were Ganesh with his trademark trunk and Krishna with his flute.

I discreetly called my friend on the cellphone. 8220;How do I know which one is Saraswati?8221; I whispered. 8220;Look for a veena,8221; she suggested. I found a few damsels holding on to musical instruments. However the veenas didn8217;t look authentic. Finally I settled on one that looked pretty and quite hep. Right. She8217;s the one. I had found my Saraswati.

It8217;s been some time now. Saraswati has been formally ensconced in our mini-temple and is given the same respect as the other deities. I, however, am still where I was musically. Not a single note has gone mad with joy.

The same cousin happened to drop by. 8220;Hai bhagoban!8221; she exclaimed, when she saw my Saraswati.8221;This looks like Madonna with a guitar! Is this your idea of Saraswati?8221; Now that explains the lack of improvement in my music!