****************************************** This is my very first article that I have written in my life and I’m not sure how this interest crept into me after I attended the BSP program at the ashram from Sept 1st-4th.I consider this as a Prerana from the Sadhguru and hence all my articles will be dedicated to my guru who has breathed a new life in me.   ******************************************          There are many legends about lord Ganesah and how he turned out to be a god of knowledge with an elephant head.  I do not want to repeat the legend because I was not there to see how Ganesha was incarnated but my story is about my experiences in a small place where hundreds and hundreds of Ganesha’s of various size and shapes are made and sold to devotees for the Ganesha festival which this year is on the 15th of September.           Everyday morning my route to the office is to pass through the Lalbagh west gate and take the RV road that connects to the Minerva circle.  Prior to the BSP, the everyday journey in my car to the office used to be a usual boring experience which had nothing interesting but to listen to Radio City.  I used to pass through a stretch on R.V Road which had lines Ganesha’s of various sizes and shapes but the experience was “yeah, I know Ganesha festival is around the corner”.  Post BSP, my experiences in terms of my perceptions had changed so much that I started taking a closer look at these idols and could see a life behind every idol – the life of a craftsman who had painstakingly moulded the earth to get a beautiful shape.  I hence decided to take my analog camera, stop at the roadside gallery for a few minutes, take pictures and talk to a few people who were behind these idols. My day on Sept 7th started with lot of excitement and off I was from home at 7:15 in the morning.  I stopped at the roadside gallery and started taking pictures of the idols with my Analog SLR.  There was so much of variety of Ganesha that I was lost and for a moment thought “What would Parvathi do if she landed in this gallery?”As I was taking pictures, someone entered the shed that had all the Ganesha’s and started helping me to look for different types of idols that were around.  This someone is Raju, a worker in one of the company called Sri Vinayaka & Co, Makers of Clay Gowri and Ganesha.  Raju showed me around and started explaining some of the beautiful idols that were around.  My awareness was very strong and in my awareness there were questions like what does Raju want from me, is he trying to sell me one of these Rs. 10,000/- idols, is he trying to do something to my camera, and so on.  In this moment, I realized that there was too much of judging happening in my mind and decided to snap back to reality and just be with Raju without any judgements about him and believe me, it was a unique experience. Raju took me around and also wanted me to come and look at other idols that were in an opposite building.  He also enquired if I would like to see the owner of the gallery.  To all his questions, my answer was ‘YES’. In the gallery office, Raju introduced me to Sridhar, the proprietor of Sri Vinayaka & Co.  I checked with Sridhar if I could take a picture of him, Raju and Srinivas (another artisan in the gallery) and they all readily agreed.  In the picture, the person on the left is Sridhar, the person on the right is Srinivas and the middle man is Raju.  I took this opportunity to talk to Sridhar for a while and understand how the idols are made.  He explained that over the last few years, the demand has grown so much that this industry has changed from creating everything from hand into using moulds and plaster of paris instead of clay.  I was told that a Ganesah measuring 10 feet tall and 5 feet wide would take 7 days to build the basic structure and another 2-3 days for the paint job.  I was also told that the mould is used to get the basic design and after that a lot of handiwork starts where they plug the trunk, tusks, wind the snake to the stomach and all other detailed art work. Sridhar was kind enough to offer me coffee but I politely turned the offer because BSP had made me quit my dose of caffeine.  Raju then took me to another building behind the gallery where I saw more of the Ganesha’s, the life of a women worker and her daughter who goes to school.  All I saw was simplicity and a sense of satisfaction in their faces.  I remembered Sadhguru a lot at this moment because in spite of me having all the comforts, I’m still not happy and here I see a Mother and her little daughter who just had idols around them and were so much smiling.   With their permission, I took a picture of the mother and the daughter.   I promised them to give them the pictures once I got them printed. I started walking back with Raju and here was a person who did not expect anything from me but was so eager to show around.  The point I would like to make is that I’m so much deeply conditioned that I perceived Raju differently when I first me him and it was only after I started accepting him as he was, only then I saw so much of life and beauty in him.  I promised Raju to personally give him all the pictures I had taken and all he said was that he would wait on Monday near the gallery for my car to come.  I did not have words and for a moment my mind went blank and I’m yet to figure out what happened. Please take a moment to visit https://nammajeevana.wordpress.com/ and view all the pictures. This article was completed in one sitting and I was surprised that I could do two pages without looking back.  Every moment of experience was flowing with ease and this is what happens if Sadhguru is within you.