You need so little to be happy!

Today was the day of Ganesha Visarjana, a symbolic farewell and a way to conclude the celebrations of Ganesha Chaturthi.

The road was jam-packed with all kinds of people. Some were there to seek blessings from the ongoing Aarti, some were trying to ensure the management of the place, some were paid performers, and some were bystanders. The best part was the loud drums synchronized to echo beats that you couldn't resist dancing to. Some had gained the power of wild elephants from Ganesha, as they danced wildly to the dhol beats. While all of this was happening in Karnataka, the tiger dance and the traditional festive dance was inevitable.
![[Traditional dance.mp4]]

Among all the sounds, the lights, crackers, and fire performers blowing kerosene into a ignited stick, the visual excitement was evident and the crowd was it's peak of excitement.
![[Light show.mp4]]

I was witnessing all of this from my balcony as the procession passed by my street. While I was filled with joy, I found myself shaking my head and grooving to the rhythm all by myself, accompanied by distant neighbours at their respective balconies. I was slightly disheartened. I kept thinking - why couldn't girls join this mad dance? Even if I had the courage to do so, it wasn't the safest thing to do in the uncontrolled (and probably drunk) crowd. I slightly wished I could be an iksha-dhari naagin, where I could become a boy at times like these.
![[Street dance.mp4]]

As I was lost in this train of thought, I suddenly saw a group of people trying to declutter the dancing troop. They made way for girls to enter the arena for the dance in the middle of the road. I had been a part of this procession from the past 5 years, and I saw this happening for the first time ever. Four girls - relatives of the organizers, safeguarded by a sober crowd decided to enter the dance floor. That was the moment I had been waiting for. I was dressed in a shabby nightdress, wearing slippers with a strap that occasionally came off when my feet got wild, and my hair was uncombed, straight out of a shower. I knew I had no time to waste, dressing up. So, with that unkempt appearance, I ran to the dance floor, which was in the middle of the road. It was a dance of the wild female elephants this time. None of the girls knew each other, but there was a sense of thrill in each one of us as we danced like we belonged there. Those 10 minutes of dancing, at a moment when the desire was at its peak, that joy of seizing the opportunity when it presented itself, was enough to create a moment of a lifetime. If that moment had gone ungrasped, it would have created a feeling of regret and deprivation for a lifetime. So, when the desire for something is true and intense, and when the opportunity presents itself, there's absolutely no time for a "If and a but", you just GO FOR IT!